NBANCAA Basketball

What Happened Last Night: Lakers Rally To Beat Hornets, More College Basketball Upsets

Didn’t watch sports on TV last night? This is getting to be a little too familiar, you know. You and your non-sports watching ways, us and our recapping to help you out. Fine, fine, we’ll keep doing it.

Los Angeles almost blew an easy game in New Orleans.

The Los Angeles Lakers trailed the New Orleans Hornets by 25 points in this one, and the game seemed all but over. But then Kobe got going, and 42 points and 12 assists Lakers, Los Angeles had escaped with a 108-102 win. Dwight Howard chipped in with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks, including a crucial late-game rejection of Robin Lopez at the rim (while Howard had 5 fouls, no less) to secure the game. The Lakers are now 1.5 games out of the final playoff spot, and an end-of-season showdown with Houston seems to be the game that will eventually decide their playoff fate. But as miraculous and spectacular as this comeback was, it showcased one of Los Angeles’ major flaws: when the Lakers trail, Kobe starts jacking shots. It worked this time, Bryant pouring in 25 in the second half, but he just as easily could have missed those contested fadeaways and pullup threes. But on the bright side, the team didn’t quit. It battled, and somehow pulled out the victory.

Villanova upsets No. 5 Georgetown.

After an early season loss to Columbia of the Ivy League, things weren’t looking so good for former Big East power Villanova. But with a huge 67-57 victory Georgetown last night, they may have just pushed themselves beyond the bubble and earned a ticket to the Big Dance. But what’s more surprising is that this Villanova team is now 3-0 against top 5 teams, having beaten then No. 5 Louisville and No. 3 Syracuse on their home floor as well. Where this burst of top 5 energy comes from, we’re not really sure. For Georgetown, the loss snapped an 11-game winning streak. However, with the topsy-turvy nature of this year’s college basketball leaderboard, they could easily reclaim a spot as a No. 1 seed heading into the tournament.

No. 6 Miami lost, too.

This loss was particularly painful for Miami, as a handful of late-game miscues cost them a win against one of the ACC’s weaker teams. The win would have given them the ACC title outright, but they’ll have another opportunity against Clemson this weekend. Still, this one could have easily gone Miami’s way: with the game tied at 69, Miami’s Durand Scott threw an entry pass to a cutting teammate, except Georgia Tech’s Robert Carter Jr. stole it and let Tech have the final possession of regulation. Then Marcus Georges-Hunt drove the lane, only to find his floater heavily contested and iron out – but admist a flurry of hands reaching for the rebound, he managed to tip the ball back up towards the backboard, and it somehow caromed into the bucket to secure the 71-69 win at the buzzer.