Game #32 – December 21, 2018
	112	-	104
Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Kuzma 23, James 22, Ingram 18

Rebounds – James 12, Zubac 11, Ingram 7

Assists – James 14, Rondo 9, 2 Players Tied With 2

Team Leaders Pelicans

Points – Davis 30, Randle 21, Holiday 18

Rebounds – Davis 20, Randle 8, Holiday 6

Assists – Holiday 10, Davis 5, Miller 4

Lakers vs. Pelicans – Box Score 12.21.18

Kobe Bryant takes shot against Warriors.

The By The Numbers recap for the Lakers’ 101-77 win over the Golden St. Warriors at Staples Center on Friday night. The Lakers are now 2-4, and next play home to Sacramento on Sunday night.

100
Bernie Bickerstaff’s winning percentage as Laker coach after Friday’s game, good for the best winning percentage in Laker coaching history! Yes we know it’s only one game, we’re only joking.

90
The amount of shots the Lakers took on Friday night, a season high. They only hit 40% of them, but were much more aggressive offensively and had far better spacing at that end of the floor than the first five games. Seems just Mike Brown leaving already led to some better offensive flow.

58
The amount of rebounds the Lakers pulled down Friday. They have now outrebounded every opponent this season by an average of 47-37. Pau Gasol led everyone in the game with 16 boards, four at the offensive end.

54
The amount of points the Lakers scored in the second half Friday, their best second half output this season. They also held the Warriors to under 40 points in both halves.

37
The total points the Lakers’ bench players scored against Golden St., which marked a season-high. Two players scored in double figures…Jordan Hill had 14 and Darius Morris continues to play well off the bench, he scored 10. Hill was also a perfect 5-5 from the field. Golden St.’s bench scored just 23 points and shot a horrid 9-33 (27.3%) from the floor.

34
The Warriors’ field goal percentage on Friday, as the Lakers defense continues to hold teams to dismal shooting from the floor. Golden St. made just 29 of their 86 shots, and were held under 20 points in two of the four quarters.

19
The amount of turnovers Golden St. committed Friday. Finally someone turned the ball over more than the Lakers, who still had 16 miscues themselves.

5
The number of Lakers in double-figures, let by Kobe Bryant’s 27 points on 10-18 shooting from the field and 5-6 from the line. Kobe is averaging 27.2 points, on 56% shooting from the floor, and 91% from the line through the first six games. Not bad for #24 at 34.

Lakers look for two straight on Sunday against Sacramento at Staples Center. See you after the game!

Kobe Bryant forcing his way for a shot against Nuggets.

The Lakers played sloppy, shot the ball poorly, Pau Gasol hurt his knee, and they lost the services of Andrew Bynum late. All of that added up to a disappointing 95-90 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant scored 28 points, but shot just 10-27 from the floor, and was clearly bothered by the Nuggets’ aggressive defense against him, and the lack of foul calls. 

His frustration boiled over and he picked up his 13th technical foul in the second quarter after slamming the court with his hand after a missed shot.  He also missed several shots in the fourth quarter, including a key baseline jumper in the final moments with the game still on the line.

The Lakers also got a huge scare when Gasol went down clutching his knee after taking a hard foul on a made basket in the third quarter.  He briefly went to the locker room, but did return to finish the game.  Team officials have said he will have a precautionary MRI on Monday.   Gasol finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds, but clearly didn’t have the same impact on the game after injuring his knee.

Bynum also left the game Sunday with seven minutes left after tweaking his knee on a collision with Lamar Odom.  He appeared to grab his knee on the bench, but said after the game he was fine and expects to play on Tuesday against Utah.  He scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.

The Lakers led 47-40 at halftime in a very uneven game, with neither team shooting the ball well.  The second half was a grind, the Lakers held the lead late in the third until Denver went on a run, and briefly grabbed the advantage.  The score was tied at 69 at the end of the quarter.

The Lakers opened up a 75-69 lead early in the fourth, but the Nuggets took over from there.  Point guard Raymond Felton scored all 16 of his points in the second half, including several key buckets down the stretch to keep Denver ahead.

With Denver up 91-83, the Lakers scored four straight and had the ball with under a minute left, but Bryant missed a tough baseline shot.  The Nuggets split two free throws to go up 92-87.   Odom, who had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench, hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to bring the Lakers to within two.  After Nene made his first free throw, he missed the second, and Kenyon Martin forced Odom under the basket to grab the putback, which effectively closed the door on the Lakers’ winning streak.

For the game the Lakers shot just 42.9% (36-84) from the floor and 4-18 (22.2%) from beyond the arc.  They outrebounded Denver 45-44, but were undone by the 20 turnovers they committed.  The Nuggets shot just 43.9% (36-82) from the field themselves, and turned the ball over 17 times as well.

Danilo Gallanari led the Nuggets with 22 points and seven rebounds.  Kenyon Martin had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Nene scored 12 to go along with seven boards.

The loss dropped the Lakers 2.5 behind the Spurs for first in the Western Conference with six games left.  The Lakers are now 17-2 since the All-Star break.

The champs’ next game is Tuesday night at Staples Center against the Utah Jazz, who were eliminated from the playoff race on Friday by the Lakers.  After Tuesday’s game, the Lakers go on the road at Golden St. on Wednesday,  and then Portland on Friday.

Link: Lakers vs. Nuggets Box Score

Kobe Bryant puts up a jumper for two against Jazz.

The Utah Jazz hate playing the Lakers at Staples Center, and coming in with a four-game losing streak didn’t make their prospects for a win any better on Tuesday. Behind a balanced attack, the Lakers obliterated the Jazz 120-91, dropping Utah for the 17th straight time in Los Angeles. 

The Lakers, coming off an impressive win in Denver on Friday, continued their strong play against the struggling Jazz.  They jumped out to a 37-22 lead after one quarter, and never looked back.  The lead ballooned to 66-38 at halftime, and by early in the fourth quarter it had grown to 38.  The Lakers finished the game shooting a season-high 62.0% from the floor in their league-leading eighth wire-to-wire victory.

Kobe Bryant scored 21 points to go along with six assists, and got a ton of rest in the blowout, playing just over 26 minutes for the night.  He needs just 13 points to pass Hakeem Olajuwon for eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Pau Gasol had 20 points and seven rebounds, Andrew Bynum scored 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.  Lamar Odom had 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench, including a circus shot jumper from the right baseline as he was fouled, for a three-point play.  It was that kind of night for the champs.

The Jazz shot just 41.9% (36-86) from the floor for the game, and the final score certainly didn’t reflect how good the Laker defense was.  Utah’s shooting percentage greatly improved when the game was out of reach, and both teams cleared the benches for extended “garbage time.”

To go along with their hot shooting, the Lakers had 34 assists on their 44 baskets, with five players notching at least four assists.   In fact, everyone on the team had at least one assist, except for Joe Smith who played just four minutes of the fourth quarter.

Deron Williams led the Jazz with 17 points and eight assists, but didn’t get much help from anyone else.  He also turned the ball over five times as the Lakers were aggressive against him on the perimeter.  C.J. Miles had 14 points, Paul Milsap scored 11, and Al Jefferson was the only other Jazz player in double-figures with 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Jazz are now 3-19 all-time against the Lakers at Staples Center, including the playoffs.  The last time the Jazz won at on the road against the Lakers was New Year’s Day in 2006, 98-94.

The Lakers have also won 12 of their last 15 overall, including three of four against Western Conference playoff teams. They’re now sitting at 33-13, 5.5 games behind the conference-leading Spurs. They also have the NBA’s third best record behind San Antonio (38-7) and Boston (33-10).

The Lakers’ next game is Friday night against the last place Sacramento Kings, who they have beaten 14 of the last 16 times the teams have faced each other, including two easy wins this season.  The Lakers will look to avoid a letdown before Sunday’s huge match up against the Boston Celtics at Staples Center.  That game will be the first between two teams since the Lakers 83-79 win in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last June.

Link: Lakers vs. Jazz Box Score

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

Lamar Odom drives past Shane Battier.

The streak continues…now it’s at four. And it’s not the kind of streak the Lakers were hoping for, it’s a streak of losing. The team’s problems continued Wednesday night in Houston, as the Rockets rallied in the fourth quarter, and beat the Lakers 109-99 at the Toyota Center

The Lakers haven’t lost this many games in a row since April of 2007, when they were a team barely scraping to make the playoffs, not the two-time defending NBA champions. But that’s the reality of the situation right now and certainly nobody in the league is going to feel sorry for them.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 27 points, to go along with four rebounds, four assists, and four steals. But really Lamar Odom had the best night for the Lakers, scoring 25 points on 11-16 from the floor, and grabbing 11 rebounds.

In what has been a familiar theme for the Lakers during this stretch, their defense let them down again when they needed it most. Leading by nine midway through the final quarter 89-80, the Rockets got hot from the three-point line, led by Shane Battier who was the hero late.

Battier scored 11 points in the final 2:30 of the game, including two three-pointers that put the Rockets up 105-99 with under a minute left. Bryant attempted to get the Lakers back in the game with some desperation three-pointers but was unable to connect, and the Rockets made foul shots down the stretch for the win.

Kevin Martin led the Rockets with 22 points, Battier scored 17, including 4-6 from beyond the arc. Luis Scola added 14 points, and 9 rebounds.

Pau Gasol, who again looked tired from all the heavy minutes he has been playing, complained of a tight hamstring in the second half, but did finish out the game for the Lakers. It was a struggle all night for the Spaniard however, as he managed a season-low eight points and nine rebounds in just under 39 minutes.

The lone bright spot for the Lakers on this night was the play of the bench. Matt Barnes was a spark in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter when they Lakers went up by nine. He scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Shannon Brown added 11 points.

The Rockets shot a sizzling 50.6% from the field, and 10-22 (45.5%) from the three-point line. The Lakers, who were over 50% for much of the game, shot just 45.5% from the field and hit only 5-16 (31.3%) of their three-point attempts. The Rockets also played without center Yao Ming, and point guard Aaron Brooks, both recovering from leg injuries.

The Lakers try to get back on track Friday at home against the struggling Sacramento Kings. And with the way thing are going, nothing looks like a sure thing anymore.

Link: Lakers @ Rockets Box Score

Here is a good article on Blake http://www.ocregister.com/articles/steve-257796-blake-deceived.html