FINAL: Spurs 120, Lakers 89
The finality is starting to settle. Lakers fans angrily yelled “We want Phil” chants. Fans streamed out of Staples Center midway through the fourth quarter. Dwight Howard continued to show frustration over officials overlooking the Spurs’ relentlessly physical play on him.
The Lakers may still have at least one more game to stave off playoff elimination. But no team has overcome a 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series in NBA playoff history. And with this game marking the Lakers’ worst loss in playoff history, it’s possible the Lakers won’t even try in Game 4.
Yet, it’s hard to specifically critique this game. The Lakers didn’t have enough to even make this game respectable, what with injuries to Kobe Bryant (torn left Achilles tendon), Steve Nash (sore right hamstring), Steve Blake (strained right hamstring) and Jodie Meeks (partial torn ligament in sprained left ankle). The lone bright spot included second-year guards Andrew Goudelock (20 points) and Darius Morris (24 points) playing well in their first career playoff spot. Throw in Dwight Howard’s 25 points and Pau Gasol’s triple double (11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists).
But that hardly made up for no one stopping Tim Duncan (26 points) and Tony Parker (20 points). Metta World Peace still looked awful with zero points on zero of six shooting despite getting the left cyst of his knee drained. The Lakers bench posted a laughable nine points.
THIRD QUARTER: Spurs 85, Lakers 63
The Lakers are likely five quarters away from ending this underachieving season. The Lakers don’t have enough manpower to handle San Antonio’s continuity and depth. Pau Gasol has allowed Tim Duncan to abuse him with countless jumpers and post ups en route to 22 points on 11 of 14 shooting. Without Steve Blake’s feistiness, the Lakers have no one to stop Tony Parker (20). The only bright spot includes second-year guard Andrew Goudelock, who’s scored a career-high 20 points on 8 of 12. Otherwise, the Lakers’ season is about to be put to bed.
HALFTIME: Spurs 55, Lakers 44
Andrew Goudelock earned the Mimi Mamba nickname for a reason, showing in his rookie year last season with the Lakers that he could score at a prolific rate that relatively resembled Kobe Bryant. In his first career playoff spot, Goudelock scored 14 points in a two-minute stretch. But that’s not enough.
The Lakers aren’t doing anything to stop Tim Duncan (12 points) or Tony Parker (12 points). Metta World Peace removing fluid from a cyst in his left knee hasn’t done anything to improve his game, going only 0 of 6 from the field. Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol have combined for 18 points. But the Lakers are only shooting a collective 42.9 percent from the field.
FIRST QUARTER: Spurs 30, Lakers 18
In the equivalent of bringing a plastic butter knife to a gunfight, the undermanned Lakers are exactly where many thought they’d be against the Spurs. The Lakers have no answer for Tim Duncan (eight points on 4 of 5 shooting). Outside of Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol combining for 10 points on 5 of 9 shooting, the Lakers have only shot a collective 34.8 percent.
No one can fault the energy from second-year guards Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock during their first start in an NBA playoff game. But their 4 points on a combined 1 of 6 shooting shows they’re no match in replacing a injured backcourt that includes Kobe Bryant (torn left Achilles tendon), Steve Nash (sore right hamstring), Steve Blake (strained right hamstring) and Jodie Meeks (sprained left ankle).
Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com