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Kobe Has Triple-Double as Lakers Down Kings
11.03.10
Kobe Bryant had 17th career triple-double against Kings.
Kobe Bryant has always made it a habit of playing well against the Sacramento Kings during his career. He didn’t disappoint Wednesday, collecting his 17th career triple-double as the Lakers beat the Kings 112-100 at Arco Arena.
Bryant came out focused from the start, aggressive on the offensive and defensive ends. He forced Tyreke Evans into early foul trouble, and was able to take advantage of smaller defenders as he picked the Kings’ defense apart for 30 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. It was Bryant’s first triple-double since January 21, 2009 against the Clippers.
Pau Gasol had another good night with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks, taking advantage of rookie DeMarcus Cousins in the post all night, and forcing him into five fouls. Lamar Odom continued to play inspired ball to the start the season, scoring 18 points on 8-12 from the field, with eight rebounds. He also shook off jamming the thumb on his shooting hand in the third quarter. Ron Artest had his best game of the new season, scoring 17 points on 7-11 from the floor, and 3-4 from beyond the arc.
The Lakers led 62-53 at halftime, and pushed the lead to 20 midway through the third at 82-62. The Kings rallied and got as close as 98-92 halfway through the fourth, before Derek Fisher scored seven straight points to put the Lakers comfortably ahead for good 105-92. Fisher finished the night with 11 points.
It was a well-played, hard-fought game throughout as the teams combined for only 14 turnovers. The Lakers had turned the ball over 39 times their previous two games, but only had 6 giveaways against the Kings. The Lakers again were strong from the 3-point line, hitting 11-21 (52.4%).
Tyreke Evans led the Kings with 21 points, despite being in foul trouble, shooting 10-17 from the floor. Carl Landry and Beno Udrih had 17 points, and Francisco Garcia also poured in 17 off the bench for the Kings, who had gotten off to a surprising 3-1 start.
The Lakers have started the season 5-0 for the seventh time in franchise history. Their next game is Friday night at home against the Toronto Raptors, who were pasted in Utah on Wednesday 125-108.
Link: Lakers @ Kings Box Score
Lakers Run Over Grizzlies 124-105
11.02.10
Pau Gasol dunks over Hasheem Thabeet of Memphis.
It was another short night for the starters, as the Lakers dominated from start to finish, and dispatched the Memphis Grizzlies 124-105 at Staples Center on Tuesday night.
For the second straight game, the Lakers bench saw extensive action as the contest was blowout by early in the second quarter. Kobe Bryant scored all of his team-high 23 points in the first half, and played just 25 minutes.
In the battle of the Gasol brothers, Pau, coming off his Western Conference Player-of-the-Week award, easily won this match-up scoring 21 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing out five assists. Marc managed 11 points and eight rebounds, but was a non-factor most of the night as the game got out of hand early.
The Lakers led 34-23 after one, and turned up the offense in the second quarter, led by Bryant’s 14 points in the period, to take a 73-46 lead into halftime. The Grizzlies never got closer than 14 points in the second half, and the Laker reserves maintained the cushion throughout, even briefly pushing the lead up to 32. Matt Barnes led three Lakers in double-figures off the bench with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Shannon Brown scored 13, including 3-3 from the 3-point line, and Steve Blake added 10. The Lakers’ bench outscored the Grizzlies’ 50-30.
Lamar Odom scored 17 on 6-7 shooting, including eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal. Odom is averaging over 16 points and 12 rebounds to start the season.
Memphis was led by Rudy Gay’s 30 points, 12-18 from the field, and 3-3 from behind the arc. Mike Conley had 16 points and eight assists after signing a 5-year/$45 million extension earlier in the day. O.J. Mayo struggled from the floor scoring only eight points, on 3-11 shooting. He also had his troubles with Bryant on the offensive end, which has been a familiar story for the third-year pro when he has played against the Lakers.
All-Star forward Zach Randolph again sat out for the Grizzlies with a sore back injured on opening night. Memphis definitely missed his presence offensively and on the glass, as they were outrebounded 59-36.
The Lakers shot 51.2% from the field, and 14-23 (60.9%) from the 3-point line for the game, but again turned the ball over far too many times with 19. They had 20 turnovers two nights earlier in a blowout win against Golden St.
The Lakers play their first back-to-back games of the season as they take on the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento tomorrow night. The Kings are playing well at 3-1, and are coming off a win over Toronto, where they rallied from a 17-point first quarter deficit on Monday at home.
Lakers Pound Warriors to Stay Perfect
11.01.10
Kobe Bryant scores two of his 20 points against Warriors.
It’s not even November yet, so it’s hard to make much of a 3-0 record, but the Lakers have started the season playing solid basketball, as they pounded the Golden St. Warriors 107-83 at Staples Center on Sunday night.
The game, played on Halloween night, must have felt like a nightmare for the Warriors who continue to struggle against the Lakers, losing 10 straight regular season contests. The world champs dominated inside all night as they outrebounded the Warriors 55-42, and held the boys from the Bay Area to under 41% shooting from the field. The Lakers led 34-14 after one quarter, and the Warriors never recovered, trailing by as much as 32 in the fourth.
Pau Gasol continued his strong start to the season with another double-double, leading everyone with 26 and 12 rebounds in under 35 minutes. Kobe Bryant, who told reporters after the game that his knee was 100%, scored 20 points and grabbed seven boards, and got most of the night off in the blowout. He played just 27 minutes. Lamar Odom had another big game with 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Derek Fisher had a season-high 14 points.
Golden St.’s big offseason acquisition David Lee, was held scoreless in 19 minutes and grabbed just three rebounds, as the Lakers made it a point to keep him off the glass. Monta Ellis led the visitors with 20 points, but struggled to find his rhythm as he was swarmed on defense all night. Dorell Wright had a solid game with 18 points and five rebounds. The Warriors played without guard Stephen Curry who is nursing a sore ankle.
The only real negative to the evening were the 20 turnovers the Lakers committed, which Phil Jackson saw as an area of concern that will need to be addressed.
The Lakers even found minutes for their two rookies, with both Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter scoring the first four points of their NBA careers during “garbage time” in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers’ next game will be Tuesday night at home against the Memphis Grizzlies, who have been without forward Zach Randolph since he took a hard fall and injured his back on opening night.
Lakers Take Care of Business in Phoenix
10.30.10
Lamar Odom drives to basket against Suns.
The Lakers returned to Phoenix for the first time since dispatching the Suns in the Western Conference Finals last May, and took a win back to Los Angeles 114-106, behind a strong game from Lamar Odom.
Odom, starting in place of the injured Andrew Bynum, scored 18 points and dominated the glass with 17 rebounds. He also had five assists and hit 8-12 from the field. All the throughout the game, it was obvious how much the lack of size hurt the Suns on the boards, especially with the loss of Amare Stoudemire who is now playing in New York. The Lakers were able to take advantage of the size mismatches all night, and the sharp-shooting Suns managed to hit only 9-24 from the 3-point line.
Kobe Bryant had a solid game with 25 points on 9-19 from the field. He also added seven rebounds and needed to play only 34 minutes, getting more rest for his surgically-repaired knee which is still not 100% yet. Pau Gasol had 21 points, eight assists, nine rebounds, and two blocks, Ron Artest added 14 points and three steals, and Matt Barnes chipped in with 11 points off the bench, including 3-4 from behind the arc.
The Suns were led by Grant Hill’s 21 points, and Robin Lopez had a solid 18 points and 14 rebounds. Steve Nash struggled all night, hitting only 3-9 from the field, for eight points in 29 minutes. He did have nine assists. Goran Dragic had 15 points off the bench to go with four assists.
The game was tight early as the Suns gave a valiant effort to keep it close, and trailed only 57-50 at halftime. The Lakers stretched the the lead from 8-10 points several times in the second half, but never could put away the Suns, who managed to tie the game at 76 late in the third quarter. The Lakers pulled away early in the fourth quarter and the Suns never were never able to get to any closer than six points down the stretch.
The win moved the Lakers to 2-0 on the new season, the Suns fell to 1-2, losing their home opener after winning handily in Utah last night. The Lakers next game is Halloween night on Sunday against Golden St. at Staples Center. Golden St. may be without star second-year guard Stephen Curry, as he left the game on Friday against the Clippers after re-aggravating an ankle injury.
Link: Lakers @ Suns Box Score
Lakers Receive Rings, Bench Brings Home Win
10.27.10
Kobe Bryant hits jump shot against Rockets.
On a night where the Lakers of 2009-10 received their championship rings, it was a new Laker for 2010-11 who hit the biggest shot of the game, as the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 112-110 at Staples Center on Tuesday night to open the NBA season.
Steve Blake hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.8 seconds left on a pass from Kobe Bryant, and the Lakers, who seemed sluggish all night until late in the third quarter, escaped with the win. Blake in his Laker debut finished with 10 points on 3-5 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc.
Shannon Brown also had an inspired game off the bench, as he poured in 16 points, including 4-5 from the 3-point line, and showed his much-improved outside shooting. He also had four steals, and was a key catalyst as the Lakers rallied from a 15-point deficit to take the lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers were able to surprisingly get back in the game with Kobe Bryant resting, as the bench took over in the third and fourth quarters. Blake and Brown each hit three 3-pointers in the final two periods, part of a big run that turned the tide.
Kobe Bryant had 27 points and seven assists, as he continues to work his way back from off-season knee surgery. Pau Gasol led everybody in the game with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Lamar Odom added 14 points and 10 rebounds in a starting role for Andrew Bynum, as the center continues to rehab his knee.
Early on the Rockets seemed determined to spoil the Lakers special night, as they shot over 50% from the field in the first half and led 62-51 at the break. They held a double-digit lead until the final moments of the third quarter, when Steve Blake hit back-to-back threes to draw the Lakers to within five. The Rockets would fall behind by as much as eight in the final quarter, but managed to pull ahead 110-109 on a Luis Scola layup with just under 30 seconds left.
Bryant then drove to the rim taking defenders with him, and passed out to Blake, who hit a 3-pointer from out front that put the Lakers ahead for good. The Rockets had two chances at the end to tie or win the game, but were unable to get good looks at the basket.
The Lakers next game is Friday night in Phoenix, where they will face an Amar’e-less Suns team for the first time.
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