Los Angeles Lakers Rosters, Statistics, Records, News, and More!
Posts tagged Los Angeles
Lakers Dominate in Battle of League’s Best
11.30.03
In a game most figured would be close, the Los Angeles Lakers pounded the Indiana Pacers 99-77 Sunday night at Staples Center, in a battle of two teams with the NBA’s best records.
The win for the Lakers was their 25th straight at home, setting a Los Angeles franchise-record. The previous record of 24 was set 15 years ago.
Shaquille O’Neal scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, and Karl Malone played another solid game with 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
In a quiet night, Kobe Bryant added 12 points and 7 assists and Gary Payton took just 7 shots, scoring 8 points. But on this night, their offensive output wasn’t needed, as the Lakers got solid efforts from the entire roster.
The Laker defense was smothering, forcing the Pacers into 23 turnovers and shooting just 39.1% from the field.
On the other hand, the Lakers shot 48.0% from the floor and 42.9% from beyond the arc, as they scored 99 points against the league’s best defense. Before the game the Pacers were allowing just 80.4 points per game.
The Lakers led the game 46-37 at the half, with O’Neal plagued with foul trouble. In the second half with him back on the court, the Lakers surged to a 68-51 lead after three quarters, and never looked back. The Lakers have beaten their last six opponents by an average of just under 20 points.
The Pacers were led by Al Harrington, who scored 18 points off the bench. Their leading scorer, Jermaine O’Neal, had foul problems of his own and scored just 14 points.
The Lakers now head to on the road for a “Texas-Two-Step.” They’ll play Wednesday night against in San Antonio against the World Champion Spurs, a team they just beat by 16 two days ago, then Thursday at Dallas, before heading home.
Link: LakerStats.com Box Score
Link: NBA.com Recap
Lakers New Look Wins Preseason Opener
10.08.03
The Los Angeles Lakers, and their new cast of players, including Karl Malone and Gary Payton, scored an easy 107-89 win over the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night in Hawaii, in both teams’ exhibition opener.
A noticeably slimmer and quicker Shaquille O’Neal scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds in just 18 minutes, and Payton added 12 points and seven assists as the Lakers coasted to victory. O’Neal was particularly active on the defensive end, blocking two shots, including a devasting swat of a Mike Dunleavy jump shot in the third quarter.
Kobe Bryant took part in the team’s pre-game shootaround, but is not expected to play in either of the two games in Hawaii. Bryant is scheduled to fly out today (Wednesday) to Colorado for his court proceedings on Thursday. Coach Phil Jackson believes the All-Star guard will be able to play next Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns in San Diego.
Slava Medvedenko and Jannero energized the Lakers bench, which looks to be vastly improved from last season. Both players scored 14 points while combining to hit 13 of 20 shots from the field.
In his first game for the purple and gold, Malone scored seven points and had three rebounds in only 22 minutes. Derek Fisher chipped in with 10 points, including a perfect 2-2 from 3-point land.
Jason Richardson led the Warriors with 20 points, and former Detroit Piston Clifford Robinson added 15.
The two teams meet again tonight in Honolulu. Game time is 11:00 PM Pacific Time.
Malone Will Not Rejoin Olympic Team
08.19.03
Los Angeles Lakers forward Karl Malone will not return to the US Olympic qualifying team in Puerto Rico, because of the death of his mother.
Malone had previously planned to return to to the team, but felt it was more important to stay with his family after the sudden death of his mother.
“It was more important for him to be with his family and we all understand that,” US coach Larry Brown said. “Hopefully he’ll be part of our team in 2004 if we’re lucky enough to qualify.”
Should the US team qualify for the 2004 Olympic games, by attaining one of the three berths available from the qualifying tournament, the “Mailman” would retain his spot on that team, as would Laker guard Kobe Bryant.
New Jersey Nets forward Kenyon Martin was added to the US roster to replace Malone.
News Link – Yahoo! – “Malone will miss Puerto Rico tournament”
Recent Chatter