Grizzlies vs. Lakers Live - First Half

On Monday, I visited my first NBA game of the season, and saw the Lakers' Pau Gasol make his long-awaited return to play his former team, the Grizzlies. Adding to the intrigue was his shaggy-bearded face-off with his brother, Marc Gasol, now manning the same position for the Grizzlies Pau once did. Here are first-half highlights:

Like Serbian Sasha Vujacic in the latter part of this courtside video, the Lakers nearly bobbled the win away, but hung on to secure a 105-96 victory by yet another round of Kobe Bryant heroics.


Vujacic substantially more sticky-fingered in this go-around, showing some court generalship and entry passing saavy.


Memphis center Marc Gasol is normally not considered the quicker of the Gasol brothers. The seven-footer is, after all, 20 pounds heavier than his lithe Laker sibling. In the sequence below, however, he posts Lamar Odom, executes an impressive spin move, and is fouled before he can drop the "Spanish Hammer."


After converting the free throw, Odom gets Gasol back, proving even the up-and-comer still has a bit farther up to come to stop the "Odom bomb" from dropping!
At the end of the clip, M. Gasol shows his quickness again in diving into the paint.


Gay shows some impressive blow-by speed against the Lakers' swingman Trevor Ariza. Not sure about the subsequent "MVP" chants, though, especially in light of how he finished the game.


All hail Darko! The oft-ridiculed Serbian center shows his defensive wares againt Pau and then go after a three-point miss by Gay with the tenacity of a preying mantis tearing into her mate!
He had 8 rebounds in the game.


Marc misses a jump hook shot over the long-armed defense of his older brother, and then Kobe trots down the court and unfurls a trifecta, making it look ridiculously easy.


The end of the first half brings physical play between the Gasol brothers and more proof that quicksilver Memphis point guard Mike Conley is the first human to ever be born with ice skates on.