Game #21 – January 30, 2021
(15-6)	96	-	95	(10-8)
TD Garden – Boston, MA

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 27, James 21, Harrell 16

Rebounds – Davis 14, James 7, Kuzma 6

Assists – James 7, Schroder 7, 2 Players Tied With 2

Team Leaders Celtics

Points – Tatum 30, Brown 28, Theis 14

Rebounds – Tatum 9, Theis 7, Williams 7

Assists – Smart 7, Walker 4, 2 Players Tied With 3

Lakers @ Celtics – Box Score 01.30.21

Game #11 – January 10, 2021
(8-3)	120	-	102	(3-5)
Toyota Center – Houston, TX

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 27, James 18, Horton-Tucker 17

Rebounds – Harrell 8, Gasol 7, James 7

Assists – James 7, Schroder 7, Caruso 4

Team Leaders Rockets

Points – Wood 23, Harden 20, Wall 14

Rebounds – Wall 10, Harden 6, Tate 6

Assists – Harden 9, Wall 5, Brown 2

Lakers @ Rockets – Box Score 01.10.21

Game #55 – February 23, 2020
	114	-	112
Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 32, James 29, Kuzma 16

Rebounds – Davis 13, James 8, McGee 8

Assists – James 9, Rondo 5, Davis 3

Team Leaders Celtics

Points – Tatum 41, Brown 20, Theis 16

Rebounds – Theis 9, Hayward 8, Smart 7

Assists – Hayward 9, Smart 3, Wanamaker 3

Lakers vs. Celtics – Box Score 02.23.20

Game #36 – January 5, 2020
	106	-	99
Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 24, James 21, Caruso 13

Rebounds – James 14, Davis 11, Howard 9

Assists – James 11, Caruso 3, Rondo 3

Team Leaders Pistons

Points – Rose 28, Mykhailiuk 14, Galloway 13

Rebounds – Drummond 18, Brown Jr. 6, 2 Players Tied With 5

Assists – Brown Jr. 5, Rose 5, Galloway 4

Lakers vs. Pistons – Box Score 01.05.20

Game #19 – November 29, 2019
	125	-	103
Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 26, James 23, Cook 17

Rebounds – Davis 13, McGee 11, Howard 5

Assists – James 11, Rondo 4, 2 Players Tied With 3

Team Leaders Wizards

Points – Beal 18, Hachimura 16, 2 Players Tied With 13

Rebounds – Hachimura 8, Wagner 8, Brown Jr. 7

Assists – Beal 9, McRae 4, 2 Players Tied With 3

Lakers vs. Wizards – Box Score 11.29.19

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 drives to basket against Grizzlies.

In another lackluster effort Sunday night, the Lakers lost for the third time in four games at home, and once again to another non-playoff team in a blowout. This time it was the Memphis Grizzlies who took it to the Lakers 104-85, in a game they led almost the entire way.

The Lakers came out flat from the start, and by the middle of the first quarter found themselves behind by nine points, and they never recovered.  They trailed by the same nine points at halftime, and did actually get to within one point in the third quarter.  But that’s as close as they got to the lead.

Lamar Odom missed two free throws that would have at least tied the game early in the third quarter, the Grizzlies then went on a 19-4 run that buried the Lakers, despite Kobe Bryant scoring 21 of his game-high 28 points in the second half.  It was obvious on this night it was going to take more than Bryant’s heroics to pull out a win, but no one else offered much resistance.

The losses at home are not only alarming because of who the Lakers are losing to, it’s also how they are losing.  They’ve now been blown out by two sub-.500 teams by 19 points, in addition to the 16-point waxing by the Miami Heat on Christmas Day.  The only win in the last four at home was a close 102-98 victory over Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve, a game the Lakers could have easily lost.

Only two other Laker players scored in double figures Sunday.  Shannon Brown had 11 points off the bench, and Pau Gasol had 10 points and eight rebounds.  Andrew Bynum scored nine points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and had five blocks,  but took only eight shots from the floor.

The Lakers actually outshot the Grizzlies from the field, hitting 46.5% (33-71) to 45.6% (41-90), but turned the ball over 20 times, which allowed Memphis to take a staggering, 19 more shots.  That was the difference in the game.  The Lakers were also outrebounded 44-37, but that stat was not nearly as damaging as the turnovers.

Rudy Gay, who missed the team’s loss on Saturday in Utah, scored 27 points on 10-19 from the field.  Zach Randolph scored 21 points to go along with eight rebounds, and O.J. Mayo torched the Lakers off the bench with 15 points.

Bryant also picked up his fifth technical foul in the last six games, as it appears his frustration is growing with more than just the officiating.

The Lakers next game is Tuesday night at home against the woeful Detroit Pistons, whom the Lakers beat easily 103-90 back on November 17th in Detroit.  In that game, Bryant had 33 points and nine rebounds, Gasol had 25 and 12 rebounds, and Odom had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Link: Lakers vs. Grizzlies Box Score

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/31/sports/la-sp-lakers-gasol31-2010jan31