Kobe throws in two points on his way to a triple-double.

15,005
The number of points Pau Gasol has scored in the NBA, as he passed the 15,000 point mark on Sunday, making him the 10th foreign-born player to do so. He has scored 6,039 of those points with the Lakers.

116.5
The number of points the Lakers are averaging their last two games after having their first practice with Mike D’Antoni on Thursday.

94
The number of points the Lakers starters scored on Sunday, with all five in double-figures, led by Dwight Howard’s 28 to go along with 13 rebounds and three blocks.

80
Bernie Bickerstaff’s winning percentage as head coach, as he has gone 4-1 since Mike Brown’s dismissal. If Mike D’Antoni sits on the the bench Tuesday, Bernie will go down with the best winning-percentage in Laker coaching history. And if not for the the last 60 seconds against San Antonio he’d be a perfect 5-0.

68
The Lakers first half scoring output, their best of the season. Seems as if the Mike D’Antoni system is really paying dividends on the offense the last two games.

58
The number of rebounds Dwight Howard has pulled down the last four games, 14.5 per night. In the previous four, he’d only grabbed 32, including a season-low of seven against Detroit.

54
The Lakers’ shooting percentage on Sunday, as they blistered the nets all night long. Every Laker starter shot better than 50% from the field, except for Kobe…and guess what he shot…yeah only 50% at 9-18. It was that kind of night.

18
The number of triple-doubles Kobe Bryant has accomplished in his career, and his first since 2010. His line for the night…22 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists…and throw in three steals for good measure.

15
The number of fouls the Lakers committed on Sunday, as they continue to play solid defense without fouling. And eight of their 15 fouls came from two players on Sunday, Kobe and Metta World Peace who each had four.

13
For the second straight game, the Lakers won the turnover battle and committed just 13, with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.08. Great ball movement all night and lots of guys knocking down open shots.

See you after Brooklyn, on Tuesday.

Kobe Bryant looks to shoot against Jazz.

The By The Numbers recap for the Lakers 95-86 loss to the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. The Lakers are now 1-4, and next play home to Golden St. on Friday night.

93
The amount of turnovers the Lakers have committed during the first five games of the season. What’s really sad is they have more turnovers than bench points. Wednesday was the perfect example of this…19 turnovers and 12 bench points. It’s getting to be a scary trend.

89
The percentage of free throws the Jazz made Wednesday. While they only shot 18, they did make 16, including several down the stretch when the Lakers tried to make a game of it…or more correctly, Kobe tried to make a game of it.

49
The number of shots the Lakers missed on Wednesday from the field, for a miserable season-low 33.8% (25-74). Only one player who took more than two shots hit 50% of them…Dwight Howard…going 7-11.

46
One of the more-positive numbers of the night…the number foul shots the Lakers attempted, as they continue to get to the line a lot, courtesy of everyone fouling Dwight Howard. Kobe Bryant hit 15-17 and has made 33-36 (91.7%) to start the season. The negative on Wednesday? They only hit 32 of the 46 attempts.

24
The point differential between the Jazz bench and the Laker bench Wednesday…36-12 was the final tally. No Laker reserve hit more than one basket, although Jordan Hill did have 12 rebounds. Yay for hustle!

17
The percentage the Lakers shot from the three-point line on Wednesday, going an abysmal 4-23. Before Wednesday, the Lakers actually were shooting a very solid 40.6% from beyond the arc. Steve Blake, Kobe Bryant, and Metta World Peace combined to shoot 4-18 from distance though in Utah.

11
The total team assists for the Lakers. Other than Kobe Bryant, no player had more than two, as the team looked completely out of synch offensively all night, and struggled with any consistent ball movement. The game became “stand around and watch Kobe,” which is a terrible habit the team has always had when they find themselves down.

5
The amount of baskets the entire Lakers’ bench made in Utah. Nothing more needs to be said about that. Oh, keep in mind Randy Foye off the Jazz bench had five three-point baskets himself.

Here’s to better luck at home at Staples Center on Friday against Golden St., where the Lakers play their next six games.

Kobe Bryant drives to hoop against Celtics.

Ray Allen may have gotten the biggest cheers for his record-setting night, but Kobe Bryant got the last laugh, as the Lakers rallied from 15 points down to beat the Boston Celtics 92-86 at the TD Garden on Thursday night.

Bryant scored 20 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, including eight in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers avenged a very poor 109-96 loss they suffered against the Celtics two weeks ago at Staples Center.

The game got off to a rocky start for the the champs, as they shot poorly early, and Ray Allen torched them for 12 points in the first quarter, including his 2,561st three-pointer that put him past Reggie Miller as the league’s all-time leader in field goals beyond the arc.  But Allen struggled after the first quarter, as the Lakers worked hard to run him off the three-point line, and he finished the game with 20 points but just 3-8 from deep.

The Lakers trailed 37-22 early in the second quarter, before the bench helped to chip away at the lead led by Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown.  A 10-0 spurt late in the quarter pulled the Lakers to within eight at 53-45 at halftime.

In the second half, the Lakers again had a 10-0 run to start the half, and took their first lead of the game at 61-60.  The teams went back and forth for most of the third quarter, with the Lakers holding a slim 72-68 going into the fourth quarter.

With Bryant on the bench to start the fourth, Lamar Odom hit a three-pointer, Brown followed up a miss with a wild putback to give the Lakers a 77-68 lead.  The Celtics put their starters back in, and got the game to within 82-79, but Bryant hit several crucial baskets down the stretch, including a 12-footer with 54 seconds left that sealed the win.

The win was easily the Lakers’ biggest of the season, as they have struggled both home and away with the league’s elite teams.  The Celtics did play without Shaquille O’Neal again, and lost Nate Robinson early in the game, but did have their four All-Stars.

Pau Gasol rebounded from a poor performance against Boston in the last meeting, to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds.   Andrew Bynum was a force down low on both sides of the ball, scoring 16 points to go along with nine rebounds.  Shannon Brown had 12 off the bench, and Lamar Odom chipped in with 10 points and a game-high 12 boards.

The Lakers managed to shoot a solid 47.9.% (35-73) from the floor, and outrebounded the Celtics 47-36.  Boston, who is the only NBA team that shoots over 50% from the floor, were held to 40.2% (33-82) from the field and just 5-16 (31.3%) from the three-point line.  Los Angeles also had 20 assists in the game, doubling the paltry 10 they had in the first meeting.

Besides Allen’s 20 points, Paul Pierce had 15 points on just 6-15 from the floor, Rajon Rondo had 12 points and 10 assists, and Kevin Garnett added 10 points and 11 rebounds, but hit just 4-13 from the floor.

The Lakers are now 3-0 on their current seven-game road trip, but are in the midst of playing four games in five nights.  They play tomorrow night in New York against the Knicks, for the team’s second and final meeting this season.  The Lakers won the first match up easily 109-87 at Staples Center back on January 9th.  Bryant led the way that night with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.

Link: Lakers @ Celtics Box Score

Pau Gasol slams home two against Cavs.

On a night the Lakers made history, the world champs showed no sympathy for the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers, and humiliated them, 112-57 at Staples Center on Tuesday.

In a season most Cleveland fans and players would like to forget, their loss to the Lakers had to have felt like rock bottom.  The Lakers held the Cavaliers to their lowest point total ever at 57, and in the process sent them to their 11th straight loss, dropping their record to an NBA-worst 8-30.

The Lakers’ win was their third biggest since moving to Los Angeles, and only the third time in their history they beat a team by at least 55 points.   The last time was March 19, 1972, when they pounded the Golden St. Warriors 162-99 at the Forum.  The 57 points were also the fewest the Lakers have allowed in the shot clock era.

Los Angeles had seven players in double figures, led by Ron Artest who had 15 points and six assists.  Andrew Bynum also had 15 points, to go along with six rebounds, and five blocked shots.  Pau Gasol had 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant, who took just three shots in the first half, scored 13, to go along with eight assists, and five rebounds.

The game was never close, as the Lakers jumped out to a 27-12 lead after one, and it only got worse for Cleveland from there.  They led 57-25 at the half with Bryant scoring just two points.  The lead ballooned to 50 early in the third quarter, and to add insult into injury, Shannon Brown hit a half court shot at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 92-41 lead after three.  The Laker reserves also didn’t let up defensively, and grew the lead in the fourth, outscoring the Cavaliers 20-16 in the period.

The Cavs shot just 29.9% (23-77) from the floor for the game, and the Lakers’ bench nearly outscored Cleveland by themselves, with 46 points from the reserves.  They also held the slumping Cavaliers to 1-14 (7.1%) from beyond the arc, and outrebounded them 53-42.

For the game, the Lakers shot 53.5% (46-86) from the field, and 10-20 from the three-point line.  They also only turned the ball over 12 times, compared to 19 for the visitors.

Cleveland had just two players in double figures. Alonzo Gee had 12 points, and Ramon Sessions had 10.  The Cavs starters had just 23 points combined, shooting 8-37 (21.6%) as a group.  Samardo Samuels was 1-12 from the floor, as he was constantly hounded by the bigger Laker frontline.   In fact at one point in the third quarter, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had made as many baskets combined as the entire Cavs team had.

The Lakers win was their fifth straight, as they continue to play solid basketball at the defensive end.  They’re now allowing just under 96 points per game for the season after Tuesday night’s defensive clinic.

The champs will play tomorrow night in Oakland against the Warriors, in the second game of a back-to-back.  The Warriors have been blown out twice at Staples Center, once by 24, and the other game by 28.  This will be the teams’ first meeting in the Bay Area this season.    The Warriors have been playing better ball lately, they’ve won six of their last 10 games.

Link: Lakers vs. Cavaliers Box Score

When reading about Matt Barnes, you often find the terms “defense”, “toughness”, and “outside shooting”.  He describes himself as a football player playing basketball.  After playing at UCLA, he was drafted by Memphis in a pick from Orlando, then his rights were traded to Cleveland.  I don’t find that at all confusing.  Really.  The Lakers will be his 8th team in his 8th season in the pros.  This 6’7″ 30 year old small forward will primarily serve as back-up to Ron Artest, although he could also get some spot minutes at shooting guard.  Like the signing of Theo Ratliff, Matt Barnes will be able to provide some defense off the bench.  Barnes averaged 9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 81 games last year.  He was arrested September 8th on charges of felony domestic violence and for preventing his fiancee Gloria Govan from talking to 911 operators.  He posted a $50,000 bail and was released.  Govan made a statement a few days after his arrest saying that the charges are false.  Sacramento County prosecutors will decide October 18 whether they will press charges.  It is possible that the league or team may decide to suspend him for a couple of games, even if no charges are filed.  Although that would make me question the presumption of innocence that is supposedly the foundation of our legal system.  Fortunately, the Lakers have experience dealing with legal troubles during the season, and should be able to maintain focus.  And small forward is a position where the Lakers have depth.  Barnes said all the right things in his press conference, that he was happy to be with the Lakers and it was a dream come true.  He is hungry for a championship and will contribute coming off the bench in whatever capacity the team says is necessary.  Having veterans on the time still looking for their first ring is a good safeguard against complacency setting in.  I consider this free agent acquisition a major upgrade, and one of the reasons the bench is much better than it was last season.  Lakers Three-Peat!

Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 24 points, but shot only 8-23 from the field. That was no matter, as the Lakers’ bench piled up 43 points and were led by Lamar Odom‘s 13 points, Jordan Farmar‘s 11, and Trevor Ariza‘s 10.

The Lakers led 50-44 at the half, but turned up the defensive intensity in the second half. They led by as many as 18 points and cruised to the victory. The Suns shot only 44.2% from the floor, and committed 15 turnovers, to the Lakers 7.

Former Laker, Shaquille O’Neal, had a solid game, scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds, but he didn’t get much help. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 21 points, but missed several lay-ups and was mostly relegated to being a spot-up jump shooter.

There were few remnants of the Suns’ former quick-strike offense, as new coach Terry Porter has insisted the team pound the ball into Shaq first. As a result, Steve Nash, who looks very pedestrian in this new offense, scored just 8 points, none until the middle of third quarter.

The Lakers play host to Denver on Friday, as part of a back-to-back. It will be the first chance to see the Nuggets with Chauncey Billups running the point.

According to ESPN.com, the contract the Warriors offered would have pushed the Lakers further into the luxury tax for being over the salary cap.

Turiaf spent three years as a Laker, his best being this past season where he played in 78 games and averaged 6.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.38 blocks per game off of the bench.

His enthusiasm and energetic play will be missed, but it had became apparent this week that his days with the Lakers were numbered.