Game 75. Kobe and the Lakers are in town to take on the Hornets. Game tips at 7 Central.

The Lakers are 54-19 on the season, 22-14 on the road and have won eight of their last nine. The beat the Rockets 109-101 in Houston on Saturday, despite a poor first quarter and a sluggish fourth. Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 30 points while Kobe was an assist shy of a triple-double (BALLHOG!). Both Andrew Bynum (strained Achilles) and Luke Walton (back) are injured and unavailable to play tonight.

This is the third and final meeting between the Hornets and Lakers this season. The Lakers won both previous games by double digits, though both of those were played in Los Angeles.

The Hornets are coming off a blowout loss to the red-hot Blazers on Saturday and are just 3-11 in March, 34-40 overall. They need four more wins in the regular season to avoid the worst record of Chris Paul’s pro career.

Numbers:

Pace: Lakers 95.7 (11th), Hornets 94.8 (16th)
Offensive Efficiency: Lakers 106.2 (11th), Hornets 104.8 (14th)
Defensive Efficiency: Lakers 100.2 (4th), Hornets 107.1 (23rd)

Linkage:

• Lagniappe: A Top Hats and High Tops report, plus DC’s perfect game
• Rival bloggers: Forum Blue and Gold (THN) | LA Times

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today’s banner featuring Darren Collison. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz’s designs in our Wallpapers vault.)