Game #64 – July 30, 2020
	103	-	101
The Arena – Bay Lake, FL

Team Leaders Lakers

Points – Davis 34, James 16, Kuzma 16

Rebounds – James 11, Davis 8, 2 Players Tied With 7

Assists – James 7, Davis 4, 5 Players Tied With 2

Team Leaders Clippers

Points – George 30, Leonard 28, Beverley 12

Rebounds – Jackson 6, George 5, 3 Players Tied With 4

Assists – Jackson 4, Leonard 4, George 3

Lakers vs. Clippers – Box Score 07.30.20

Kobe Bryant fights to get shot up against Phoenix.

131
The number of times the Lakers have beaten the Phoenix Suns all-time in the regular season. The two teams have played each other 222 times counting Friday. The Lakers have a +.500 regular season winning percentage against every team in the NBA except for the Boston Celtics and amazingly…the Charlotte Bobcats.

114
The amount of points the Lakers scored Friday, their most this season. And they did it while playing a much more up tempo offense which is the hallmark of a Mike D’Antoni-coached team.

92
Kobe Bryant’s free throw percentage through the first nine games. After hitting 10-11 on Friday, he’s now made 56 of his first 61 to start the season. Oh by the way, he’s also shooting 53.1% from the field.

52
The amount of points Metta World Peace has scored in his last three games, including 22 against Phoenix on Friday. He’s also made 11 of his last 26 three-pointers, as his shooting is definitely improving. Good to see.

48
The number of rebounds the Lakers grabbed on Friday, as they continue to dominate their opponents in that category this year. They’re averaging over 47 rebounds a night, nearly 15 at the offensive end. They had 17 offensive boards Friday.

25
Number of assists the Lakers had on Friday, which certainly is a big part of the reason they scored 114 points. Kobe and Darius Morris had 6 apiece to lead the team.

12
The number of turnovers the Lakers had Friday, which was a season-low. Think about the fact that they were playing a more up tempo style, but actually turned the ball over less. That’s a good sign right there.

7
The amount of foul shots Phoenix made on Friday. They actually only attempted 15, which isn’t surprising considering they don’t have a lot of guys that drive to the basket, and they do rely on the outside shot so much. But still interesting. Kobe by himself made 10.

That’s all for tonight, see you Sunday.

Kobe Bryant takes shot against Warriors.

The By The Numbers recap for the Lakers’ 101-77 win over the Golden St. Warriors at Staples Center on Friday night. The Lakers are now 2-4, and next play home to Sacramento on Sunday night.

100
Bernie Bickerstaff’s winning percentage as Laker coach after Friday’s game, good for the best winning percentage in Laker coaching history! Yes we know it’s only one game, we’re only joking.

90
The amount of shots the Lakers took on Friday night, a season high. They only hit 40% of them, but were much more aggressive offensively and had far better spacing at that end of the floor than the first five games. Seems just Mike Brown leaving already led to some better offensive flow.

58
The amount of rebounds the Lakers pulled down Friday. They have now outrebounded every opponent this season by an average of 47-37. Pau Gasol led everyone in the game with 16 boards, four at the offensive end.

54
The amount of points the Lakers scored in the second half Friday, their best second half output this season. They also held the Warriors to under 40 points in both halves.

37
The total points the Lakers’ bench players scored against Golden St., which marked a season-high. Two players scored in double figures…Jordan Hill had 14 and Darius Morris continues to play well off the bench, he scored 10. Hill was also a perfect 5-5 from the field. Golden St.’s bench scored just 23 points and shot a horrid 9-33 (27.3%) from the floor.

34
The Warriors’ field goal percentage on Friday, as the Lakers defense continues to hold teams to dismal shooting from the floor. Golden St. made just 29 of their 86 shots, and were held under 20 points in two of the four quarters.

19
The amount of turnovers Golden St. committed Friday. Finally someone turned the ball over more than the Lakers, who still had 16 miscues themselves.

5
The number of Lakers in double-figures, let by Kobe Bryant’s 27 points on 10-18 shooting from the field and 5-6 from the line. Kobe is averaging 27.2 points, on 56% shooting from the floor, and 91% from the line through the first six games. Not bad for #24 at 34.

Lakers look for two straight on Sunday against Sacramento at Staples Center. See you after the game!

Dwight Howard is fouled as he goes up for a dunk.

The Lakers got huge games from both Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant, but turnovers and bad defense did them in again, as they dropped to 0-2 on the young season, with a 116-106 loss in Portland.

For the second straight night, the Lakers floundered and flailed, and were again unable to mount any real consistent play in dropping yet another game in Portland. In actuality, the Lakers have lost 12 straight games if you go back to last season, and count the preseason contests. To add insult to injury, Steve Nash bumped knees with Blazer rookie Damian Lillard in the first half, and was unable to play more than 1:16 of the second half.

Dwight Howard, however, did bounce back from a very tough first game to score a game-high 33 points, to go along with 14 rebounds, and five assists. He also hit 15-19 from the foul line, a day after shooting just 3-14 against Dallas. Kobe Bryant had 30 points on 10-20 from the field, and Pau Gasol added 16 points and nine rebounds.

Beyond those three though, the Lakers got just 27 points from the rest of the team, with the bench struggling again, scoring just 15 points. Ironically, they actually outscored the Trail Blazer bench 15-13. But the bench play is clearly an issue early on as no player had more than seven points, and forced Mike Brown into playing his starters big minutes again.

The feisty Blazers played very well, led by Nicolas Batum’s 26 points and six rebounds. Rookie Damian Lillard dazzled 23 points and 11 assists, and Wesley Matthews dropped in 22 including 4-6 from the three-point line.

Portland turned a close 62-57 halftime lead into a rout late in the third quarter. After the Lakers had cut the game to 79-76 on a layup by Howard, the Blazers closed the quarter on 13-0 run to blow it wide open. The Lakers were never able to get closer than eight the rest of the way, as they continue to turn the ball over at an alarming rate.

The Lakers did shoot well for the second straight night, hitting 36-72 (50.0%) from the floor, and 26-32 (81.3%) from the foul line, a day after hitting a miserable 12-31. However, Portland shot even better at 42-83 (50.6%) from the field, including 9-20 (45.0%) from beyond the arc. The Lakers won the rebound battle, not surprisingly, 45-30, but did give up way too many second chance points. J.J. Hickson and Batum combined for nine offensive rebounds.

So Friday, the Lakers will try to notch their first win since May, when they take on the Clippers at Staples Center, as the home team. They also may have to do it without Steve Nash, whose status for Friday night’s game is unclear.

Remember to check out our box scores and stats, as we update them nightly right after the game.

Odom had his best all-around season as a Laker in 2010-11, averaging 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists predominantly off the bench for the two-time defending NBA champs. He also shot career-highs of 53.0% from the field and 38.2% from the three-point line. Odom started 35 games in the absence of center Andrew Bynum, and is one of six Lakers to play in all 82 regular season games.

It’s the first major award for Odom, who came to the Lakers from the Miami Heat in the Shaquille O’Neal trade in 2004. Always one of the NBA’s most-versatle players, Odom was a starter his entire career before Phil Jackson asked him to move to the bench before the 2008-09 season. He has flourished in the role helping the Lakers win the last two NBA titles.

Odom also becomes the first Laker to win the award.

Lamar Odom goes up for two against Mavericks.

The Lakers certainly did enough offensively to win on Wednesday, unfortunately they played one of their worst defensive games of the season, losing to the the Dallas Mavericks 109-100 at the American Airlines Center.

It’s not often a team shoots 54.3% from the floor in this day and age in the NBA and loses. But when the other team shoots 55.0%, then it makes sense. And that’s what happened against Dallas, as a good offensive game was wasted by the Lakers due to their inability to stop the Mavericks at all in the second half.

As has been the case in recent games, the Lakers led early, and led by double-figures at certain points as well. But they just can’t seem to play consistent defense for 48 minutes, allowing teams back into games, and quickly. Dallas erased an 11-point first half deficit, and a 9-point third quarter deficit, storming back for a relatively easy win.

In fact at one point in the in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks led 97-81, before the Lakers went on a 10-2 run, highlighted by a 4-point and a 3-point play by Lamar Odom. But they could get no closer, as the Mavs just had too big of a cushion and the Lakers were just unable to get stops at the defensive end. The Mavericks outscored the Lakers 27-8 to finish the third quarter, which was the difference in the game.

Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 23 points on 11-16 from the floor, though he had just five rebounds. Kobe Bryant had 21 points and 10 assists, and Lamar Odom continues to play great basketball, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 boards off the bench. He was the one real bright spot in the loss.

The biggest issue for the Lakers was allowing a Dallas team that had lost six in a row and was really struggling offensively, to hit 12-26 (46.2%) from the three-point line. And many of those shots were completely uncontested, as the Lakers were out of position on defense on so many occasions, it was hard to keep count. Both teams had 35 rebounds.

Jason Kidd, who went scoreless against Detroit in Dallas’ last game, scored a season-high 21 points on 5-8 from beyond the arc, to go along with 10 assists. Shawn Marion got to the basket at will, looking like the high-flying act he was in his younger days in Phoenix, as he scored 22 points off the bench.

Jason Terry, who was one for his last 18 from the three-point line hit 4-6 against the Lakers, for 22 points off the bench as well. Dirk Nowitski, coming back from a sprained knee, struggled with just 14 points on 5-15 shooting, but it hardly mattered on this night, as Dallas snapped their losing streak.

The Lakers will try to move on from that forgettable second half in Dallas to face Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets on Friday at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets beat the Lakers 118-112 back on November 11th, a game Los Angeles led by 10 in the fourth quarter in Denver, before collapsing down the stretch as Anthony went for 32 points.

Link: Lakers @ Mavericks Box Score

Lamar Odom slams home two against Heat.

In one of the most-forgettable Christmas Day games the Lakers have played, the Miami Heat flexed their muscle, and embarrassed the champs 96-80 at Staples Center, in front a huge national television audience.

After the game got off to a good start for the Lakers with an 8-4 lead, it fell apart just that quick.  LeBron James punished the the Laker defense all game long, got Ron Artest to commit two silly fouls early, and had his way with every other defender thrown at him.  James finished the game with a triple-double, scoring a game-high 27 points, with 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, hitting 5-6 from the three-point line.

Chris Bosh, who has had his troubles against the Lakers in the past as a member of the Toronto Raptors, found little resistance up front from Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, or Andrew Bynum on his way to 24 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, including hitting 11-17 from the floor.

There’s really nothing positive the Lakers can take from a second-straight beat-down at home.  With both the Lakers and the Heat looking for a signature win to start the season, it was the the visitors from Miami who would get the job done on this day.  They dominated every statistical category, including outrebounding a much bigger Laker front line 44-43. The Lakers shot a paltry 40.5% from the floor, and just 6-19 (31.6%) from the three-point line.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 17 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, but he was frustrated all game long by his teammates’ struggles as well as the officiating.   After getting kicked out of Tuesday’s game against Milwaukee with two technical fouls, he picked up another one on Saturday arguing with referees over non-calls.

Pau Gasol also had 17 points to go along with eight rebounds, but was a non-factor most of the game.  Lamar Odom had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Shannon Brown scored 10 off the bench.  No other Laker scored more than eight points.

The Heat held the Lakers to a season-low 14 points in the first quarter, and led 45-36 at the half.  After the Lakers got as close as 51-45, the Heat never let them get that close again. Every time the Lakers made any run at the game,  James continued to bury the them with long range daggers.  And if it wasn’t James hitting shots from deep,  it was Mario Chalmers, who hit 3-9 from beyond the arc , en route to 13 points off the bench.

About the only bright spot for the Lakers was that Dwyane Wade had a sub-par game, scoring just 18 points on 6-17 from the floor.  But he was hardly needed on this day, and he did an admirable job defensively against Bryant.

For the first time in Los Angeles Lakers’ history, the team suffered back-to-back home losses of 16 points or more, and only averaged a miserable 79.5 points in the process.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Lakers this week.   Their next game is Tuesday in San Antonio against the Spurs, who have the best record in basketball at 26-4.  They then play a back-to-back game in New Orleans on Wednesday against the Hornets.  And they have had a notoriously hard time winning in New Orleans over the years, no matter how good the Hornets are.

Link: Lakers vs. Heat Box Score