The much maligned Los Angeles Lakers, dogged all season by strange comments made by Dwight Howard to the media, and inflammatory comments made by Kobe Bryant about Howard, got a huge night out of their center in a 90-81 victory over the Chicago Bulls that landed them in the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western conference.
Howard unloaded on his former East rival Bulls, scoring 16 points, grabbing 21 rebounds, and patrolling the paint effectively with four blocked shots. Last night was the fourth time this season Howard has had more than 20 boards. After the game, Howard acknowledged the improvements he has made since the All-Star break, saying ''I think I am getting a little bit better. I'm just going to keep working on my conditioning, get my timing back and just keep going hard.''
Bryant, who has butted heads with Howard all season over various topics ranging from Howard's nature, court demeanor, and ability to play through pain had a nice night as well, putting up 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. He showed open approval of Howard's effort throughout the game, constantly barking encouragement and slapping fives with him. Bryant recently guaranteed the Lakers would make the playoffs and they now control their own destiny. ''We're very focused,'' Bryant said to reporters. ''We know what we have to do and what lies ahead. Everybody's locked in.''
Nate Robinson led the Bulls with 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field, while Joakim Noah posted a double-double in his battle with Howard, scoring 18 points and notching 17 rebounds in the losing effort.
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau had high praise for the Howard-Bryant tandem, saying ''I thought Howard in particular in the first half set the tone. He just dominated the paint with shot-blocking, rebounding, physicality. That set the tone for the game and they dominated us on the boards from the start. Kobe came out as a playmaker so they played well.''
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