For all the things center Andrew Bynum was able to do for the Lakers last night, it wasn't enough to help Los Angeles leave California with a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
Bynum blocked seven shots, converted 9-of-12 free throws and gave the Lakers 39 minutes on an injured right knee. He scored a playoff career-high 21 points and added six rebounds.
The center revealed Saturday that slight swelling returned to the knee he had drained days before the Finals opener, but he still expects to continue playing with the injury. He missed the 2008 series against the Celtics with a left knee injury and has not hidden his desire to find a way to contribute this time around. On off days, Bynum undergoes treatments and rests his knee.
"I thought he recovered really well off of some swelling that he had on that knee,'' said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "And the trainers were able to get that down and back in order and he was able to play, I think, great - as good as a physical shape as he could possibly be in at this time of the year, and we were pleased with that. I was just pleased that he could play 35 minutes plus. That was a big part of that effort that he gave us [last night].''
Never mind the Pau Gasol vs. Kevin Garnett debate, who is the answer for Bynum? Gasol and Bynum combined for 13 blocked shots last night, while Gasol added 25 points. Despite the loss, Gasol said he didn't feel the effort of the two was wasted.
"I think our effort was a positive thing in our production,'' Gasol said. "We didn't win the ballgame. But our effort was good and it's going to have to be even better, greater in Boston because it's going to be tougher to play there.''
If Bynum wasn't blocking shots, he was stepping out to get a hand in Ray Allen's face late in the fourth quarter to alter his 3-point shot. Bynum gives the Lakers added length in the paint they didn't have in the 2008 series. The 7-footer has averaged 9.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in the playoffs but in the first two games of the series he has given the Lakers added help inside.
