Kobe Bryant takes a jumper against the Mavericks.

There were five ejections and four technical fouls at Staples Center on Thursday night, but nothing could stop the Lakers methodical second half romp over the Dallas Mavericks 110-82, as they won the battle for second place in the Western Conference.

Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 28 points, and Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers moved their record to an NBA-best 16-1 since the All-Star break. They’ve also won eight straight.

In a playoff-like atmosphere, with the Lakers running away in the fourth quarter, the Mavs’ Jason Terry pushed Steve Blake under the basket, sparking a skirmish between the players on the court. 

Matt Barnes, Blake, Terry, and Brendan Haywood were all ejected, with Terry picking up a flagrant-2 foul.  Minutes later, Shannon Brown was ejected after another shoving match that followed a hard foul on Pau Gasol with the game well out of reach.

Neither of the incidents could take away what was a dominating performance by the world champs, who held Dallas to just 31 points in the second half, including closing the game on a 19-2 run. The two teams could face each at some point during the playoffs.

Gasol chipped in with 20 points and six rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 16 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, scoring 11 straight points at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, that turned a 79-70 game into a 90-70 lead.   Ron Artest poured in 13 points.

The Lakers led a tight game 54-51 at halftime, and then slowly started to pull away late in the third quarter.  After Odom’s 11-0 run late in the game, Dallas responded after the first flare up to get to within 91-80.  Bryant was reinserted into the game to restore order, scoring six straight points and the game was never close again.

For the game, the Lakers shot 44.7% (38-85) from the field, and hit 28-39 (71.8%) from the foul line.  They outrebounded the Mavericks 52-47, and committed just seven turnovers.  Dallas shot a woeful 36.1% (30-83) from the floor, and a miserable 6-26 (23.1%) from beyond the arc. They scored just 12 points in the final quarter.

Dirk Nowitski led the visitors with 27 points and 13 rebounds, one of only three Mavs in double figures.  Peja Stojakovic had 13 and J.J. Barea had 10 points off the bench. Before getting tossed from the game, Terry hit just 2-9 shots for five points.  Nowitski was clearly the lone bright spot on this night.

The win put the Lakers 1.5 games ahead of Dallas for second place in the Western Conference, and two games ahead in the loss column.  They also hold the tiebreaker having beaten Dallas 2-1 this season.  They are also only 2.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs for first in the West after Boston’s 107-97 in San Antonio Thursday.

The Lakers play tomorrow night in Utah against the struggling Jazz, having just finished a 7-0 homestand.  They’ll return back to Staples Center for a Sunday for an afternoon game against the surging Denver Nuggets.

Link: Lakers vs. Mavericks 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

Kobe Bryant dishes off for two against Nets.

As the old sports adage goes, “a win is a win,” and that saying would certainly apply to the Lakers’ shaky 99-92 victory over the New Jersey Nets at the Prudential Center on Sunday afternoon.

In a game that was a lot closer than it should have been, the Lakers got a strong performance from Kobe Bryant, who scored a game-high 32 points, to go along with six assists, four rebounds, and four steals.  He also scored 14 points in the decisive fourth quarter when the game was still very much in doubt.

The Lakers led for most of the game, but never could put the Nets away.  It was a 52-42 halftime lead for the Lakers, who then briefly opened up a 12-point lead early in the third quarter.  But the Nets continued to fight back, and by the middle of the fourth, had taken the lead 78-77 after a pair of free throws by Brook Lopez.

With the game tied at 87-87 late in the quarter, the Lakers went on an 8-0 run, topped off by a Pau Gasol three-point play.  That run was enough to finally put the pesky Nets away, and the Lakers got the seven-point victory.  They are now 2-1 on their current seven-game road trip.

Lamar Odom continues to play well in a starting role, scoring 22 points, and grabbing seven boards.  He also scored five key points down the stretch of the game.  Pau Gasol struggled with his shot again, but scored 15 points, to go along with 11 rebounds, and five blocked shots. Gasol is averaging nearly 3.5 blocks in his last five games.

Shooting continues to be an issue for the Lakers during this last 10-game period that has seen them go just 5-5.  On Sunday, they shot only 41.5% from the field, missing a lot of wide open shots during the game.  They did manage to make 7-16 (43.7%) from the three-point line, and 24-29 (82.8%) from the foul line, where they have shined all year.

The Nets, who have now lost seven in a row, shot only 40.4% from the field, and a worse 4-20 (20.0%) from beyond the arc.  They did manage 15 offensive rebounds which helped them stay close in a game few thought they had a chance in.   For the game, the Nets held a small rebounding advantage at 45-42.

Brook Lopez, who has had his struggles at times this year, led the Nets with 25 points and nine rebounds.  Devin Harris had 16 points and 10 assists, and Anthony Morrow had 15 points, but hit just 3-9 from the three-point line.

The Lakers will spend Monday in the nation’s capital meeting with President Barrack Obama, who will congratulate them on their second-straight NBA Championship.

Their next game is Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.  The Wizards, another team struggling at 6-16, have lost eight straight to the Lakers including last week’s 115-108 loss at Staples Center.  The status on Andrew Bynum playing his first game of the year Tuesday is still up in the air.

Link: Lakers @ Nets Box Score

Kobe Bryant slams home two against Bulls.

If the Lakers played the rest of the game Friday like they did at the beginning and the end, they wouldn’t have suffered their fifth loss in their last eight games. But, in yet another lackluster effort, the Lakers fell short to the Bulls at the United Center, 88-84.

The game started well for the world champs, as they jumped out to 13-point lead in the first quarter, and still led 29-20 midway through the second.  But that’s when the wheels came off, as Derrick Rose got hot, and the Bulls went on a 16-3 run to end the half, and take a 36-32 lead into the break.

In the second half, things didn’t get much better.  The Lakers took a couple brief leads early in the third quarter, but couldn’t stop Rose from breaking down the defense inside, and stepping out for three-pointers. Eventually they found themselves down 82-69 with just over three minutes left in the game.

That’s when the Lakers put on a furious rally, and got as close as 83-80 with 48 seconds left after a Derek Fisher three-pointer from the corner.  After Rose split a pair of foul shots to put the Bulls up 86-82, Kobe Bryant was fouled, but he was only able to make 1-2 from the line.  After a Lakers’ foul on the rebound, Ronnie Brewer hit two from the line, and the Bulls had the win.

Bryant led the Lakers with 23 points, but only shot 9-23 from the field, and continues to struggle from the foul line, going 4-6 on Friday.  Bryant did however pass John Havlicek, and move into 11th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 26,398 points.

Pau Gasol did have a solid game with 21 points, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots.   Lamar Odom added 18 points and eight rebounds.

Early on, the Lakers dominated the game inside, with Gasol the recipient of several easy scores inside.  As the night wore on however, the Lakers got away from going inside, starting taking a lot of three-pointers and watched their early double-digit lead slip away quickly.  They hit just 3-13 from beyond the arc for the game.

Derrick Rose led all scorers with 29 points, to go along with nine assists, five rebounds, and several key baskets down the stretch, as the Bulls beat the Lakers for the first time since 2006.  In fact only one member of the current Bulls was on the team when they last beat the Lakers, and that was Luol Deng.

Deng scored 14 points, and Carlos Boozer added 10 points and 11 rebounds.  Boozer didn’t play the first time the two teams met this year in Los Angeles, a 98-91 Lakers’ win.

The Bulls didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, hitting only 41.3% from the field, but made up for it by hitting 8-17 (47.1%) from the three-point line, which proved to be the difference in the game.

In a rather disheartening statistic, the Lakers have now only beaten two teams this season with a winning record, but will play just one more .500 team (Indiana) during the rest of this five-game trip.

The Lakers’ next game is Sunday in New Jersey against the slumping Nets.  Also, the Lakers are hoping to have center Andrew Bynum back for Tuesday’s game in Washington.

Link: Lakers @ Bulls Box Score

Pau Gasol battles down low against Timberwolves.

The Lakers completed a perfect 3-0 road trip, with a 112-95 whitewashing of the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center on Friday night.

It was also a perfect night for Matt Barnes, and not just figuratively.  Off the bench, he led the Lakers with 24 points, and went a perfect 7-7 from the field, including 5-5 from the 3-point line, and 5-5 from the foul line.   And to top it off, he also had seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals.  This was easily Barnes’ best game as a Laker and maybe of his career.

Kobe Bryant had 23 points and eight rebounds, and several highlight plays despite shooting just 8-27 from the field.  Pau Gasol shook off tweaking his ankle early in third quarter, and scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.  Lamar Odom added 11 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

The Lakers didn’t take the Wolves lightly this time like they did in Los Angeles two weeks ago.  They came to play from the start, led 51-41 at halftime, and by as much as 23 in the fourth quarter. They emptied the bench and cruised to the victory to finish up an undefeated road trip, with all three wins by at least 11 points.

The Lakers also made a concerted effort to shut down the league’s leading rebounder Kevin Love, as he didn’t score in the game and grabbed just seven rebounds in 34 minutes of action.  Love victimized the Lakers last time for 23 points and 24 rebounds, and recently had a 30/30 game against the New York Knicks.  But on this night, he was completely taken out of the game by Lamar Odom.

Minnesota did have a couple of bright spots though.  Darko Milicic scored 23 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and had six blocks, in what was arguably the best game of his career.  And Michael Beasley continues his resurgence up north, scoring 25 points and notching 10 rebounds.

The Lakers did get a scare when Shannon Brown was poked in the right eye early in the fourth quarter on a layup attempt.  He stayed in the game to shoot free throws, but was having a hard time seeing out of the eye, and went to the locker room to be checked out.  He did return to the game and played several minutes, as it appeared the injury was not that serious.

The Lakers also did a good job on the defensive end, holding the Wolves under 40% (39.6%) from the field, and just 6-26 (23.1%) from the 3-point line.    They also had 10 steals and eight blocked shots.

The team returns home for a Sunday contest against Monta Ellis and the Golden St. Warriors at Staples Center. The Lakers beat the Warriors 107-83 back on Halloween night at Staples, as the team from the Bay Area played without guard Stephen Curry.  This time they will be without All-Star forward David Lee, who is recovering from an infected elbow suffered in a game last week against the New York Knicks.

Link: Lakers @ Timberwolves Box Score