Read more at ESPN.

Kobe elected to 2020 Hall of Fame class.

Game #47 – January 31, 2020
	119	-	127
Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 37, James 22, Kuzma 17

Rebounds – Davis 15, Kuzma 15, James 8

Assists – James 10, Davis 6, Rondo 5

Team Leaders Trail Blazers

Points – Lillard 48, Whiteside 30, McCollum 19

Rebounds – Whiteside 13, Lillard 9, Swanigan 6

Assists – Lillard 10, McCollum 5, Ariza 3

Lakers vs. Trail Blazers – Box Score 01.31.20

I’ve always used Kobe’s image as part of the avatar for LakerStats on social media, and his picture has always been on the top left of the site, so I won’t have to make any changes to honor him that way on here. All I can say is RIP to all those innocent people who perished, my prayers go out to Vanessa, Kobe’s children, and all the families and friends who lost loved ones. Also best wishes to Laker fans, Kobe fans, and all basketball fans who have been hit hard by this terrible event. Mamba Out…But Never Forgotten!

Game #46 – January 25, 2020
	91	-	108
Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 31, James 29, 2 Players Tied With 7

Rebounds – Davis 7, James 7, 3 Players Tied With 5

Assists – James 8, Rondo 4, Caruso 3

Team Leaders 76ers

Points – Harris 29, Simmons 28, Horford 16

Rebounds – Simmons 10, Milton 9, Harris 8

Assists – Simmons 8, Milton 3, Neto 3

Lakers @ 76ers – Box Score 01.25.20

Kobe throws in two points on his way to a triple-double.

15,005
The number of points Pau Gasol has scored in the NBA, as he passed the 15,000 point mark on Sunday, making him the 10th foreign-born player to do so. He has scored 6,039 of those points with the Lakers.

116.5
The number of points the Lakers are averaging their last two games after having their first practice with Mike D’Antoni on Thursday.

94
The number of points the Lakers starters scored on Sunday, with all five in double-figures, led by Dwight Howard’s 28 to go along with 13 rebounds and three blocks.

80
Bernie Bickerstaff’s winning percentage as head coach, as he has gone 4-1 since Mike Brown’s dismissal. If Mike D’Antoni sits on the the bench Tuesday, Bernie will go down with the best winning-percentage in Laker coaching history. And if not for the the last 60 seconds against San Antonio he’d be a perfect 5-0.

68
The Lakers first half scoring output, their best of the season. Seems as if the Mike D’Antoni system is really paying dividends on the offense the last two games.

58
The number of rebounds Dwight Howard has pulled down the last four games, 14.5 per night. In the previous four, he’d only grabbed 32, including a season-low of seven against Detroit.

54
The Lakers’ shooting percentage on Sunday, as they blistered the nets all night long. Every Laker starter shot better than 50% from the field, except for Kobe…and guess what he shot…yeah only 50% at 9-18. It was that kind of night.

18
The number of triple-doubles Kobe Bryant has accomplished in his career, and his first since 2010. His line for the night…22 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists…and throw in three steals for good measure.

15
The number of fouls the Lakers committed on Sunday, as they continue to play solid defense without fouling. And eight of their 15 fouls came from two players on Sunday, Kobe and Metta World Peace who each had four.

13
For the second straight game, the Lakers won the turnover battle and committed just 13, with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.08. Great ball movement all night and lots of guys knocking down open shots.

See you after Brooklyn, on Tuesday.

If you’re interested in the seeing the team’s career steal leaders, then visit the Steals section on our Team Records page.

Kobe Bryant (Day-To-Day)
Bryant (foot) did not practice Thursday but will play Friday against the Clippers.

Steve Nash ( Day-To-Day)
Nash is officially listed as doubtful for Friday’s contest against the Clippers due to a lower left leg contusion, however Nash remains hopeful he will be able to play.

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

David Brickley, and Kevin Figgers come to The Lakers Nation for another LIVE post-game edition of the Voice of the Nation.

Rundown –

• Lakers-Orlando Post-Game report
• Andrew Bynum speaks on his improved play
• Was the controversy over Kobe’s Miami postgame shooting overblown?
• How did Kobe get Brandy to go to his Prom with him?:
• How does Phil Jackson think Kobe compares to Michael Jordan?
• Around the NBA
• What was Ron Artest doing at 3:30am on Sunday?
• Kendrick Perkins has choice words for Phil, Kobe and Pau
• Theo Ratliff injury update
• and Much MUCH More

Additional Audio –

• AM570 KLAC
• MTV
• ESPN TV
• Artest Media Group

Download Link: Voice of the Nation – Episode #122
Like Us: Facebook

Kobe Bryant drives to hoop against Celtics.

Ray Allen may have gotten the biggest cheers for his record-setting night, but Kobe Bryant got the last laugh, as the Lakers rallied from 15 points down to beat the Boston Celtics 92-86 at the TD Garden on Thursday night.

Bryant scored 20 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, including eight in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers avenged a very poor 109-96 loss they suffered against the Celtics two weeks ago at Staples Center.

The game got off to a rocky start for the the champs, as they shot poorly early, and Ray Allen torched them for 12 points in the first quarter, including his 2,561st three-pointer that put him past Reggie Miller as the league’s all-time leader in field goals beyond the arc.  But Allen struggled after the first quarter, as the Lakers worked hard to run him off the three-point line, and he finished the game with 20 points but just 3-8 from deep.

The Lakers trailed 37-22 early in the second quarter, before the bench helped to chip away at the lead led by Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown.  A 10-0 spurt late in the quarter pulled the Lakers to within eight at 53-45 at halftime.

In the second half, the Lakers again had a 10-0 run to start the half, and took their first lead of the game at 61-60.  The teams went back and forth for most of the third quarter, with the Lakers holding a slim 72-68 going into the fourth quarter.

With Bryant on the bench to start the fourth, Lamar Odom hit a three-pointer, Brown followed up a miss with a wild putback to give the Lakers a 77-68 lead.  The Celtics put their starters back in, and got the game to within 82-79, but Bryant hit several crucial baskets down the stretch, including a 12-footer with 54 seconds left that sealed the win.

The win was easily the Lakers’ biggest of the season, as they have struggled both home and away with the league’s elite teams.  The Celtics did play without Shaquille O’Neal again, and lost Nate Robinson early in the game, but did have their four All-Stars.

Pau Gasol rebounded from a poor performance against Boston in the last meeting, to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds.   Andrew Bynum was a force down low on both sides of the ball, scoring 16 points to go along with nine rebounds.  Shannon Brown had 12 off the bench, and Lamar Odom chipped in with 10 points and a game-high 12 boards.

The Lakers managed to shoot a solid 47.9.% (35-73) from the floor, and outrebounded the Celtics 47-36.  Boston, who is the only NBA team that shoots over 50% from the floor, were held to 40.2% (33-82) from the field and just 5-16 (31.3%) from the three-point line.  Los Angeles also had 20 assists in the game, doubling the paltry 10 they had in the first meeting.

Besides Allen’s 20 points, Paul Pierce had 15 points on just 6-15 from the floor, Rajon Rondo had 12 points and 10 assists, and Kevin Garnett added 10 points and 11 rebounds, but hit just 4-13 from the floor.

The Lakers are now 3-0 on their current seven-game road trip, but are in the midst of playing four games in five nights.  They play tomorrow night in New York against the Knicks, for the team’s second and final meeting this season.  The Lakers won the first match up easily 109-87 at Staples Center back on January 9th.  Bryant led the way that night with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.

Link: Lakers @ Celtics Box Score