Game #71 – August 13, 2020
	122	-	136
HP Field House – Kissimmee, FL

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Waiters 19, James 17, 2 Players Tied With 14

Rebounds – McGee 9, 3 Players Tied With 5

Assists – Dudley 5, Waiters 5, 2 Players Tied With 4

Team Leaders Kings

Points – Hield 28, Bogdanovic 27, Parker 19

Rebounds – Bjelica 8, Parker 8, Bogdanovic 6

Assists – Bjelica 13, Bogdanovic 9, Parker 6

Lakers vs. Kings – Box Score 08.13.20

Game #69 – August 8, 2020
	111	-	116
HP Field House – Kissimmee, FL

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – James 31, Cook 21, Kuzma 11

Rebounds – Howard 12, Davis 8, James 8

Assists – James 7, Caruso 5, Davis 4

Team Leaders Pacers

Points – Warren 39, Brogdon 24, Oladipo 22

Rebounds – Oladipo 7, Sampson 7, A. Holiday 6

Assists – A. Holiday 7, Brogdon 6, Oladipo 5

Lakers @ Pacers – Box Score 08.08.20

Game #67 – August 5, 2020
	86	-	105
HP Field House – Kissimmee, FL

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – James 19, Waiters 14, Kuzma 10

Rebounds – James 11, Davis 8, McGee 6

Assists – Davis 5, James 4, Caruso 3

Team Leaders Thunder

Points – Paul 21, Gallinari 19, Adams 18

Rebounds – Adams 7, Gallinari, 7, Gilgeous-Alexander 7, Paul 7

Assists – Paul 6, Gilgeous-Alexander 5, 2 Players Tied With 2

Lakers vs. Thunder – Box Score 08.05.20

Dwight Howard grabs a rebound against Kings.

18,997
The number of free tacos Jack in the Box will have to give out after the Lakers held yet another opponent under 100 points on Sunday in the win.

143
The number of rebounds Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard have grabbed combined this season. Just looked like a nice number to mention. That is of course over 10 per game, and is sure to improve as Howard gets his legs back. He had his Laker career-high with 18 boards Sunday.

102
To keep in the rebounding mode, the number offensive rebounds the Lakers have grabbed this year through the first seven games. That’s nearly 15 a night…impressive. Jordan Hill grabs 3.5 off the bench alone.

79
The combined number of points the Lakers starting five scored minus Steve Blake scored. Even more impressive was they shot 27-54 (50%) from the floor as well. Dwight Howard led all scorers with 23 points, to go along with his 18 rebounds and three blocks.

60
The percentage of shots the Kings missed on Sunday, hitting only 36-90 from the floor, including a miserable 1-10 from Marcus Thornton. Laker opponents are shooting just 42.4% from the field for the season.

34
The number of minutes it took Jason Thompson to foul out against Dwight Howard. I know that’s a lot minutes, but so what, it’s a fun stat to mention.

22
In one of the poorer stats of the night, the amount of points the Lakers bench scored. They struggled again except for Jordan Hill and Darius Morris, who continue to lead the reserves with solid play. Antawn Jamison had another tough night…no points and only two shot attempts.

11
The number of minutes it took the Kings’ Jimmer Fredette to score 18 points…wow! He went 7-9 from the floor, 3-5 from beyond the arc, and 1-1 from the line. Pretty impressive stat line.

2
The Lakers current winning streak. Hey it’s better than a two-game losing streak.

More numbers after San Antonio on Tuesday!

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 slams home two over Andres Nocioni.

In a game the Lakers never trailed, they also were never able to put away the resilient Philadelphia 76ers, and needed some late points by Kobe Bryant to get a 102-98 win at Staples Center on New Year’s Eve.

Bryant, who was held to a season-low nine points in a win in Philadelphia earlier this month, scored a game-high 33 points, including the tiebreaking jumper with just over 90 seconds left, as the Lakers hung on to get the victory. The win snapped a two-game home losing streak for the Lakers.

The Sixers did have chances to win the game at the end, but UCLA-product Jrue Holiday missed a three-pointer late, and guard Lou Williams followed with the same with four seconds left.  Bryant then hit two free throws to seal the victory.

Pau Gasol had 20 points and eight rebounds, bouncing back from some recent sub-part scoring games.  Lamar Odom had 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Andrew Bynum scored eight points and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds.

The Lakers led the game the entire way, and by as many as 12 at one point, but the young Philadelphia squad kept hanging around.  They trailed 52-44 at halftime, and 82-73 after three quarters, but managed to fight back and tie the game at 98 with just over a minute left.  They never did score again however, as Bryant scored the game’s final four points for the world champs.

For the second straight game, the Lakers shot over 50% from the field, hitting 42-82 (51.2%) against Philadelphia.  The also dominated on the glass, 45-35, including 11 at the offensive end. However, they did only hit 4-14 (28.6%) from beyond the arc, as they continue to struggle from long range in recent games.

The Sixers, who played without Andre Iguodala for the third straight game, were led by Holiday’s 19 points and 11 assists.  Off the bench, Lou Williams scored 18, and Thaddeus Young had 14.  In fact, the 76ers’ bench scored 44 of the team’s 98 points.

The Lakers are in the middle of a three-game homestand that will continue on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies, who have already beaten the Lakers once this season, 98-96 back on November 13th at the FedEx Forum.

The Lakers will play six of their next eight games at home, with only two of the games against teams with winning records (New Orleans and New York).   With the schedule getting increasingly harder in the middle of the month, the Lakers need to take advantage and get wins against the weaker teams to climb back closer to the top spot in the Western Conference.

Link: Lakers vs. 76ers Box Score

Kobe Bryant scores two over Luther Head.

The Lakers’ longest losing streak in 2 1/2 years is over. Back at home on Friday, the Lakers made short work of the Sacramento Kings in their easiest win of the season, 113-80, ending a four-game skid.

The champs came out focused from the start, and played strong defense from the opening tip to the final horn.  They shot 56.6% from the field, and held the Kings to just 40.3%, including 5-16 (31.3%) from the three-point line.  All stats were a vast improvement over what had been happening at both ends of the court during the losing streak.

Kobe Bryant was the game’s leading scorer with 22 points, and got to be a spectator the entire fourth quarter during the Lakers’ largest blow out of the season. He played a little over 26 minutes for the night.

Pau Gasol, playing despite a sore left hamstring, scored 16 points, with five rebounds, five assists, and three blocks in under 27 minutes.  It was also a welcomed, short evening for Gasol, who has logged heavy minutes in recent games as the Lakers continue to try to get by without Andrew Bynum and Theo Ratliff. 

Lamar Odom added 16 points and seven rebounds, and the Lakers’ bench, led by Shannon Brown’s 14 points, outscored the Sacramento bench 52-37.

The Kings kept the game close for most of the first quarter and trailed only 21-16 after the first 12 minutes.  But the Lakers took over from there, leading  52-35 at the break, and by as much as 35 in the fourth quarter en route to the 33-point win.  The 80 points were also a season-low for a Laker opponent.

Jason Thompson led the Kings with 19 points and 10 rebounds, although most of his damage was done when the game was well out of hand in the second half. Tyreke Evans had 15 points, but continues to struggle with his shot, hitting just 5-15 from the field.

A game against the struggling Kings was just what the doctor ordered for the Lakers, as they will head out on a six game road trip beginning next week, and are in desperate need of a positive swing of momentum before the two-week marathon.

The Lakers next game is Tuesday night at Staples Center against another stuggling team, the Washington Wizards, who do boast one of the league’s most-exciting rookies, and the number one pick in the draft, John Wall.

Link: Lakers vs. Kings Box Score

Kobe drives to basket past Deron Williams.

Things were looking in good Utah. Kobe Bryant had scored 14 points over a two-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers had a five-point lead with just over two-minutes left. That’s where the fun ended in Salt Lake City on Friday night.

The Utah Jazz scored the last 11 points of the game, withstanding Bryant’s late scoring barrage, and defeated the Lakers 102-96.  They also trailed the world champs by 19 points early in the game, but erased that deficit to take a 75-72 lead after three quarters.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 31 points, playing just under 34 minutes.  Pau Gasol scored 21 and grabbed 11 rebounds, bouncing back from a sub-par game against Chicago on Tuesday.  Lamar Odom had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

It looked like the game would be a laugher early, as the Lakers led 33-17 after one quarter, and still held a double-digit lead midway through the second.  That’s when the Jazz’ bench, led by Ronnie Price, came in and sparked a rally that got them back in the game before halftime. 

After the break, the game was a dogfight, as the lead changed hand several times, with no team leading by more than five points until the final score. The play of the game turned out to be Bryant losing the ball out front, and Raja Bell scoring an uncontested layup to put the Jazz up 98-96. Ron Artest then missed a wide-open three-pointer, and the Jazz made all their free throws down the stretch for the win.

Deron Williams led the Jazz with 29 points (10-14 from the field), and 12 assists.   Al Jefferson, who hadn’t played on a team that had beaten the Lakers since 2005, scored 20 points, and grabbed eight rebounds.  Paul Milsap had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Jazz, who moved to 12-5 on the season.

It was the second straight poor-shooting game for the Lakers, as they managed to hit just 41.8% from the field, and just 4-15 (26.7%) from the three-point line.  In fact, Steve Blake and Derek Fisher alone combined to shoot 0-6 from beyond the arc.  It was also the Lakers’ second straight game under 100 points, the first time that’s happened all year.

The loss dropped the Lakers to 13-3, and left them still 1/2 game behind San Antonio for first place in the Western Conference.  Their next game is home on Sunday against the Indiana Pacers, who earlier this week knocked off the Miami Heat 93-77 in Miami.  The Lakers head out for a quick two-game road trip after Sunday’s game.

Link: Lakers @ Jazz Box Score

Matt Barnes throws it down against Bucks.

The Lakers made sure their losing streak ended at two, as they came back strong in the second half and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 118-107 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

Kobe Bryant scored 31 points,  grabbed seven rebounds, and had three assists in a solid all-around performance. But it was really the play of Shannon Brown off the bench that propelled the Lakers to victory.   Brown scored 16 of his 21 points in the decisive fourth quarter, including 4-5 from behind the 3-point line, helping the Lakers erase a 59-57 halftime deficit.

Pau Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Lamar Odom added 13 points and 7 boards, as the Lakers rebounded from Sunday night’s shocking loss at home to the Suns at home where they allowed 22 3-pointers.  On this night, they held the Bucks to 46.1% from the field, and just 9-24 from beyond the arc (37.5%).

The Bucks were hot early though, hitting 8-13 from the 3-point line, and taking a back-and-forth battle to the locker room with a lead.  The Lakers turned up the defense in the second half, holding the Bucks to 22 points in the third quarter and taking a 90-81 lead into the final period.  They Bucks never got closer than seven after that.

The Lakers shot the ball well in all facets on Tuesday, hitting 53.8% from the field, 82.8% from the foul line, and a season-high 10-16 (62.5%) from the 3-point line.

Los Angeles-born Brandon Jennings led the home team with 31 points and 6 assists.  Drew Gooden had a superb game with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Andrew Bogut, still struggling with his shooting elbow, scored 12, and grabbed 18 rebounds (9 offensive), but hit just 2-10 from the free throw line.

The Lakers play the second game on this three-game trip tomorrow night in Detroit against the struggling Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills.  The Lakers have beaten the Pistons the last two years at the Palace, after dropping six straight there.

Link: Lakers @ Bucks Box Score

Lamar Odom drives to basket against Suns.

The Lakers returned to Phoenix for the first time since dispatching the Suns in the Western Conference Finals last May, and took a win back to Los Angeles 114-106,  behind a strong game from Lamar Odom.

Odom, starting in place of the injured Andrew Bynum, scored 18 points and dominated the glass with 17 rebounds.  He also had five assists and hit 8-12 from the field.  All the throughout the game, it was obvious how much the lack of size hurt the Suns on the boards, especially with the loss of Amare Stoudemire who is now playing in New York.  The Lakers were able to take advantage of the size mismatches all night, and the sharp-shooting Suns managed to hit only 9-24 from the 3-point line.

Kobe Bryant had a solid game with 25 points on 9-19 from the field. He also added seven rebounds and needed to play only 34 minutes, getting more rest for his surgically-repaired knee which is still not 100% yet.  Pau Gasol had 21 points, eight assists, nine rebounds, and two blocks, Ron Artest added 14 points and three steals, and Matt Barnes chipped in with 11 points off the bench, including 3-4 from behind the arc.

The Suns were led by Grant Hill’s 21 points, and Robin Lopez had a solid 18 points and 14 rebounds.  Steve Nash struggled all night, hitting only 3-9 from the field, for eight points in 29 minutes.  He did have nine assists.   Goran Dragic had 15 points off the bench to go with four assists.

The game was tight early as the Suns gave a valiant effort to keep it close, and trailed only 57-50 at halftime.  The Lakers stretched the the lead from 8-10 points several times in the second half, but never could put away the Suns, who managed to tie the game at 76 late in the third quarter.  The Lakers pulled away early in the fourth quarter and the Suns never were never able to get to any closer than six points down the stretch.

The win moved the Lakers to 2-0 on the new season, the Suns fell to 1-2, losing their home opener after winning handily in Utah last night.  The Lakers next game is Halloween night on Sunday against Golden St. at Staples Center.  Golden St. may be without star second-year guard Stephen Curry, as he left the game on Friday against the Clippers after re-aggravating an ankle injury.

Link: Lakers @ Suns Box Score