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Brett
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Lakers Struggle Again in San Antonio
12.30.10
Andrew Bynum slams home two against Spurs.
In another lackadaisical second-half effort, the Lakers were blitzed by the San Antonio Spurs and dropped their third straight by 15+ points, 97-82 at the AT&T Center on Tuesday.
It was a game that started off well for the Lakers. They kept it close early on, erasing a nine-point first quarter deficit, and taking a 44-42 lead into halftime. After briefly getting up by four in the third quarter, that’s when the wheels came off, and the Spurs took over.
Led by the hustle and inside play of undersized center DeJuan Blair, and Tony Parker’s relentless attacking of the basket, the Spurs turned the game in their favor and took over in the third quarter, outscoring the Lakers 29-18 in the period. The Lakers never could recover, and never got the game close again, as the Spurs cruised to the win.
Kobe Bryant had another off shooting night, scoring a team-high 21 points, but hitting only 8-27 from the floor. He also picked up another technical foul, his fourth in the three games, after getting into a spat with George Hill in the second quarter. These technicals surely are a sign of the Lakers’ frustration on the court, as they continue having trouble beating good teams.
It was another miserable night offensively for the Lakers, as only Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest scored in double-figures, and they both had 10. Pau Gasol took only eight shots, scoring nine points, to go along with nine rebounds. For the game, the Lakers shot a season-low 35.4% from the field. They did outrebound the Spurs 51-50.
During this three-game losing streak, the Lakers are also averaging just 80.3 points per game, and have shot under 41% in two of the three games. They also are turning the ball over far too much as well, over 15 per game during the streak.
The Spurs were led by Tony Parker’s 23 points on 10-18 from the field. DeJuan Blair had a dominant second half, and scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the game. Richard Jefferson had 15 points and seven rebounds
The blowout win was even more impressive for the Spurs, when you consider that Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili scored only 11 points combined on 4-19 from the floor. In fact Duncan only grabbed four rebounds in 30 minutes of action, yet the Spurs won convincingly.
The Lakers will try to avoid their second four-game losing of the season when they play tomorrow night in New Orleans against the Hornets. The Hornets, after starting the year 11-1, have gone only 7-12 since, as they have encountered their own problems the last month.
Link: Lakers @ Spurs Box Score
Lakers Lay Giant Egg Against Heat
12.27.10
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.
Lakers Take Care of Business in Toronto
12.19.10
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.
Lamar Odom Leads Lakers Past Sixers
12.17.10
Lamar Odom drives to basket for two against Sixers.
On a night when Kobe Bryant scored a season-low nine points, Lamar Odom picked up the slack and scored 28, as the Lakers pulled away from the Philadelphia 76ers in the fourth quarter, and won 93-81 at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday.
In a game devoid of artistic merit, the Lakers put together 12 great minutes of basketball in the fourth quarter, and turned a 62-58 deficit into a 12-point win, led by the play of Odom and reserve forward Matt Barnes.
Odom hit back-to-back three-point plays early in the fourth quarter to give the Lakers a 66-64 lead with a little over nine minutes left. Barnes, who scored 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds off the bench, kept the rally going with solid defense and timely shooting. His three-pointer with just over seven minutes left was part of a 27-8 Lakers’ run in the quarter, and put them ahead 71-64 as they never looked back.
Bryant, a day after having the gym at his alma mater Lower Merion High School renamed in his honor, had trouble getting into a rhythm all night. He scored just nine points on 3-11 shooting, and shockingly was never really a factor in the game. On this night, however, it didn’t matter, as the Lakers’ frontcourt just dominated the game.
Pau Gasol scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Nobody else on the Lakers had more than eight points.
The game was very choppy for three quarters, and neither team shot the ball well, especially from the three point line. The Lakers shot a miserable 3-15 (20.0%) from beyond the arc, and the 76ers were an even more-inept 3-21 (14.3%) from long range. The Lakers have now held their opponents to under 90 points in five of their last eight games, and haven’t given up more than 94 points in their last six.
The 76ers were led by Spencer Hawes and Andre Iguodala, who both scored 18 points. Hawes also added 13 rebounds. No other Sixer scored in double-figures, and the team shot just 37.5% from the floor for the game. Despite that however, they led 62-58 after three quarters, before it came apart in the final stanza.
The Lakers have now won four straight, seven out of eight, and are 5-1 on this current road trip that finishes up Sunday in Toronto. The Lakers beat the Raptors 108-103 at Staples Center on November 5, in a game that was tight throughout. Pau Gasol scored 30 points that night, Kobe Bryant added 23.
Link: Lakers @ 76ers Box Score
Lakers Get Revenge for Home Loss; Dominate Pacers
12.15.10
Kobe shoots for three against Pacers.
The first time these two teams met in November, the Indiana Pacers shocked even themselves, as they beat the Lakers at Staples Center 95-92. There would be no repeat performance on Wednesday however, as a determined Lakers team came in to Conseco Fieldhouse and soundly pounded the Pacers 109-94.
Kobe Bryant put on a show again, as he lit up the Pacers for 31 points, on 11-18 from the field, and 4-8 from the three-point line. He also added six assists and three rebounds. His shooting touch continues to get better as he again shot over 50% from the floor, 4-8 from the three-point line, and made all five of his foul shots. Bryant scored 41 points the first time the teams met in Los Angeles.
The Lakers were focused and didn’t underestimate the Pacers this time from the start. They jumped out to a 29-10 lead before Indiana even knew what hit them. By the time it was 59-37, at halftime, it was too late for the Pacers to recover, and the Lakers just kept pouring it on in the second half en route to their second-straight blow-out win. The final score certainly didn’t indicate how thoroughly dominating the win was.
Pau Gasol, who had a poor game against Pacer center Roy HiIbbert in the first meeting, took it to the big man from Georgetown on Wednesday, pouring in 28 points, including 21 of them in the first half, to go along with eight rebounds. Gasol was aggressive from the opening tip and set the tone inside early for the Lakers, hitting 10 of his 17 shots from the floor.
Lamar Odom had another strong game with 13 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Ron Artest was solid for the second straight night with 13 points on 6-8 shooting. Andrew Bynum played a little over 17 minutes off the bench in his second game, and scored three points to go along with five rebounds.
The Lakers’ shooting was also impressive, as they hit 51.2% of their shots from the floor, including 8-17 (47.1% ) from the three-point line. They also destroyed the Pacers on the glass 51-29, and had 12 offensive rebounds. The Pacers hit only six of their 21 shots from beyond the arc.
Indiana was led by Darren Collison with 17 points and six assists. Brandon Rush scored 16 points, and Roy Hibbert had 12 points and six rebounds, but was nowhere near the offensive factor he was the first game in Los Angeles.
The win for the Lakers was their third straight, and they’re now 4-1 on their current road trip. It also seems like the team is slowly regaining the momentum they had early in the season when they started 8-0. They play at Philadelphia on Friday, and will finish up the trip in Toronto on Sunday.
Newly-acquired forward/center Joe Smith is expected to join the team in Philadelphia and should be in uniform for Friday night’s match up with the 76ers.
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