The Los Angeles Lakers held a 10-point lead over the Houston Rockets heading into the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, but that wasn’t enough to stop them from losing their second straight game and fifth in their last seven. Defense was a major issue for L.A. once again, which showed its age down the stretch and blew yet another comfortable fourth-quarter lead.
For Rockets radio announcer Craig Ackerman, saying that the Lakers blew it again simply wasn’t enough. Instead, Ackerman gave what is sure to be one of the great quotes of the 2012-2013 season.
“The game is over! The game is over!” Ackerman shouted as the final seconds expired. “The Lakers have just pooped their big boy pants and the Rockets have come from 17 down to win it, 107-105!”
Earlier this week after his team’s embarrassing loss to the Orlando Magic, Kobe Bryant urged Pau Gasol to start making adjustments and “put your big-boy pants on.” Ackerman was likely referring to Kobe’s comment as he was going nuts after the Rockets pulled off the comeback.
While the season is still young, the Lakers have now fallen to 8-10 and have their fans very, very concerned. The return of Steve Nash (whenever that may be) should help, but their inability to close out games is a direct reflection of their age and lack of stamina. Not to mention opponents have been successfully playing hack-a-Dwight on Dwight Howard toward the end of games, and he has not been able to hit his free throws. Mike D’Antoni says he has no intention of benching Howard at the end of games, but it’s something he is going to have to consider if his center can’t start converting.
H/T Clutch Fans via Ball Don’t Lie
