Lakers lose three in a row
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Dwight Howard was barking in the lockerroom, mocking some Lakers he claimed called his Orlando Magic team "puppies".
Out on the court, the Magic showed they can bite.
Vince Carter had 25 points, Howard finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds and the Magic beat the Lakers 96-94 on Sunday to hand Los Angeles their first three-game losing streak of the Pau Gasol-Kobe Bryant era.
"Alpha dogs usually have the big bark," Howard said. "But since we're so-called puppies, we won't bark as loud."
Carter made his first 13 free throws and kept the Magic in control, showing why Orlando made the move for the eight-time All-Star after losing to the Lakers in last year's finals.
Throw feisty Matt Barnes into the mix to add some physicality and the Magic finally got some reprieve from the sting of a finals failure that has yet to wash away.
"You could see it in everybody's faces and everybody's demeanor," Carter said. "Everybody on that floor wanted to win that game. It wasn't just, 'Yeah, OK, whatever.' It was, 'Let's go get it.' That game was Game 7."
Bryant played through a minor stomach illness to score 34 points and Gasol added 20 for the Lakers. But they all walked to the lockerroom distraught and dejected after Bryant missed a 20-footer at the buzzer to seal their latest loss.
Even being in the same lockerroom where they toasted to the title trophy, there might not be a time this season that champagne-soaked championship celebration last June felt so distant.
"There are some things that, as an experienced team, we should not have happen to us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Those are the things we try to remedy but today we were just a little bit off."
This one had all the drama of last season's series.
Barnes made a 3-pointer to push the Magic's lead to six with 1:10 remaining. A missed free throw by Jameer Nelson gave the Lakers a chance to tie, and Bryant did just that with a 3-pointer - if only for a second - with 12.9 seconds remaining.
Bryant jumped into his teammates pouring out from the bench in what would be a premature celebration. Officials reviewed the play and ruled it was only a two.
Carter's lone missed free throw gave the Lakers another chance but Bryant's shot landed short. And just like that, the Lakers are in the first three-game skid since they acquired Gasol from Memphis in February 2008.
"I'm worried about what we can do to win ball games, I'm not worried about streaks," Gasol said after the testy game.
Bryant and Barnes continuously traded elbows and were each hit with a technical foul in the third quarter after going chest-to-chest in a verbal spat. Barnes had a put-back dunk a few plays later and dangled his legs on Bryant, who extended his right arm slightly into his opponent's chest.
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