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Lakers Hammer Jazz at Staples Center Again
01.26.11
Kobe Bryant puts up a jumper for two against Jazz.
The Utah Jazz hate playing the Lakers at Staples Center, and coming in with a four-game losing streak didn’t make their prospects for a win any better on Tuesday. Behind a balanced attack, the Lakers obliterated the Jazz 120-91, dropping Utah for the 17th straight time in Los Angeles.
The Lakers, coming off an impressive win in Denver on Friday, continued their strong play against the struggling Jazz. They jumped out to a 37-22 lead after one quarter, and never looked back. The lead ballooned to 66-38 at halftime, and by early in the fourth quarter it had grown to 38. The Lakers finished the game shooting a season-high 62.0% from the floor in their league-leading eighth wire-to-wire victory.
Kobe Bryant scored 21 points to go along with six assists, and got a ton of rest in the blowout, playing just over 26 minutes for the night. He needs just 13 points to pass Hakeem Olajuwon for eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Pau Gasol had 20 points and seven rebounds, Andrew Bynum scored 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Lamar Odom had 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench, including a circus shot jumper from the right baseline as he was fouled, for a three-point play. It was that kind of night for the champs.
The Jazz shot just 41.9% (36-86) from the floor for the game, and the final score certainly didn’t reflect how good the Laker defense was. Utah’s shooting percentage greatly improved when the game was out of reach, and both teams cleared the benches for extended “garbage time.”
To go along with their hot shooting, the Lakers had 34 assists on their 44 baskets, with five players notching at least four assists. In fact, everyone on the team had at least one assist, except for Joe Smith who played just four minutes of the fourth quarter.
Deron Williams led the Jazz with 17 points and eight assists, but didn’t get much help from anyone else. He also turned the ball over five times as the Lakers were aggressive against him on the perimeter. C.J. Miles had 14 points, Paul Milsap scored 11, and Al Jefferson was the only other Jazz player in double-figures with 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Jazz are now 3-19 all-time against the Lakers at Staples Center, including the playoffs. The last time the Jazz won at on the road against the Lakers was New Year’s Day in 2006, 98-94.
The Lakers have also won 12 of their last 15 overall, including three of four against Western Conference playoff teams. They’re now sitting at 33-13, 5.5 games behind the conference-leading Spurs. They also have the NBA’s third best record behind San Antonio (38-7) and Boston (33-10).
The Lakers’ next game is Friday night against the last place Sacramento Kings, who they have beaten 14 of the last 16 times the teams have faced each other, including two easy wins this season. The Lakers will look to avoid a letdown before Sunday’s huge match up against the Boston Celtics at Staples Center. That game will be the first between two teams since the Lakers 83-79 win in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last June.
Kobe Moves Up Scoring List, Lakers Beat Hornets
01.08.11
Kobe Bryant takes shot against Hornets.
Kobe Bryant moved up to 9th place on the NBA’s scoring list, passing Oscar Robertson, as the Lakers made enough plays down the stretch to hold off the New Orleans Hornets 101-97 on Friday at Staples Center.
Bryant scored a game-high 25 points, putting him at 26,720 for his career. He surpassed the Big O’s mark of 27,210 with a short jumper inside the paint with just over one minute left in third quarter. He already passed Dominique Wilkins to put himself inside the top 10 earlier in the week against the Detroit Pistons.
The game was close all night, as the Lakers had a 10-point lead momentarily in the fourth quarter, but never had a double-digit otherwise. They led at halftime 51-46, but the Hornets came out strong defensively early in the third quarter, and took a brief 62-61 lead with about four minutes left in the period.
The Lakers responded and got the lead back up to seven at 80-73 to start the fourth quarter. After Lamar Odom hit a three-pointer to make it 87-77 with just under eight minutes left, the Hornets responded with six straight points, but could never get closer than three. Bryant then hit two baskets in the final two minutes, and the Lakers were able to make enough free throws down the stretch for the win.
Pau Gasol rebounded from a sub-par game in Phoenix on Wednesday, to score 21 points, grab 13 rebounds, and dish out seven assists, hitting 6-8 from the floor. Lamar Odom, playing with a sore left shoulder, didn’t appear to be bothered by the injury, scoring 17 points, to go along with 13 rebounds. Andrew Bynum chipped in with 17 points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots, as the Lakers dominated the scoring in the paint.
The Lakers, who shot over 60% in the first half from the field, finished the game at 50.6% (39-77), and 5-12 from beyond the arc. They also limited their turnovers, which has plagued them recently. On Friday, they had just 11 to the Hornets’ 12. The Lakers held New Orleans to 43.4% (33-76) shooting from the floor, although the Hornets did hit 8-19 from the three point line.
Everything wasn’t all rosy though for the world champs, as Matt Barnes sprained his knee early in the first half. And while he did score a basket and continue to play a little longer, he did eventually leave the game, and an MRI is scheduled tomorrow to assess the severity of the injury.
Also, early in the fourth quarter, Steve Blake turned an ankle when he landed on Andrew Bynum’s foot. Blake left the court, had his ankle wrapped, and did return to the bench in uniform.
The Hornets were led by David West’s 23 points and 12 rebounds. Trevor Ariza and Marco Belinelli both scored 17 points, and Emeka Okafor had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Chris Paul took just six shots, scoring 12 points, but he did have a game-high 10 assists.
The Lakers’ next game is against Amar’e Stoudemire and the much-improved New York Knicks at Staples Center on Sunday. This will be the first meeting between the new-look Knicks and the Lakers this season. The Knicks knocked off Stoudemire’s old team, the Phoenix Suns, on Friday easily 121-96.
Bynumite! Andrew Bynum Returns; Lakers Cruise Past Wizards
12.14.10
Andrew Bynum back in action against Wizards.
There were two welcome sights for Lakers’ fans on Tuesday night in the nation’s capital. One was seeing center Andrew Bynum on the court for the first time this season, and the other was watching the Lakers get an easy win over an inferior opponent.
With Andrew Bynum contributing seven points, four rebounds, and two blocks in 17 minutes off the bench, the Lakers rolled over the injury-depleted Washington Wizards 103-89 at the Verizon Center, in game that really wasn’t as close as the final score.
Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 24 points in less than 24 minutes, and unleashed a barrage of three-pointers on the hometown Wizards in the third quarter, that pushed a 10-point Laker lead to 20, and the champs never looked back. Bryant hit three long-range shots after inexplicably missing three straight free throws when he was fouled beyond the arc.
Lamar Odom stayed in his starting role despite the return of Bynum, and scored 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds, making six of his eight shots. Pau Gasol, maybe happier than anyone to see Bynum back on the court, scored 16 points, with nine rebounds, and seven assists, in less than 31 minutes on the night.
Shannon Brown scored 16 off the bench, and Ron Artest had a solid night with 10 points on 4-8 from the field.
Bynum generally looked good out on the floor, wearing a big brace and black wrap to protect his surgically-repaired right knee. He struggled a bit with his shot, hitting just 1-5 from the floor, and couldn’t get enough lift to finish an alley-oop dunk, but did run the floor well for a player missing the first 24 games, and all of the preseason.
The Wizards played without rookie star guard John Wall and center Andray Blatche, and had predictable struggles all night. While they did manage to keep the game within 10-12 points until the middle of the third quarter, they shot just 40.7% from the field, and only 3-19 (15.8%) from the three-point line, which made an uphill battle even tougher.
Nick Young, who always seems to play well against his hometown teams, scored 21 points off the bench, but needed 21 shots to do it. Javale McGee had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Gilbert Arenas had 11 points and 11 assists, but shot just 5-15 from the floor, and 1-7 from beyond the arc. The Wizards have now dropped nine straight to the Lakers.
It was the first easy win the Lakers have had on this seven-game road trip. And with the second game of a back-to-back tomorrow in Indiana, the starters certainly must have appreciated the extended rest that accompanied Tuesday’s victory. Tomorow night, the Pacers may be without All-Star forward Danny Granger, who is nursing a bad ankle.
More help for the Lakers up front may be on the way, as sources have said a three-team trade has been agreed to in principle, that would send veteran forward Joe Smith to the Lakers from the New Jersey Nets, in return for guard Sasha Vujacic. That deal, however, cannot be announced until tomorrow.
Lakers Bounce Back, Topple the Bucks
11.16.10
Matt Barnes throws it down against Bucks.
The Lakers made sure their losing streak ended at two, as they came back strong in the second half and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 118-107 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.
Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and had three assists in a solid all-around performance. But it was really the play of Shannon Brown off the bench that propelled the Lakers to victory. Brown scored 16 of his 21 points in the decisive fourth quarter, including 4-5 from behind the 3-point line, helping the Lakers erase a 59-57 halftime deficit.
Pau Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Lamar Odom added 13 points and 7 boards, as the Lakers rebounded from Sunday night’s shocking loss at home to the Suns at home where they allowed 22 3-pointers. On this night, they held the Bucks to 46.1% from the field, and just 9-24 from beyond the arc (37.5%).
The Bucks were hot early though, hitting 8-13 from the 3-point line, and taking a back-and-forth battle to the locker room with a lead. The Lakers turned up the defense in the second half, holding the Bucks to 22 points in the third quarter and taking a 90-81 lead into the final period. They Bucks never got closer than seven after that.
The Lakers shot the ball well in all facets on Tuesday, hitting 53.8% from the field, 82.8% from the foul line, and a season-high 10-16 (62.5%) from the 3-point line.
Los Angeles-born Brandon Jennings led the home team with 31 points and 6 assists. Drew Gooden had a superb game with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Andrew Bogut, still struggling with his shooting elbow, scored 12, and grabbed 18 rebounds (9 offensive), but hit just 2-10 from the free throw line.
The Lakers play the second game on this three-game trip tomorrow night in Detroit against the struggling Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Lakers have beaten the Pistons the last two years at the Palace, after dropping six straight there.
Link: Lakers @ Bucks Box Score
What’s Up, Doc?
09.03.10
I used to respect Doc Rivers. He had a solid NBA playing career. He coached a championship team. Then he started saying Laker starting five haven’t beaten Celtic starting five. And I’m thinking we’ve got some revisionist history going on here. First of all, Kobe & Bynum, two of the five starting Lakers. had surgery in the off-season. So I wouldn’t exactly call them healthy for the playoffs. In addition, injuries are part of the game. When the Celtics beat the Lakers in the 2008 Finals, I didn’t go around saying the Lakers would have won if Bynum had played and Ariza had been healthier. Nor do I recall hearing anyone in the Laker organization making 
excuses. You play the 5 best players you can and you live with the results. Does Doc think the Celtics should be declared champions because Kendrick Perkins couldn’t play in one of the seven games played for the finals? (The math here is 3 Celtic losses with Perkins playing + 1 loss with him not playing = Lakers are True Champions)
Let’s review some NBA history.
In 2004, Karl Malone was the starting power forward for the Lakers, and he was injured prior to the finals match-up against the Detroit Pistons. Now as the Lakers lost in 5 games, I don’t believe they necessarily would have won had the Mailman been uninjured. I think the Lakers were highly dysfunctional that season, Shaq’s last as a Laker. But this is another example of a team losing with one started being hobbled. When the Lakers lost to the Pistons 15 years earlier in 1989, they had entered the finals undefeated before being swept. Now when your starting backcourt goes down with hamstring injuries, that’s gonna affect team play. And when one of those players is Magic Johnson – well, nuff said. But just as you can have injuries (or calls) work against you, sometimes it’s the other team that has misfortune. Such as the Celtics in 2010 or the Pistons in 1988, when Isaiah Thomas played on a sprained ankle. Even a couple of years earlier than that, I seem to remember Larry Bird suffering from some back problems.
So my point is that it balances out – some seasons your team is healthy and other years it’s the opposing team that’s in better shape.
It all has to do with how you respond to adversity. To the 2010 Celtics credit, they managed to build a 13 point lead on the road in game 7. They just couldn’t close it out. Thirty years ago, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, starting center for the Lakers, sprained his ankle in game 5. The Lakers next game was in Philadelphia, but the team didn’t get down. Magic Johnson came onto center court, jumped as center, and played perhaps the greatest game of his career (OK, it was his greatest game). Which is really how you always want you team to respond to a teammates injury, by pulling together and playing a little harder. I’m just surprised Doc doesn’t blame the refs, the commissioner or the weather for losing as well. What’s up, Doc? I’ll tell you what’s up. My blood pressure, from listening to you whine and make excuses about not winning. Here’s a challenge for you – make it to the finals this year and show everyone the Celtics weren’t just another one and done team.
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