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Archive for January, 2011
Kobe Leads Lakers Past Suns
01.06.11
Andrew Bynum throws in two against Suns.
The Lakers went into Phoenix for the second time this season, and came out with their second victory, a hard fought 99-95 win at US Airways Arena on Wednesday.
Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the third quarter, as the Lakers turned a one-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead after three quarters. He also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists, hitting 9-17 from the field.
The Suns, who have been struggling defensively as of late, erased a 12-point first half deficit to take a 50-49 lead at the break. The Lakers grabbed the lead quickly in the third quarter, and never trailed in the second half, leading by as much as eight several times.
But the Suns would not fold, and got to within one point at 92-91, on a three-pointer by Vince Carter with just over two minutes left. Derek Fisher then hit a jumper, followed by a three-pointer by Ron Artest from the corner with just under 90 seconds left, as the Lakers hung on down the stretch for the win.
The win pushed the Lakers road record to 13-6, as they won their second straight game on the second night of a back-to-back.
Andrew Bynum had 14 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, despite playing in foul trouble all night. Shannon Brown had 13 points off the bench, and Lamar Odom had 12 points and a team-high 10 assists, as he continues his stellar all-around play this season.
For the second straight night, the Lakers controlled their recent turnover struggles, committing just 12, which didn’t allow the high-scoring Suns to get into a running game for easy baskets. The world champs also outrebounded the Suns 47-31, including 14 at the offensive end. The extra possessions helped the Lakers offset the Suns’ advantage from the field, 48.6% to 47.1% and their 11 three-pointers.
The Suns were led by Jared Dudley’s 21 points off the bench, as he hit 8-11 from the floor, including 3-4 from beyond the arc. Dudley was one of six Suns’ players in double figures. Vince Carter had 13 points, Marcin Gortat had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Steve Nash had 11 points to go along with 10 assists.
The Lakers return home for a Friday night game against the New Orleans Hornets. The Lakers beat the Hornets 103-88 back on December 29th. Friday’s game will be the first of three straight at Staples Center, as the Knicks come to town on Sunday, and then the LeBron-less Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
Link: Lakers @ Suns Box Score
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.
Kobe Helps Lakers Hold On Against 76ers
01.01.11
Kobe Bryant slams home two over Andres Nocioni.
In a game the Lakers never trailed, they also were never able to put away the resilient Philadelphia 76ers, and needed some late points by Kobe Bryant to get a 102-98 win at Staples Center on New Year’s Eve.
Bryant, who was held to a season-low nine points in a win in Philadelphia earlier this month, scored a game-high 33 points, including the tiebreaking jumper with just over 90 seconds left, as the Lakers hung on to get the victory. The win snapped a two-game home losing streak for the Lakers.
The Sixers did have chances to win the game at the end, but UCLA-product Jrue Holiday missed a three-pointer late, and guard Lou Williams followed with the same with four seconds left. Bryant then hit two free throws to seal the victory.
Pau Gasol had 20 points and eight rebounds, bouncing back from some recent sub-part scoring games. Lamar Odom had 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Andrew Bynum scored eight points and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds.
The Lakers led the game the entire way, and by as many as 12 at one point, but the young Philadelphia squad kept hanging around. They trailed 52-44 at halftime, and 82-73 after three quarters, but managed to fight back and tie the game at 98 with just over a minute left. They never did score again however, as Bryant scored the game’s final four points for the world champs.
For the second straight game, the Lakers shot over 50% from the field, hitting 42-82 (51.2%) against Philadelphia. The also dominated on the glass, 45-35, including 11 at the offensive end. However, they did only hit 4-14 (28.6%) from beyond the arc, as they continue to struggle from long range in recent games.
The Sixers, who played without Andre Iguodala for the third straight game, were led by Holiday’s 19 points and 11 assists. Off the bench, Lou Williams scored 18, and Thaddeus Young had 14. In fact, the 76ers’ bench scored 44 of the team’s 98 points.
The Lakers are in the middle of a three-game homestand that will continue on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies, who have already beaten the Lakers once this season, 98-96 back on November 13th at the FedEx Forum.
The Lakers will play six of their next eight games at home, with only two of the games against teams with winning records (New Orleans and New York). With the schedule getting increasingly harder in the middle of the month, the Lakers need to take advantage and get wins against the weaker teams to climb back closer to the top spot in the Western Conference.
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