In retrospect, it was inevitable that Saturday's Wizards / Lakers matchup would be a bit of a letdown when it was all said and done. The game had a media build up more reminiscent of the weekend's other big game with the Post going as far to call it "Star Wars II" and the most "highly anticipated regular season game since Michael Jordan made his home debut for the Wizards in November 2001." Chuck Klosterman was even there covering the game for the New York Times. Alas, the game failed to live up to its billing, as the Lakers used a strong second half surge to take down the Wizards 118-102.

As for the game within the game, Kobe Bryant outscored Gilbert Arenas 39 to 37, but had the better overall game. Bryant shot a quality 14-26 from the field, compared to an ugly 9-29 for Agent Zero. Arenas shot and made seven more free throws than Bryant's nine, which accounts for most of his final tally. Gil was obviously a bit too pumped up for the game, shooting an airball on the first Wizards first possesion, bringing to mind his 2-12 stinker against the Cavs on opening night. Arenas is never one to back down from a game of one-upmanship, and when he's on, it can be a joy to behold. Last night, however, his touch deserted him and all too often the Wizards came away with empty trips on the offensive end. Maybe he should start shooting one-handed.

The rest of the Wizards didn't fare much better. The team shot just 36% from the field and missed 19 of their 28 three point attempts. The Lakers did a great job as a team of packing into the lane and protecting the rim, forcing misses on a number of Washington shot attempts in the lane. Caron Butler with 15 points, and DeShawn Stevenson, with 17, were the only other Wizards in double figures. By contrast, all five Lakers starters scored at least 12 points, with Smush Parker and Lamar Odom proving to be the difference in the final period. Odom hit three three-pointers and Parker added seven of his 20 points to help put the game away.

Photos by Kyle Gustafson, more here.

Despite the lackluster results, the sellout crowd of 20,173 did get to see an array of exciting plays, including a few breakaway dunks by Bryant, one a 360, and some fireworks from Arenas. With just over six minutes left in the game, Agent Zero got the ball above the three point line with Bryant pushing up and playing him close. Arenas then gave Kobe a sweet crossover that broke Kobe's ankles and hit a three right in Bryant's mug. To top it off, he drew a foul from Bryant and went to the line and completed the four point play.

After being down as much as 17 points, the Wizards cut the lead to 10 a few times late in the fourth, but the Lakers always seemed to create an open shot on their possessions and the Wiz never got any closer than that. Head coach Eddie Jordan pulled Arenas, Stevenson and Butler with 2:26 left and basically waived the white flag. More than once, the Lakers fans in the crowd attempted a start an "MVP" chant when Bryant was at the free throw line, only to be drowned out by the rest if the Verizon Center faithful, who simply were not having that. This isn't Boston.

Postgame, Arenas knew what he did wrong preparing for the game. "I was here all last night shooting, getting ready for the game. I have to stop doing that serious thing before a game. I have to be my goofy self. Tonight I was too serious, and that is why I struggled early," he said.

Jarvis Hayes, echoing earlier sentiments from his coach, was ready to put this game behind him and move on. "We got caught up in the rematch,'' he said. "We were feeling this game since last week. I think we'll be fine now that we got this game out of our system.''

Also Worth Noting: Free agent pickup Darius Songaila made his season debut Saturday night. he played just over 10 minutes and tallied two points and three rebounds. Former Wizard Kwame "Let Them Eat Cake" Brown did not make the trip for the Lakers. He's on the shelf with a bad ankle.