Halftime: Lakers 55, Knicks 45

Kobe Bryant scored 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting in the first half to lead the Lakers, and Andrew Bynum added 10 points and six rebounds. Pau Gasol had nine points and a team-leading nine rebounds. David Lee and Wilson Chandler had 11 each for New York. Big question, why was this game so close? Well, the Lakers have a habit of going through the motions sometimes against weaker teams. With a 3-10 record going into the game, the Knicks certainly qualified. Perhaps the bigger question was, why weren’t the Knicks ahead?