For the second straight night, Shaquille O’Neal was a monster on the defensive end. He controlled the defensive glass, blocked shots, and forced the Mavs into several ill-advised shots. He finished the game with 25 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, and three blocked shots.

The Lakers took the lead from opening tip, and getting up by as much 27-11 in the first quarter. They led the game 51-42 at halftime, and Dallas never really seriously challenged the rest of the way.

The Mavs struggled from the floor all game, as the Lakers’ defense held the high-scoring team to 37.4% shooting (37-of-99) from the field. The Lakers shot 44.2% (38-of-86) from the floor and made 31-of-40 (77.5%) from the charity stripe.

Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 32 points. Gary Payton scored 17 and dished out eight assists, and Karl Malone added 11 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.

Steve Nash led Dallas with 30 points and eight assists, and was the recipient of two stitches after being hit in the mouth with a Malone elbow in the third quarter. The Mavs played without leading scorer Dirk Nowitski, who has an inured ankle.

The Lakers have now beaten the Mavericks 46 of the last 51 times the two teams have met. The Lakers current eight-game winning streak is their longest in two seasons.

The Lakers next game is Sunday night at Staples Center against the Utah Jazz.

Link: LakerStats.com Box Score
Link: NBA.com Recap

The Grizzlies dominated the game after the 1st quarter, stretching their lead to 16 after three quarters, and the Lakers got no closer than seven after that.

Memphis shot over 50% from the floor for most of the game, before a 4th quarter slide dropped them to a still respectable 49%. The Lakers again tried to rally with a furious 4th quarter comeback, but simply could net get enough defensive stops to get back in the game.

Shaquille O’Neal led the Lakers with 20 points and 12 rebounds, but only managed to take 14 shots in 41 minutes. Kobe Bryant again struggled for most of the game, hitting only 5-of-15 shots, although he did finish with 19 points, but six turnovers.

Gary Payton, nursing a sore ankle he sprained in practice on Sunday, played only 27 minutes, scoring six points on 3-of-6 from the field. The Lakers bench continues to do nothing aside from Derek Fisher who scored 9 points.

Devean George was one of the few Laker bright spots. He scored 17 points, made 6-of-7 shots, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Lakers only shot 44% from the field for the game.

The Grizzlies were led by Pau Gasol who scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Memphis’ defense played well all night as, they forced the Lakers into 23 turnovers, including a stunning 17 steals.

The Lakers return home for three games starting Wednesday against Toronto at Staples Center. The Lakers finished their road trip with a 2-2 record, and are now riding a two-game losing streak after winning their first five games to start the season.

Bottom line, the Lakers need to play better defense and stop turning the ball over if they expect to win games, especially on the road.

Link: LakerStats.com Box Score
Link: NBA.com Recap

Payton’s commitment ends days of speculation that he would get a sign-and-trade offer with Milwaukee, and play for the Portland Trail Blazers, or even sign with the Miami Heat. In the end however, Payton’s desire to win a championship as a Laker was the deciding factor, according to his agent Aaron Goodwin.

Also according to published reports, Payton may end up signing a multi-year deal with the team.

Payton’s verbal agreement may be a signal that future Hall of Fame free agent forward Karl Malone is close to agreeing to play for the Lakers next season as well. Stay tuned!

News Link: ESPN – “Payton to ‘follow dream’ with Lakers”
News Link: ESPN – “Payton signing may mean another L.A. final”