Andrew Bynum blocks Kevin Love's shot.

The Lakers have won 11 of 12 games since the All-Star break, but Friday night’s win against the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves may have been the toughest victory of the bunch. 

The Lakers overcame Kobe Bryant’s struggles with his sore ankle, and Andrew Bynum’s fourth quarter ejection to beat the Wolves 106-98 at Staples Center.

Pau Gasol scored 25 points and four blocks on 12-17 from the field, as the Lakers battled back from an early 10-point deficit.  Bryant struggled with his shot most of the night but did finish with 18 points, five assists, and four rebounds.  Bynum had 10 points and 14 rebounds before he was tossed in the fourth quarter after a Flagrant 2 foul call on Michael Beasley.

Bynum, who again was dominant on the defensive end again, struggled a bit offensively and was clearly frustrated late in the game after missing a dunk and committing an offensive foul.

As Beasley drove to the rim, Bynum jumped up and threw out his hip and elbow into Beasley who went crashing to the floor, but did get up angrily very quickly.  Bynum was ejected after officials checked the replay.  Beasley made both foul shots, but left the game moments later with a sore hip. At the time the Wolves still held the lead.

Bryant who scored just six points in the first half, scored 12 in the second half, and hit some crucial jump shots late to get the Lakers back out in front.  He didn’t start the second half, as it appeared he was getting extra work done on his sprained ankle during halftime.  Shannon Brown started the third quarter and finished with 14 points off the bench.

With the Wolves clinging to an 89-88 lead, the Lakers went on a 12-6 run, highlighted by a Lamar Odom three-pointer with just over 1:30 left in the game that put the Lakers up by their biggest margin of the night 100-94.   Minnesota could get no closer than five in the final minute as the Lakers extended their winning streak over the Timberwolves to 15 games.  The Wolves haven’t beaten the Lakers since March of 2007.

For the game, the Lakers shot 47.6% (40-84) from the field, including 8-19 (42.1%) from beyond the arc.  They held Minnesota to 44.3% (39-88) from the floor and just 7-21 (33.3%) from long range.  The Wolves did win the rebound battle 45-44, but actually held a double-digit rebound lead early in the game.

Wesley Johnson led all scorers with 29 points on 11-21 from the floor for Minnesota.  Michael Beasley had 18 points and seven rebounds before he left the game, and Kevin Love tallied another double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

The win put the Lakers in sole position of second place in the Western Conference at 49-20, one full game ahead of Dallas, who lost to San Antonio 97-91 on Friday.

The world champs continue their seven-game homestand on Sunday night against the surging Portland Trail Blazers.  Los Angeles has beaten Portland twice already this season.  They could however be without the services of Bynum, who may face a league suspension for his flagrant foul on Beasley.  That could pose a problem against the suddenly very big and healthy Trail Blazer team.

Link: Lakers vs. Timberwolves Box Score

Andrew Bynum rises up for dunk against Knicks.

The Lakers got tough on Sunday night, and played a very physical brand of basketball against the upstart New York Knicks, winning going away 109-87 at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant scored 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds, as the Lakers held the high-scoring Knicks to just 87 points on 36.0% shooting from the floor.

The Lakers big front line pushed the Knicks around all game long, and dominated on the boards 61-42, including 17 offensive rebounds.  The game also had its share of chippiness, as the Lakers were assessed four technical fouls and a flagrant foul.

Andrew Bynum scored 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a strong effort against Amare Stoudemire, but was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter with two technical fouls for arguing a call against him.  It was a game loaded with emotion and hard fouls.

Ron Artest was hit with a technical early in the first quarter as it appeared he put his hands near the throat of the Knicks’ Shawne Williams.   He then picked up a flagrant foul for dropping Stoudemire with a clothesline on his way to the basket in the third quarter.  Bryant and Stoudemire also got into a heated argument moments later.

The Lakers led virtually the entire game, although the Knicks kept it close early, thanks to a lot of early Laker turnovers. A late second quarter push gave the champs a 52-47 lead at halftime. 

After the break, the game got rougher, and the Knicks simply could not make shots.   The Lakers led by double-figures for most of the second half.  The Knicks got to within seven early in the fourth quarter on a three-point play by Stoudmire, but could get no closer, as the Lakers won going away by 22.

Pau Gasol also had a dominant game up front, scoring 20 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and blocking four shots.  Shannon Brown had 16 off the bench, and Lamar Odom scored 13 points and a pulled down a season-high 18 rebounds.

For the game, the Lakers didn’t shoot particularly well themselves at only 41.8% (38-91), although they did hit 8-17 from the three-point line, and turned the ball over only 13 times.  After a sloppy start where they turned the ball over five times in the first five minutes, they committed just eight the remainder of the game. Taking care of the ball didn’t allow the Knicks to get into the transition game they desperately needed to in order to beat the bigger Laker squad.

The Knicks were led by Amar’e Stoudemire’s 23 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocked shots.  Stoudemire shot just 7-24 from the floor, and didn’t hit his first basket until the middle of the second quarter.  In fact he scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, but many were after the game was out of reach.

The Lakers played their first game without backup forward Matt Barnes, who is scheduled to have surgery this week to repair a torn meniscus he suffered on Friday against New Orleans.  The Lakers won’t have a timetable for his return after the surgery.

The Lakers have now won four straight, six out of seven, and haven’t lost to the Knicks since February of 2007.

Los Angeles’ next game is Tuesday night at home against the woefully bad Cleveland Cavaliers, who have certainly suffered without LeBron James.  They’ve currently lost 10 in a row after their setback on Sunday in Phoenix, and are sitting with NBA’s worst record at 8-29.

Link: Lakers vs. Knicks Box Score

Kobe Bryant looks to pass against Suns.

The Phoenix Suns hit 22 3-point baskets, one short of the NBA record, as they dropped the Lakers 121-116 at Stapes Center on Sunday. It was the Lakers’ second straight loss after opening the season 8-0.

The Suns led the game for most of the night, behind the hot shooting of Jason Richardson, who scored 35 points with eight rebounds, on 13-20 from the field, including 7-10 from beyond the arc.  

Six different Suns hit 3-pointers as the team shot 22-40 from distance, a whopping 55%. Steve Nash had 21 points and 13 assists, and Channing Frye added 20 (4-9 on 3-pointers) off the bench. Hedo Turkoglu hit 5-7 from the 3-point line for 17 points.

Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 28 points and 17 rebounds and Kobe Bryant nearly had his second triple-double of the season, finishing with 25 points, 14 assists, and 9 rebounds.  Lamar Odom had 22 points and 11 rebounds, but committed a costly technical foul late in the game with the Lakers trailing by two.

The Suns took a 56-53 lead into halftime, and stretched their advantage to 90-76 late in the third quarter with a barrage of long-distance bombs.  Every time the Lakers got close in the fourth, Phoenix had an answer.

The biggest play of the night however was in the final minute. After Lamar Odom drove to the basket for a layup to cut the Suns’ lead to two, he began yelling at the officials for a foul call as well.  With the new tighter rules for technical fouls in place, Odom was whistled for one which the Suns converted to put them back up three at 112-109.  With the momentum gone, the Lakers were unable to rally as the Suns closed out the game for the win.

With two straight losses, the Lakers hit the road for three games this week, starting in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.  The Bucks started off the year slow but have been playing much better as of late, and are back to .500 at 5-5.  Last year’s game in Milwaukee was headlined by Kobe Bryant’s overtime buzzer beater to give the Lakers a 107-106 win.

Link: Lakers vs. Suns Box Score