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 lays in two against Dallas.

Not too much was made of the Lakers’ 0-8 preseason record, for the very reason that the games meant nothing. But after Tuesday’s season-opening embarrassing loss 99-91 to the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center, one has to wonder if maybe there isn’t more to worry about.

Once again on Tuesday the Lakers struggled to find any consistency offensively or defensively, looking very much like a team that hasn’t played together long. After leading early in the second quarter 33-25, they did little right after that, as the injury-depleted Mavericks rallied and took a 48-46 lead into halftime after strong play from their bench. For the game, Dallas’ bench outscored the Lakers’ 37-17.

In the second half, things didn’t go much better, as the Lakers found themselves down by as many as 15 points several times, and they never made much of a run at any point. The final score and stats really aren’t indicative of how poorly they played, except for the pathetic 12-31 (38.7%) from the free throw line, which included a 3-14 night from Dwight Howard, making his Laker regular season debut.

One of the few bright spots for the Lakers was the play of Pau Gasol who led all players with 23 points to go along with 13 rebounds and six assists. Kobe Bryant, who didn’t practice all week due to a strained foot, played, and hit 11-14 from the floor en route to 22 points. Dwight Howard did score 19 to go along with 10 rebounds, but struggled all night to get into the flow of the game, and eventually fouled out with about two minutes left.

Dallas didn’t have anyone dominate the game, but got solid performances from several players, and had six players in double figures. Newcomer Darren Collison led Dallas with 17 points on 8-12 from the field. Brandan Wright, starting for the injured Chris Kaman, scored 14 on 5-5 from the floor. O.J. Mayo had 12, and Shawn Marion had 11 points and nine rebounds. Remember the Mavericks are also playing without All-Star forward Dirk Nowitsky.

The Lakers did manage to shoot 49.4% from the floor, but were a miserable 3-13 (23.1%) from beyond the arc, with Steve Nash, also making his Laker debut, hitting just 1-4 from distance. They did cut down on the turnovers that plagued the team in the preseason, as they committed only 14 miscues. They did also outrebound Dallas 46-40.

The Lakers will try to bounce back tomorrow in an arena they always struggle at, the Rose Garden in Portland, when they take on the Trail Blazers in the second game of a back-to-back.

Sixth Man of the Year - Lamar Odom (1st)

First Team All-NBA – Kobe Bryant (9th, 6th straight season)

First Team All-NBA Defense – Kobe Bryant (9th, 6th straight season)

Second Team All-NBA – Pau Gasol (1st)

J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award – Ron Artest (1st)

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

Andrew Bynum rises up for dunk against Knicks.

The Lakers got tough on Sunday night, and played a very physical brand of basketball against the upstart New York Knicks, winning going away 109-87 at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant scored 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds, as the Lakers held the high-scoring Knicks to just 87 points on 36.0% shooting from the floor.

The Lakers big front line pushed the Knicks around all game long, and dominated on the boards 61-42, including 17 offensive rebounds.  The game also had its share of chippiness, as the Lakers were assessed four technical fouls and a flagrant foul.

Andrew Bynum scored 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a strong effort against Amare Stoudemire, but was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter with two technical fouls for arguing a call against him.  It was a game loaded with emotion and hard fouls.

Ron Artest was hit with a technical early in the first quarter as it appeared he put his hands near the throat of the Knicks’ Shawne Williams.   He then picked up a flagrant foul for dropping Stoudemire with a clothesline on his way to the basket in the third quarter.  Bryant and Stoudemire also got into a heated argument moments later.

The Lakers led virtually the entire game, although the Knicks kept it close early, thanks to a lot of early Laker turnovers. A late second quarter push gave the champs a 52-47 lead at halftime. 

After the break, the game got rougher, and the Knicks simply could not make shots.   The Lakers led by double-figures for most of the second half.  The Knicks got to within seven early in the fourth quarter on a three-point play by Stoudmire, but could get no closer, as the Lakers won going away by 22.

Pau Gasol also had a dominant game up front, scoring 20 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and blocking four shots.  Shannon Brown had 16 off the bench, and Lamar Odom scored 13 points and a pulled down a season-high 18 rebounds.

For the game, the Lakers didn’t shoot particularly well themselves at only 41.8% (38-91), although they did hit 8-17 from the three-point line, and turned the ball over only 13 times.  After a sloppy start where they turned the ball over five times in the first five minutes, they committed just eight the remainder of the game. Taking care of the ball didn’t allow the Knicks to get into the transition game they desperately needed to in order to beat the bigger Laker squad.

The Knicks were led by Amar’e Stoudemire’s 23 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocked shots.  Stoudemire shot just 7-24 from the floor, and didn’t hit his first basket until the middle of the second quarter.  In fact he scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, but many were after the game was out of reach.

The Lakers played their first game without backup forward Matt Barnes, who is scheduled to have surgery this week to repair a torn meniscus he suffered on Friday against New Orleans.  The Lakers won’t have a timetable for his return after the surgery.

The Lakers have now won four straight, six out of seven, and haven’t lost to the Knicks since February of 2007.

Los Angeles’ next game is Tuesday night at home against the woefully bad Cleveland Cavaliers, who have certainly suffered without LeBron James.  They’ve currently lost 10 in a row after their setback on Sunday in Phoenix, and are sitting with NBA’s worst record at 8-29.

Link: Lakers vs. Knicks Box Score

Kobe Bryant takes shot against Hornets.

Kobe Bryant moved up to 9th place on the NBA’s scoring list, passing Oscar Robertson, as the Lakers made enough plays down the stretch to hold off the New Orleans Hornets 101-97 on Friday at Staples Center.

Bryant scored a game-high 25 points, putting him at 26,720 for his career.  He surpassed the Big O’s mark of 27,210 with a short jumper inside the paint with just over one minute left in third quarter.  He already passed Dominique Wilkins to put himself inside the top 10 earlier in the week against the Detroit Pistons.

The game was close all night, as the Lakers had a 10-point lead momentarily in the fourth quarter, but never had a double-digit otherwise.  They led at halftime 51-46, but the Hornets came out strong defensively early in the third quarter, and took a brief 62-61 lead with about four minutes left in the period.

The Lakers responded and got the lead back up to seven at 80-73 to start the fourth quarter.  After Lamar Odom hit a three-pointer to make it 87-77 with just under eight minutes left, the Hornets responded with six straight points, but could never get closer than three.  Bryant then hit two baskets in the final two minutes, and the Lakers were able to make enough free throws down the stretch for the win.

Pau Gasol rebounded from a sub-par game in Phoenix on Wednesday, to score 21 points, grab 13 rebounds, and dish out seven assists, hitting 6-8 from the floor.  Lamar Odom, playing with a sore left shoulder, didn’t appear to be bothered by the injury, scoring 17 points, to go along with 13 rebounds.  Andrew Bynum chipped in with 17 points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots, as the Lakers dominated the scoring in the paint.

The Lakers, who shot over 60% in the first half from the field, finished the game at 50.6% (39-77), and 5-12 from beyond the arc.  They also limited their turnovers, which has plagued them recently.  On Friday, they had just 11 to the Hornets’ 12.  The Lakers held New Orleans to 43.4% (33-76) shooting from the floor, although the Hornets did hit 8-19 from the three point line.

Everything wasn’t all rosy though for the world champs, as Matt Barnes sprained his knee early in the first half.  And while he did score a basket and continue to play a little longer, he did eventually leave the game, and an MRI is scheduled tomorrow to assess the severity of the injury.

Also, early in the fourth quarter, Steve Blake turned an ankle when he landed on Andrew Bynum’s foot.  Blake left the court, had his ankle wrapped, and did return to the bench in uniform.

The Hornets were led by David West’s 23 points and 12 rebounds.  Trevor Ariza and Marco Belinelli both scored 17 points, and Emeka Okafor had 13 points and 13 rebounds.  Chris Paul took just six shots, scoring 12 points, but he did have a game-high 10 assists.

The Lakers’ next game is against Amar’e Stoudemire and the much-improved New York Knicks at Staples Center on Sunday.  This will be the first meeting between the new-look Knicks and the Lakers this season.  The Knicks knocked off Stoudemire’s old team, the Phoenix Suns, on Friday easily 121-96.

Link: Lakers vs. Hornets Box Score

Kobe Bryant drives to basket against Pistons.

After another shaky first half, the Lakers bounced back in the second, and stormed past the struggling Detroit Pistons 108-83 at Staples Center on Tuesday night.

Kobe Bryant scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out eight assists, and in the process became the league’s 10th all-time leading scorer, passing Hall of Famer Dominque Wilkins with 26,671 points.  Bryant missed his first nine shots of the game, but rebounded to hit six of his next nine on his record-breaking night.

Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 21 points, hitting 7-11 from the field, to go along with seven rebounds.  Lamar Odom had 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and Andrew Bynum, plagued by early foul trouble, finished with 13 points and six rebounds, hitting all six of his shots.

The slumping Pistons stayed close early, rallied from an 11-point first half deficit to close the score to 45-42 at halftime.  In the second half, the Lakers put the hammer down and took advantage of 19 Detroit turnovers, to turn a close game into a rout.   The Pistons found themselves down by as much as 29 points in the fourth quarter, as they continue to struggle on the road.  They are now 3-16 away from the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The win was a welcomed sight for the Lakers, who have had trouble blowing out even bad teams at home recently.  In fact you’d have to go all the way back to December 3rd when the Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 113-80 to find a home game they have won by more than 10 points.  That win broke a season-long four-game losing streak.

On this night, the Lakers did everything pretty well, for the first time at home in a while.  They shot 47.2% (42-89) from the field, hit 18-22 foul shots (81.8%), outrebounded the Pistons 41-37, and turned the ball over a season-low six times.  They also held the Pistons to 44.4% (32-72) shooting, and just 3-13 from beyond the arc.  All of those numbers added up to free tacos for fans at the game, and an easy win.

The Pistons were led by Tracy McGrady and Greg Monroe, who each scored 14 points.  McGrady, oddly enough starting at the point guard position, also had six assists, but did turn the ball over six times.  Tayshaun Prince had 12 points, and Richard Hamilton, now coming off the bench, scored 11.

The Lakers hope to carry this momentum into their game tomorrow night in Phoenix, where they face the new-look Suns in the second game of a back-to-back.  The Lakers won in Phoenix in the second game of the year 114-106, but were blitzed by 22 three-pointers, as the Suns won 121-116 at Staples Center back on November 14th.

Link: Lakers vs. Pistons Box Score

Kobe Bryant reverses home two against Raptors.

The Lakers should feel pretty good about themselves on their long flight home, as they finished up a seven-game road trip with a 6-1 record, after a 120-110 win over the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday afternoon.

Kobe Bryant, playing with a sprained pinkie on his shooting hand, scored 20 points in only 28 minutes, as the Lakers used the bench for big minutes on this day.   Pau Gasol scored 19 to go along with 8 rebounds in just over 30 minutes of action.

In fact the Lakers’ bench outscored the Raptors’ bench 57-27, led by Andrew Bynum’s 16  points and seven rebounds, easily his best game since his return on Tuesday.  Shannon scored 14 points, Matt Barnes had 12, and even seldom-used Luke Walton scored a season-high nine points.   The Lakers bench also hit 6-12 from the three-point line.

It was a game the Lakers had control of by the middle of the second quarter, yet they never could quite put the Raptors away, despite having as much as a 16-point lead at 68-52, early in the third quarter.  The injury-depleted Raptors continued to make a game of it, but never were able to get any closer than six points in the second half.

Linas Kleiza led all scorers with 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds for the Raptors.  Former USC star DeMar DeRozan had a brilliant third quarter with 19 points, and scored 23 for the game, including 11-11 from the foul line.   Jose Calderon chipped with in a double-double, scoring 20 points and dishing out 12 assists.

For the game, the Lakers shot 51.9% (41-79) from the floor and outrebounded Toronto 46-35.  The Lakers also went to the foul line 39 times, making 31 of them for 79.5%.  But it really was the bench that did most of the damage on this day, as their play continued to keep the Lakers safely ahead when the Raptors would make runs to get back in the game.

It is not uncommon for Phil Jackson to play his bench big minutes on the last game of a long a road trip, and with the Lakers’ depth this year, it makes it an even easier decision for the coaching staff.

The Lakers have now beaten their last four opponent by at least 10 points, and have won five in a row, their longest winning streak since starting the season 8-0.   They’re now 11-5 on the road.

The champs return home for two games this week, Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, and of course the game of the year in the NBA, Christmas Day against the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat.   The Lakers also play seven of their next 10 at the friendly confines of Staples Center.

Link: Lakers @ Raptors 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

Ron Artest goes up for two against Nuggets.

The Lakers blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead, played sloppy down the stretch, and watched Carmelo Anthony pour in 32 points as the Nuggets knocked the Lakers from the ranks of the undefeated, 118-112 in Denver on Thursday night.

It was a game the Lakers were in control of most of the night, leading by as many as 14 midway through the third quarter.   They held a 95-85 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the game when the Nuggets went on a 16-0 run to take a 101-98 lead.  The Lakers took their last lead at 105-103 on a layup by Shannon Brown , but were thoroughly outplayed down the stretch, settling for too many 3-pointers, as the Nuggets pulled away late for an impressive come-from-behind win.

Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 34 points, but hit only 11-32 shots from the field.  He missed several open jump shots down the stretch as well.  Pau Gasol had 17 points and a season-high 20 rebounds, but was clearly frustrated by the Nuggets’ smaller lineup employed by coach George Karl for large parts of the game.   Ron Artest had a solid game with 18 points.

The real bright spot for the Lakers was the play of Shannon Brown, who scored 19 points off the bench and made several big shots and plays in the fourth quarter to keep them close.  But it wasn’t enough, as the Lakers fell to 8-1 on the season.

Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 32 points (on 14-25 shooting) and 13 rebounds.  His play was the difference down the stretch as he hit big basket after big basket to help get the win.  Nene had 18 points.

But it was the play of the Nuggets’ bench that got the them the lead in the fourth.  Ty Lawson got the to the rim at will, scoring 17 points with 5 assists, and J.R. Smith, who has struggled this year so far, found his range from beyond the arc and scored 13 points.

The Lakers will try to bounce back on Sunday as they take on Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center on Sunday.  The Lakers beat the Suns 114-106 in the second game of the season in Phoenix.

Link: Lakers @ Nuggets Box Score