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.

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.

The Lakers, pushed to the brink of elimination just two days earlier, rallied from a 13-point second half deficit in Game 7, led by the hard-nosed play of Pau Gasol who scored 19 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, and Ron Artest who put in 20 points and recorded 5 steals.

Kobe Bryant struggled shooting the ball all night, going 6-24 from the field, but still managed to score 23 points and grab 15 rebounds. His 17-footer with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter put the Lakers up 68-64, as they held on down the stretch for the win. Bryant was named the series MVP, averaging 28.6 points, 8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists, his second straight Finals MVP award, and his fifth title.

The game was ragged all night, with both teams struggling to find any rhythm offensively, as it seemed everyone was feeling the pressure of a seventh game. The Celtics built a 49-36 lead late in the third quarter before the Lakers chipped away and got it to 64-61 midway through the fourth, when Derek Fisher hit a high-arcing 3-pointer to tie the game. That play seemed to breath life into the Lakers as they took the lead on two Kobe Bryant free throws and never looked back. The title was Fisher’s fifth as well, as he once again showed his big game heroics.

Phil Jackson, who may retire this offseason, won his 11th title as a coach, putting him now two ahead of Red Auerbach all-time. His teams are now an amazing 48-0 when winning the first game of any series.

The win marked the first time the Lakers have beaten the Celtics in a Game 7, they previously were 0-4 in such situations against the men in green. The Lakers franchise now sits just one title behind Boston (17-16) for the most all-time. Before the 80’s, the lead was 13-6 in favor of the Celtics.

With the core of the team returning next season, there is no reason why the Lakers can’t get their first 3-peat since 2000-2002. But for now, all is right with the world, the Lakers are champs….again!!

Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 24 points, but shot only 8-23 from the field. That was no matter, as the Lakers’ bench piled up 43 points and were led by Lamar Odom‘s 13 points, Jordan Farmar‘s 11, and Trevor Ariza‘s 10.

The Lakers led 50-44 at the half, but turned up the defensive intensity in the second half. They led by as many as 18 points and cruised to the victory. The Suns shot only 44.2% from the floor, and committed 15 turnovers, to the Lakers 7.

Former Laker, Shaquille O’Neal, had a solid game, scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds, but he didn’t get much help. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 21 points, but missed several lay-ups and was mostly relegated to being a spot-up jump shooter.

There were few remnants of the Suns’ former quick-strike offense, as new coach Terry Porter has insisted the team pound the ball into Shaq first. As a result, Steve Nash, who looks very pedestrian in this new offense, scored just 8 points, none until the middle of third quarter.

The Lakers play host to Denver on Friday, as part of a back-to-back. It will be the first chance to see the Nuggets with Chauncey Billups running the point.

According to the Lakers blog at OCRegister.com…

Andrew Bynum did indeed receive medical clearance from doctors Thursday and will begin training in earnest by mid-July. His agent, David Lee, said the Lakers center did not have any pain or swelling in his surgically repaired left knee and will be ready to go by training camp in October.

Something about Bynum to finally be excited about again. He’s back!

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak had no other information on Bryant’s absence, and refused to say anything further regarding the situation.

Laker coach Phil Jackson added, “We’re obviously disappointed that Kobe’s not here with the basketball club, with his teammates. This is a team thing, it’s about us as a basketball team and what the best is for our team. So we’ll commence tonight and go on as usual. No one is bigger than this team or the game. That’s the way it is.”

Earlier in the day, Colorado judge Frederick Gannett ruled that the accuser’ in Bryant’s sexual assault case, would not have to testify at the preliminary hearing, and that the hearing would be open to the public. There have been no indications that Bryant’s absence from training camp has anything to do with these events.

Jackson said he did not know when or even if Bryant would show up for the team’s training camp in Hawaii, but he did say, “We have plenty of players, we have a good team, we’re confident in what we’re going to do. We’re hopeful Kobe will join us and that’s as much I can say about it.”

Reporters have already flocked to the the islands in droves, hoping to get comments from Bryant, and the team is expecting even more media attention over the next few days. Jackson said he tried to call the Laker All-Star on Wednesday, but was told he wasn’t taking calls.

Stay tuned.