There’s really not much to say so far.  The Lakers blew Christmas Day’s game against Bulls with some inexplicable decision-making down the stretch, as well as four costly missed free throws.   They couldn’t have helped the Bulls more unless they put the ball in the basket for them.

Monday’s game in Sacramento wasn’t much better.  The Lakers never found any rhythm, and when they finally got to within two in the fourth quarter at 89-87, they allowed Marcus Thornton a wide-open three-pointer and that was pretty much that.

Two really ugly losses for different reasons.  Hopefully tonight against Utah will finally allow the Lakers to right the ship, but right now it’s difficult to know what team will show up.    Hoping this is just an early season bump in the road with the short training camp, new players, and new coaching staff.

Trying to stay positive!

Sixth Man of the Year - Lamar Odom (1st)

First Team All-NBA – Kobe Bryant (9th, 6th straight season)

First Team All-NBA Defense – Kobe Bryant (9th, 6th straight season)

Second Team All-NBA – Pau Gasol (1st)

J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award – Ron Artest (1st)

Odom had his best all-around season as a Laker in 2010-11, averaging 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists predominantly off the bench for the two-time defending NBA champs. He also shot career-highs of 53.0% from the field and 38.2% from the three-point line. Odom started 35 games in the absence of center Andrew Bynum, and is one of six Lakers to play in all 82 regular season games.

It’s the first major award for Odom, who came to the Lakers from the Miami Heat in the Shaquille O’Neal trade in 2004. Always one of the NBA’s most-versatle players, Odom was a starter his entire career before Phil Jackson asked him to move to the bench before the 2008-09 season. He has flourished in the role helping the Lakers win the last two NBA titles.

Odom also becomes the first Laker to win the award.

Kobe Bryant forcing his way for a shot against Nuggets.

The Lakers played sloppy, shot the ball poorly, Pau Gasol hurt his knee, and they lost the services of Andrew Bynum late. All of that added up to a disappointing 95-90 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant scored 28 points, but shot just 10-27 from the floor, and was clearly bothered by the Nuggets’ aggressive defense against him, and the lack of foul calls. 

His frustration boiled over and he picked up his 13th technical foul in the second quarter after slamming the court with his hand after a missed shot.  He also missed several shots in the fourth quarter, including a key baseline jumper in the final moments with the game still on the line.

The Lakers also got a huge scare when Gasol went down clutching his knee after taking a hard foul on a made basket in the third quarter.  He briefly went to the locker room, but did return to finish the game.  Team officials have said he will have a precautionary MRI on Monday.   Gasol finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds, but clearly didn’t have the same impact on the game after injuring his knee.

Bynum also left the game Sunday with seven minutes left after tweaking his knee on a collision with Lamar Odom.  He appeared to grab his knee on the bench, but said after the game he was fine and expects to play on Tuesday against Utah.  He scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.

The Lakers led 47-40 at halftime in a very uneven game, with neither team shooting the ball well.  The second half was a grind, the Lakers held the lead late in the third until Denver went on a run, and briefly grabbed the advantage.  The score was tied at 69 at the end of the quarter.

The Lakers opened up a 75-69 lead early in the fourth, but the Nuggets took over from there.  Point guard Raymond Felton scored all 16 of his points in the second half, including several key buckets down the stretch to keep Denver ahead.

With Denver up 91-83, the Lakers scored four straight and had the ball with under a minute left, but Bryant missed a tough baseline shot.  The Nuggets split two free throws to go up 92-87.   Odom, who had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench, hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to bring the Lakers to within two.  After Nene made his first free throw, he missed the second, and Kenyon Martin forced Odom under the basket to grab the putback, which effectively closed the door on the Lakers’ winning streak.

For the game the Lakers shot just 42.9% (36-84) from the floor and 4-18 (22.2%) from beyond the arc.  They outrebounded Denver 45-44, but were undone by the 20 turnovers they committed.  The Nuggets shot just 43.9% (36-82) from the field themselves, and turned the ball over 17 times as well.

Danilo Gallanari led the Nuggets with 22 points and seven rebounds.  Kenyon Martin had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Nene scored 12 to go along with seven boards.

The loss dropped the Lakers 2.5 behind the Spurs for first in the Western Conference with six games left.  The Lakers are now 17-2 since the All-Star break.

The champs’ next game is Tuesday night at Staples Center against the Utah Jazz, who were eliminated from the playoff race on Friday by the Lakers.  After Tuesday’s game, the Lakers go on the road at Golden St. on Wednesday,  and then Portland on Friday.

Link: Lakers vs. Nuggets Box Score

Kobe Bryant drives to the basket against the Jazz.

For the first 24 minutes of Friday night’s game in Utah, it seemed like the Lakers were destined to give back the game they gained from Thursday’s nights hard-fought victory against Dallas.

But these Lakers are just playing at a whole other level. The champs rallied from 17 points down, overwhelming the undermanned Utah Jazz in the second half, and scored a 96-85 at EnergySolutions Arena, their ninth straight win, and 17th in the last 18 games.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 21 points and Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol each had 16.  Gasol also added a team-high nine rebounds in the win.

Utah jumped on the Lakers early, led 26-13 in the first quarter, and then put together an 11-0 run in the second quarter to build a 41-24 lead.  But that’s when the tide began to shift.  Los Angeles fought back with an 18-7 run to close the half, and trailed just 48-42 at the break.

The second half was all Lakers, as Derek Fisher’s three-pointer finally got the Lakers even at 62 with just over four minutes left in the third quarter.  Moments later they took the lead for good when Kyrylo Fesenko was called for goaltending on a Shannon Brown shot. The Lakers led 71-64 after three.

The lead stretched to 83-65 early in the fourth, and the Lakers held off the Jazz the rest of the way for what turned out to be a fairly easy victory.  Los Angeles outscored Utah 52-35 in the second half.

Utah played without three of their key players, as Andrei Kirilenko, Devin Harris, and Raja Bell all missed the game with injuries.  The Lakers played without Matt Barnes, who was suspended by the NBA for his role in Thursday night’s melee with Dallas.

C.J. Miles, who had been in a shooting slump, scored 13 points in the first half for the Jazz, and finished with a game-high 24.  Al Jefferson added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Milsap chipped in with 16 points.

The Lakers shot just 39.4% from the field in the first half, but finished the game at 47.9% (34-71).  They also held the Jazz to 41.5% (34-82) from the floor, and 2-10 (20.0%) from the three-point line.   The Jazz did outrebound the Lakers 44-39, including 15-6 on the offensive end, but held a much bigger advantage (28-18) at the end of the first half.

The win, combined with San Antonio’s sixth straight loss at Houston on Friday, brought the Lakers to within 1.5 games for first place in the Western Conference, with seven remaining.   The Lakers’ current 17-1 record is the highest post-All-Star break winning percentage (.944) in league history.    The Jazz are second, going 31-4 (.885) after the All-Star break back in 1997.

The loss eliminated Utah from the Western Conference playoff race, marking the first time a team started 15-5 and 27-13 and didn’t make the playoffs.

The Lakers now return home for a Sunday afternoon battle at Staples Center against the new-look Denver Nuggets, who have been playing very well since trading their superstar forward Carmelo Anthony last month.  The two teams have split their two meetings this year, with the Lakers winning the last game 107-97 in Denver back on January 21.

Link: Lakers @ Jazz Box Score

Kobe Bryant takes a jumper against the Mavericks.

There were five ejections and four technical fouls at Staples Center on Thursday night, but nothing could stop the Lakers methodical second half romp over the Dallas Mavericks 110-82, as they won the battle for second place in the Western Conference.

Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 28 points, and Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers moved their record to an NBA-best 16-1 since the All-Star break. They’ve also won eight straight.

In a playoff-like atmosphere, with the Lakers running away in the fourth quarter, the Mavs’ Jason Terry pushed Steve Blake under the basket, sparking a skirmish between the players on the court. 

Matt Barnes, Blake, Terry, and Brendan Haywood were all ejected, with Terry picking up a flagrant-2 foul.  Minutes later, Shannon Brown was ejected after another shoving match that followed a hard foul on Pau Gasol with the game well out of reach.

Neither of the incidents could take away what was a dominating performance by the world champs, who held Dallas to just 31 points in the second half, including closing the game on a 19-2 run. The two teams could face each at some point during the playoffs.

Gasol chipped in with 20 points and six rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 16 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, scoring 11 straight points at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, that turned a 79-70 game into a 90-70 lead.   Ron Artest poured in 13 points.

The Lakers led a tight game 54-51 at halftime, and then slowly started to pull away late in the third quarter.  After Odom’s 11-0 run late in the game, Dallas responded after the first flare up to get to within 91-80.  Bryant was reinserted into the game to restore order, scoring six straight points and the game was never close again.

For the game, the Lakers shot 44.7% (38-85) from the field, and hit 28-39 (71.8%) from the foul line.  They outrebounded the Mavericks 52-47, and committed just seven turnovers.  Dallas shot a woeful 36.1% (30-83) from the floor, and a miserable 6-26 (23.1%) from beyond the arc. They scored just 12 points in the final quarter.

Dirk Nowitski led the visitors with 27 points and 13 rebounds, one of only three Mavs in double figures.  Peja Stojakovic had 13 and J.J. Barea had 10 points off the bench. Before getting tossed from the game, Terry hit just 2-9 shots for five points.  Nowitski was clearly the lone bright spot on this night.

The win put the Lakers 1.5 games ahead of Dallas for second place in the Western Conference, and two games ahead in the loss column.  They also hold the tiebreaker having beaten Dallas 2-1 this season.  They are also only 2.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs for first in the West after Boston’s 107-97 in San Antonio Thursday.

The Lakers play tomorrow night in Utah against the struggling Jazz, having just finished a 7-0 homestand.  They’ll return back to Staples Center for a Sunday for an afternoon game against the surging Denver Nuggets.

Link: Lakers vs. Mavericks Box Score

Kobe Bryant drives hard to the basket against Hornets.

The Lakers just keep rolling right along towards the playoffs, as they took care of the New Orleans Hornets 102-84 at Staples Center on Sunday night.

Kobe Bryant, who scored 79 points in his previous two games, poured in a game-high 30 points to go along with five assists, as the Lakers won their seventh straight game, and have gone 15-1 since the All-Star break.

Los Angeles jumped on the David West-less Hornets early, and led 30-19 after the first quarter.  After getting up by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Lakers settled for a halftime lead of 57-41.

The Hornets played much better in the second half, and were able to rally back behind the inspired play of Carl Landry, who is starting in place of West.  New Orleans got to within six points in the fourth quarter at 78-72, before the Lakers went on a 24-12 run to close the game, and win going away by 18.

Pau Gasol had a big night with 23 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocked shots.  Andrew Bynum battled foul trouble all game long, and played just over 21 minutes, but he did have 13 points and five boards in his limited action.  Ron Artest was the only other Laker in double figures with 11 points on 4-6 shooting from the field.

For the game, the Lakers shot 41-85 (48.2%) from the field, 17-21 (81.0%) from the foul line, but only 3-17 (17.6%) from beyond the arc, with Bryant hitting just 1-6 from deep.  The Lakers won the rebound battle 44-43 and committed just nine turnovers.

New Orleans struggled shooting the ball all night, finishing at 40.2% on 35-87 from the floor.  They were also a miserable 3-17 (17.6%) from the three-point line, with Marco Belinelli convering just 1-7 from long range.

Landry led the Hornets with 24 points and 10 rebounds playing almost 44 minutes.  Emeka Okafor had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Chris Paul had an off night scoring just 10 points on 4-9 shooting, but he did have nine assists.  No other Hornet scored in double figures.

The win put the Lakers’ record at 53-20, and they are one game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks for second place in the Western Conference.  The two teams will get together on Thursday night for a battle at Staples Center.    San Antonio dropped their third straight and are now 57-16, just four games ahead of the Lakers for the conference lead with nine games remaining.

The champs will get three days off before they take on Dallas, and will try to complete a 7-0 homestand.  Sometimes long layoffs can be a bad thing for a team playing well, but the Lakers know they have to be at their best in what will surely be a playoff-like atmosphere on Thursday.   The Mavericks and Lakers have split their first two games this season, with the Lakers beating the Mavericks 96-91 in their last meeting in Dallas.

Box Score: Lakers vs. Hornets Box Score

Kobe Bryant drives hard to basket against Clippers.

It wasn’t a blowout, but the Lakers led wire-to-wire as they held off the Clippers 112-104 Friday night at Staples Center, to push their post-All-Star game record to 14-1.

Kobe Bryant had a game-high 37 points, coming off his season-high 42 points against Phoenix on Tuesday.  He hit 11-21 shots from the field, and went to the line 17 times, connecting on 14 of them.  He also had six and assists and four rebounds, and scored 12 points in the fourth quarter.

Pau Gasol, who scored 26 points and had eight rebounds, raised $26,000 for Japan relief as he donated $1,000 for every point he scored in the game.   Ron Artest had 15 points, five rebounds, three blocks, three steals, and played superb defense all night on the Clippers’ leading-scorer Eric Gordon, holding him to seven points on 3-14 from the field.

The Lakers jumped out fast on the Clips, taking a 30-14 lead late the in the first quarter.  The Clippers rallied in the second quarter and closed to 37-35, but never did get any closer in the first half.  The champs led at the break 57-48.

In the second half, the Lakers continued to maintain a healthy lead, pulling ahead by 12 on several occasions, only to see their hallway neighbors continue to battle back. After three the Lakers only led 85-80.

The Clippers kept it close in the fourth, closing the gap to two on several possessions.  With Lakers leading by four with 40 seconds left, Artest made a great defensive play in the open court, taking the ball away from rookie sensation Blake Griffin who was heading in for a dunk.  The game was sealed when Andrew Bynum tipped in a missed Derek Fisher free throw with under 20 seconds left.

Tempers flared again for the two teams, as Fisher and Clipper center got into a yelling match when Fisher threw out his elbow after a hard screen set on him by Kaman, in the final seconds.  Kaman appeared to tell Fisher he’d meet him in the parking lot after the game, as he was being ejected with two technical fouls.  Fisher was also assessed a technical.

Both teams shot the ball well from the floor.  The Lakers hit 50.0% (39-78) and the Clippers also hit half of their shots (42-84).  Neither team shot the three ball well, the Lakers went 6-18 (33.3%) and the Clips 5-17 (29.4%)  One of the big differences in the game was the Lakers going to the line 39 times, hitting 28, while the Clippers went 15-18 from the charity stripe.  The Lakers won the rebound battle, 41-34, and committed two less turnovers at 16-14.

For the Clippers, Mo Williams had a season-high 30 points and six assists, hitting 11-16 from the floor and 4-7 from the three-point line.  Griffin had a fairly quiet 22 points and only six rebounds, but did have a few highlight dunks, which as become the norm for him nightly.  Randy Foye had 12 off the bench, and Al-Farouq Aminu scored 11 points off the bench as well.

The Lakers moved their record to 52-20 as they won their sixth straight, and now lead the Dallas Mavericks by 1.5 games for second place in the Western Conference standings.  They also only trail the San Antonio Spurs by 5.0 games with 10 left to play.  They won their eighth straight game at Staples, and took the season series against the Clippers 3-1.

Los Angeles tries to continue their undefeated homestand against the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday.  The Hornets lost their leading-scorer David West to a torn ACL this week, so they will rely much more on All-Star point guard Chris Paul to pick up the scoring slack, as they battle for playoff position in the West.  The Hornets are currently in seventh place in the conference.

Link: Lakers vs. Clippers Box Score

David Brickley, and Kevin Figgers come to you after a triple over-time thriller at Staples against the Phoenix Suns, for another LIVE post-game edition of the Voice of the Nation.

Rundown

• Lakers beat Suns in Triple OT
• Was Andrew Bynum’s two game suspension warranted?
• Shootgate: What does Chris Bosh have to say about Kobe shooting after the Miami game?
• Should Lamar Odom be the Sixth Man of the Year?
• Ron Artest reacts to Kendrick Perkins’ “Laker Hater” Comments
• Around the NBA
• Khloe and Lamar’s UN-BREAKABLE is currently UN-AVAILABLE!
• Shaq interviews Shaq: Takes Jab at Kobe, and…
• Phil Jackson says there will be no 4-peat?
• and Much MUCH More

Additonal Audio

• AM570 KLAC
• TNT
• 790 The Ticket
• LA Times Blog

Download Link: Voice of the Nation – Episode #123
Like Us: Facebook
Podcast Home: LakersPodcast.com

Kobe Bryant drives to basket against Suns.

In one of the more-exciting games of the NBA season, the Lakers continued their post-All-Star game roll as they outlasted the Phoenix Suns in a three-overtime marathon, 139-137 at Staples Center on Tuesday night.

Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 42 points, including five in the closing minutes of the third overtime to get the Lakers their 13th win in 14 games since the break.  He just missed a triple-double, as he tallied 12 rebounds and nine assists in 48 minutes.

Ron Artest made two of the biggest plays of the game, as he stole the ball from Steve Nash and slammed home a dunk with 1:11 left to put the Lakers ahead 135-132. He then drilled an off-balance 15-footer with the shot clock winding down to put the Lakers up 137-132. 

After Channing Frye hit one of his five three-pointers to bring the Suns back to 137-135, Bryant hit a runner in the lane with 14 seconds left to put the Lakers up 139-135. The Suns scored two points in the final seconds, but had wasted too much time to give themselves a chance to win the game.

By the middle of the third quarter the game looked liked it would an easy victory, as the Lakers had pushed the lead to 89-68 on a Bryant shot from beyond the arc.  The Suns had gone cold from the three-point line, and it looked their erratic shooting would finally catch up to them.  But Steve Nash then hit back-to-back three-pointers to get the Suns within 15, and the run was on.

After a wild rally in the final quarter where the Suns were down nine with three minutes left, Grant Hill tied the game with 31 seconds left on a three from the corner.  After a Bryant miss, Phoenix then missed a chance to win the game in regulation on an errant shot  by Vince Carter.  They also had a chance to win the game in the second overtime, but Grant Hill was unable to get off a desperation heave at the buzzer.

Lots of players put up huge numbers for both teams in this offensive marathon.   Five players scored at least 20 points, six players had at least 10 rebounds, and 12 players scored in double figures.

Lamar Odom, starting for the suspended Andrew Bynum, put in a season-high 29 points and 16 rebounds on 13-22 from the field.  Pau Gasol had 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Ron Artest scored 18 points.

For the Suns, Frye scored a career-high 32 points and 14 rebounds, hitting 5-13 shots from deep.  Marcin Gortat had 24 points and 16 rebounds off the bench, and Nash had 19 points and 20 assists, playing over 49 minutes.  He was clearly gassed at the end of the game, as he turned the ball over several times in the third overtime, and most of his shots fell short.  Vince Carter scored 17 points but hit just 7-23 from the field.

The Lakers took 120 shots from the floor, making 53 for 44.2%.  They hit 11-27 (40.7%) from the three-point line and 22-25 (88.0%) from the foul line.  They only turned the ball over nine times.  A very low number for a game that was so up-and-down the court.  They also had 30 assists on their 53 baskets.  Los Angeles outrebounded Phoenix 56-52, and had 18 offensive rebounds against the smaller visitors, even without Bynum.

The Suns shot 51-106 (48.1%) from the floor and took an unbelievable 41 shots from beyond the arc, making 17 for 41.5%  That means the last two times they have played against the Lakers at Staples Center, they have made an incredible 37-81 (45.7.%) from distance.  They also had 34 assists on their 51 baskets.

In the end though, it’s another win for the champs, as they proved they are one of the most versatile teams in the league, being able to play a slowdown game like the 84-80 win against Portland on Sunday, or a shootout against a very up tempo Phoenix Suns.

This was the Lakers first three-overtime game at home since February 2, 1969 when they played the San Francisco Warriors.  The Lakers actually lost that game 122-117.

The champs next face the Clippers on Friday night at Staples of course.  The Lakers are the designated home team for the game, as they look to improve on their current 4-0 homestand.  They are 2-1 against their hallway neighbors this season, and beat them last on February 25th easily 108-95.

Link: Lakers vs. Suns Box Score