Kobe Bryant fights to get shot up against Phoenix.

131
The number of times the Lakers have beaten the Phoenix Suns all-time in the regular season. The two teams have played each other 222 times counting Friday. The Lakers have a +.500 regular season winning percentage against every team in the NBA except for the Boston Celtics and amazingly…the Charlotte Bobcats.

114
The amount of points the Lakers scored Friday, their most this season. And they did it while playing a much more up tempo offense which is the hallmark of a Mike D’Antoni-coached team.

92
Kobe Bryant’s free throw percentage through the first nine games. After hitting 10-11 on Friday, he’s now made 56 of his first 61 to start the season. Oh by the way, he’s also shooting 53.1% from the field.

52
The amount of points Metta World Peace has scored in his last three games, including 22 against Phoenix on Friday. He’s also made 11 of his last 26 three-pointers, as his shooting is definitely improving. Good to see.

48
The number of rebounds the Lakers grabbed on Friday, as they continue to dominate their opponents in that category this year. They’re averaging over 47 rebounds a night, nearly 15 at the offensive end. They had 17 offensive boards Friday.

25
Number of assists the Lakers had on Friday, which certainly is a big part of the reason they scored 114 points. Kobe and Darius Morris had 6 apiece to lead the team.

12
The number of turnovers the Lakers had Friday, which was a season-low. Think about the fact that they were playing a more up tempo style, but actually turned the ball over less. That’s a good sign right there.

7
The amount of foul shots Phoenix made on Friday. They actually only attempted 15, which isn’t surprising considering they don’t have a lot of guys that drive to the basket, and they do rely on the outside shot so much. But still interesting. Kobe by himself made 10.

That’s all for tonight, see you Sunday.

The Lakers hire Mike D’Antoni as their new head coach.

From all accounts Phil was just “asking for the moon” and the Lakers were unable to come to an agreement with him.

For the complete story, check it out at ESPNLA.com.
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8622773/mike-dantoni-hired-next-coach-los-angeles-lakers-sources-say

Dwight Howard is fouled as he goes up for a dunk.

The Lakers got huge games from both Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant, but turnovers and bad defense did them in again, as they dropped to 0-2 on the young season, with a 116-106 loss in Portland.

For the second straight night, the Lakers floundered and flailed, and were again unable to mount any real consistent play in dropping yet another game in Portland. In actuality, the Lakers have lost 12 straight games if you go back to last season, and count the preseason contests. To add insult to injury, Steve Nash bumped knees with Blazer rookie Damian Lillard in the first half, and was unable to play more than 1:16 of the second half.

Dwight Howard, however, did bounce back from a very tough first game to score a game-high 33 points, to go along with 14 rebounds, and five assists. He also hit 15-19 from the foul line, a day after shooting just 3-14 against Dallas. Kobe Bryant had 30 points on 10-20 from the field, and Pau Gasol added 16 points and nine rebounds.

Beyond those three though, the Lakers got just 27 points from the rest of the team, with the bench struggling again, scoring just 15 points. Ironically, they actually outscored the Trail Blazer bench 15-13. But the bench play is clearly an issue early on as no player had more than seven points, and forced Mike Brown into playing his starters big minutes again.

The feisty Blazers played very well, led by Nicolas Batum’s 26 points and six rebounds. Rookie Damian Lillard dazzled 23 points and 11 assists, and Wesley Matthews dropped in 22 including 4-6 from the three-point line.

Portland turned a close 62-57 halftime lead into a rout late in the third quarter. After the Lakers had cut the game to 79-76 on a layup by Howard, the Blazers closed the quarter on 13-0 run to blow it wide open. The Lakers were never able to get closer than eight the rest of the way, as they continue to turn the ball over at an alarming rate.

The Lakers did shoot well for the second straight night, hitting 36-72 (50.0%) from the floor, and 26-32 (81.3%) from the foul line, a day after hitting a miserable 12-31. However, Portland shot even better at 42-83 (50.6%) from the field, including 9-20 (45.0%) from beyond the arc. The Lakers won the rebound battle, not surprisingly, 45-30, but did give up way too many second chance points. J.J. Hickson and Batum combined for nine offensive rebounds.

So Friday, the Lakers will try to notch their first win since May, when they take on the Clippers at Staples Center, as the home team. They also may have to do it without Steve Nash, whose status for Friday night’s game is unclear.

Remember to check out our box scores and stats, as we update them nightly right after the game.

Kobe Bryant looks to pass against Thunder.

The Lakers bounced back from their disappointing Sunday afternoon loss to the Clippers, with a solid effort against one of West’s better teams, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-94 at Staples Center on Monday night.

The Lakers haven’t beaten very many good teams this season so far, and were only 5-5 against teams with winning records coming in to Monday’s game.  So a win over a solid Oklahoma City team was important.  It also started a tough stretch for the Lakers, as they also play Dallas, Denver, and Utah in the next week.

Kobe Bryant scored 21 points, including seven in the third quarter when the Lakers seemingly took control of the game.  He hit 7-12 from the floor, to go along with seven assists and five rebounds, but shot just 6-11 from the foul line, and uncharacteristically missed two with the game still relatively close with 30 seconds left.  The misses didn’t cost the team however.

Oklahoma City, riding a 4-game winning streak, played the first half tight with the world champs.  The Lakers were able to make a small run to close out the half and take a 58-55 lead into the locker room.  In the second half, Bryant came out firing and by the middle of the quarter, the Lakers had pushed the lead to 76-61, on the strength of a 14-0 run.

But the Thunder would not go away.  Russell Westbrook was relentless attacking the basket,  Kevin Durant started to make tough shots, and the interior defense started to stiffen as the Thunder got themselves back into the game.    After the teams exchanged blows most of the fourth, Pau Gasol hit two baskets late in the quarter to put the Lakers up 98-88, and they were able to hold on down the stretch despite some shaky foul shooting.

Gasol had 21 points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots, rebounding from his sub-par effort against the Clippers.  Lamar Odom had 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Derek Fisher had a season-high 15 points.

Andrew Bynum had 10 points and 10 rebounds, but found himself in foul trouble again, as Laker guards had a tough time containing Westbrook and his drives to the basket, forcing Bynum to commit several fouls to stop layups.

For the game, the Lakers shot 50.0% (38-76) from the field, and 7-14 from the three-point line, where they have certainly struggled in recent weeks.  The Thunder shot just 42.5% (37-87) from the field, and an absolutely abysmal 2-22 (9.1%) from the three-point line, where they have struggled from all year.  The Lakers won the rebound battle barely 41-40.

Westbrook had a solid game with 32 points and 12 assists, on 12-23 shooting from the floor.  Kevin Durant had 24 points, but was hounded by Ron Artest all night long, and shot just 8-24 from the field, including 1-8 from beyond the arc.  The only other Thunder player in double-figures was Serge Ibaka who scored 11 points.

The win was the Lakers 11th straight at Staples Center over the Thunder, and they’ve now won 10 of their last 12 overall.

Los Angeles’ next game is Wednesday night against the slumping Dallas Mavericks in Dallas.  The Mavs have lost six straight, and have dropped all the way to fifth in the Western Conference standings.  They have been reeling since injuries to Caron Butler and Dirk Nowitski, but do have the big German back in the lineup now after he missed nine games with a knee strain.  Butler is lost for the season.

Link: Lakers vs. Thunder Box Score