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Archive for 01.04.2011
Lakers Find Themselves, Blow Out Pistons
01.04.11
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.
Lakers Asleep At The Wheel Against Grizzlies
01.04.11
Kobe Bryant drives to basket against Grizzlies.
In another lackluster effort Sunday night, the Lakers lost for the third time in four games at home, and once again to another non-playoff team in a blowout. This time it was the Memphis Grizzlies who took it to the Lakers 104-85, in a game they led almost the entire way.
The Lakers came out flat from the start, and by the middle of the first quarter found themselves behind by nine points, and they never recovered. They trailed by the same nine points at halftime, and did actually get to within one point in the third quarter. But that’s as close as they got to the lead.
Lamar Odom missed two free throws that would have at least tied the game early in the third quarter, the Grizzlies then went on a 19-4 run that buried the Lakers, despite Kobe Bryant scoring 21 of his game-high 28 points in the second half. It was obvious on this night it was going to take more than Bryant’s heroics to pull out a win, but no one else offered much resistance.
The losses at home are not only alarming because of who the Lakers are losing to, it’s also how they are losing. They’ve now been blown out by two sub-.500 teams by 19 points, in addition to the 16-point waxing by the Miami Heat on Christmas Day. The only win in the last four at home was a close 102-98 victory over Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve, a game the Lakers could have easily lost.
Only two other Laker players scored in double figures Sunday. Shannon Brown had 11 points off the bench, and Pau Gasol had 10 points and eight rebounds. Andrew Bynum scored nine points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and had five blocks, but took only eight shots from the floor.
The Lakers actually outshot the Grizzlies from the field, hitting 46.5% (33-71) to 45.6% (41-90), but turned the ball over 20 times, which allowed Memphis to take a staggering, 19 more shots. That was the difference in the game. The Lakers were also outrebounded 44-37, but that stat was not nearly as damaging as the turnovers.
Rudy Gay, who missed the team’s loss on Saturday in Utah, scored 27 points on 10-19 from the field. Zach Randolph scored 21 points to go along with eight rebounds, and O.J. Mayo torched the Lakers off the bench with 15 points.
Bryant also picked up his fifth technical foul in the last six games, as it appears his frustration is growing with more than just the officiating.
The Lakers next game is Tuesday night at home against the woeful Detroit Pistons, whom the Lakers beat easily 103-90 back on November 17th in Detroit. In that game, Bryant had 33 points and nine rebounds, Gasol had 25 and 12 rebounds, and Odom had 15 points and 14 rebounds.
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