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Laker Bigs Dominate in Win Over Nuggets
01.24.11
Andrew Bynum goes up for two against Nuggets.
The Lakers have had their problems in Denver the last few seasons, but righted the ship on Friday with a solid 107-97 over the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.
The Lakers rebounded from their embarrassing second half performance in Dallas on Wednesday, with a much better all-around effort against the Nuggets, especially from their frontcourt, which dominated all game long.
Pau Gasol scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Ron Artest scored a season-high 19 points, Lamar Odom poured in 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum chipped in with 17 points and seven rebounds, part of a very balanced attack for the world champs. The Lakers got 73 of their 107 points from those four players up front.
Kobe Bryant scored 18 points on 8-15 from the floor, to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. He also made several critical baskets in the third quarter to help the Lakers pull away.
The game was close throughout the first half, with both teams trading blows. The Lakers trailed early by seven, but fought back in the second quarter and forged a 41-36 lead. The Nuggets then went on a 16-8 run to end the half, to take a 52-49 lead to the break, the same three-point lead they held after the first quarter.
But Bryant led the charge in the third quarter, as the Lakers took control of the game, and led 82-72 after three. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers never let up. The Nuggets could get no closer, as Los Angeles led by as many as 14 points in the final period en route to the surprisingly easy victory.
The Lakers absolutely destroyed the Nuggets on the glass, 47-27, including 15 offensive rebounds, which gave the Los Angeles 10 extra shots. The Lakers also shot 53.4% (47-88) from the floor and turned the ball over only nine times. The good shooting and protecting of the ball didn’t allow Denver to get up and down the court for easy baskets, which has been their trademark against the bigger Lakers.
Denver didn’t shoot poorly at 47.4% (37-78), but hit only 7-21 (33.3%) from the three-point line, and managed to get to the free throw line only 20 times, converting 16. They lead the league in foul shot attempts, at over 31 per game.
Carmelo Anthony, still in a Nugget uniform, scored 23 points, but shot just 10-24, as Artest made life difficult on the All-Star most of the night, forcing him into tough shots. Aaron Afflalo had a superb game with 22 points on 8-11 from the floor, including 5-7 from beyond the arc. Chauncey Billups added 16 points.
The win snapped a two-game road losing streak for the Lakers, and may have been their best win away from Los Angeles this year. They’re now 15-8 on the road, and have won 11 of their last 14 games overall.
The Lakers’ next game is Tuesday night against the struggling Utah Jazz at home. The Jazz beat the Lakers earlier this season 102-96 in Utah on November 26th, a game that saw Los Angeles blow a 19-point lead. Tuesday’s game against Utah will be the first of five straight at Staples Center for the Lakers, as they also face Boston and San Antonio on this homestand.
Lakers Defense-Less in Dallas
01.19.11
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.
Lakers Get Win Against Quality Thunder Team
01.18.11
Kobe Bryant looks to pass against Thunder.
The Lakers bounced back from their disappointing Sunday afternoon loss to the Clippers, with a solid effort against one of West’s better teams, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-94 at Staples Center on Monday night.
The Lakers haven’t beaten very many good teams this season so far, and were only 5-5 against teams with winning records coming in to Monday’s game. So a win over a solid Oklahoma City team was important. It also started a tough stretch for the Lakers, as they also play Dallas, Denver, and Utah in the next week.
Kobe Bryant scored 21 points, including seven in the third quarter when the Lakers seemingly took control of the game. He hit 7-12 from the floor, to go along with seven assists and five rebounds, but shot just 6-11 from the foul line, and uncharacteristically missed two with the game still relatively close with 30 seconds left. The misses didn’t cost the team however.
Oklahoma City, riding a 4-game winning streak, played the first half tight with the world champs. The Lakers were able to make a small run to close out the half and take a 58-55 lead into the locker room. In the second half, Bryant came out firing and by the middle of the quarter, the Lakers had pushed the lead to 76-61, on the strength of a 14-0 run.
But the Thunder would not go away. Russell Westbrook was relentless attacking the basket, Kevin Durant started to make tough shots, and the interior defense started to stiffen as the Thunder got themselves back into the game. After the teams exchanged blows most of the fourth, Pau Gasol hit two baskets late in the quarter to put the Lakers up 98-88, and they were able to hold on down the stretch despite some shaky foul shooting.
Gasol had 21 points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots, rebounding from his sub-par effort against the Clippers. Lamar Odom had 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Derek Fisher had a season-high 15 points.
Andrew Bynum had 10 points and 10 rebounds, but found himself in foul trouble again, as Laker guards had a tough time containing Westbrook and his drives to the basket, forcing Bynum to commit several fouls to stop layups.
For the game, the Lakers shot 50.0% (38-76) from the field, and 7-14 from the three-point line, where they have certainly struggled in recent weeks. The Thunder shot just 42.5% (37-87) from the field, and an absolutely abysmal 2-22 (9.1%) from the three-point line, where they have struggled from all year. The Lakers won the rebound battle barely 41-40.
Westbrook had a solid game with 32 points and 12 assists, on 12-23 shooting from the floor. Kevin Durant had 24 points, but was hounded by Ron Artest all night long, and shot just 8-24 from the field, including 1-8 from beyond the arc. The only other Thunder player in double-figures was Serge Ibaka who scored 11 points.
The win was the Lakers 11th straight at Staples Center over the Thunder, and they’ve now won 10 of their last 12 overall.
Los Angeles’ next game is Wednesday night against the slumping Dallas Mavericks in Dallas. The Mavs have lost six straight, and have dropped all the way to fifth in the Western Conference standings. They have been reeling since injuries to Caron Butler and Dirk Nowitski, but do have the big German back in the lineup now after he missed nine games with a knee strain. Butler is lost for the season.
Lakers Blow Lead, Lose to Clippers
01.18.11
Kobe Bryant goes up for two against Clippers.
The Lakers frustrated Blake Griffin, frustrated the Clippers, then watched it all come apart in the fourth quarter, and saw their 7-game winning streak go with it in a 99-92 loss to the Clippers at Staples Center on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant had 27 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, and took the game over in the third quarter as the Lakers built a 12-point lead at 67-55. But after that run, it was all downhill for the champs, as the Clippers started making shots, and Griffin got physical inside.
In a tight game, the Lakers led 45-44 at halftime, with Griffin scoring just two points, as Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom made life hard on the Clippers’ star rookie. After the Lakers led by double-digits late in the third quarter, the Clippers came alive led by the scoring of Eric Gordon and Griffin.
After a three-pointer by Ron Artest put the Lakers up 82-78 in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Clippers used a decisive 16-3 run to put the game away. Then tempers got a little testy. Griffin pushed Lamar Odom in the back going for a rebound with five seconds left, to which Odom was not too happy in a game that was clearly over.
The two got tangled up and went into a war of words with some pushing. Artest and Baron Davis ran in and tried to be peacemakers in the altercation. No punches were thrown, but all four players were ejected, with Artest’s ejection seeming quite ridiculous.
Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 13 rebonds for the Lakers, and Pau Gasol added 13 points and eight boards, but had a very tough time with the physical Griffin in the second half, and eventually fouled out of a forgettable ending for the Lakers.
Griffin, after a terrible first half, finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds, but shot just 7-20 from the floor. His string of 14-straight games with over 20 points was also snapped. Gordon had a game-high 30 points, hitting 13-20 from the field and 4-7 from beyond the arc. Davis was the only other Clipper in double-figures with 14 points.
The Lakers shot miserably from the field, at 41.3% (31-75), and an even worse 3-20 (15.0%) from the three-point line. They did get to the foul line 33 times, hitting 27, which helped offset the poor shooting from the floor. The also lost the rebound battle 50-45.
The Clippers didn’t shoot much better at 43.7% (38-87) from the field, but they hit 9-21 (42.9%) from long range and had 15 offensive rebounds.
The loss dropped the Lakers to 30-12 on the season, and 14-7 on the road.
The Lakers’ next game is Monday against Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center. The Thunder come in with the third-best record in the Western Conference and have won four straight. It will be the team’s first meeting since the Lakers beat the Oklahoma City 4-2 in a memorable first round match-up in last year’s playoffs.
Lakers Beat Nets, Win Streak Up To 7
01.15.11
Kobe Bryant makes circus shot against Nets.
The New Jersey Nets, one of the league’s doormats, certainly has not made life easy for the defending NBA champs in two games this season. The Lakers had their hands full again on Friday night, but led by Kobe Bryant, were able to get a 100-88 win over the Nets at Staples Center.
Bryant scored a team-high 27 points, to go along with four assists and four rebounds, as the Lakers beat the Nets for the seventh straight time. But it wasn’t easy.
The Nets led after one quarter 24-22, as Brook Lopez shredded the Lakers down low all game long. The Lakers recpatured the lead 45-40 by halftime, but never were able to shake New Jersey completely in the second half.
During the second 24 minutes, the Lakers had the lead up to double-digits on a few occasions, but the Nets simply would not go away, led by the play of Lopez and former Lakers Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. And with all the Carmelo Anthony trade rumors surrounding team, their focused effort was even more impressive.
The Lakers made enough good plays in the fourth quarter and kept the visitors at arm’s length to get the win. It was Los Angeles’ seventh straight victory, their longest since opening the season with eight consecutive wins.
Pau Gasol scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds in under 33 minutes. He also blocked four shots. Lamar Odom had 14 points and a 11 rebounds off the bench, and Ron Artest played a solid game, scoring 14 points on 5-7 shooting from the field. Andrew Bynum was in foul trouble all game long, and managed just two points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.
The Lakers shot 49.3% (35-71) from the field, hit 25-35 free throws, and committed only nine turnovers. Their downfall was on the glass, as the Nets held the rebound edge 45-38, including 15-7 at the offensive end. The second chances allowed New Jersey to take 14 more shots from the field, which kept them in the game, despite shooting just 42.4% (36-85) from the floor.
Lopez had a huge game, with 35 points on 13-19 from the floor. He was just two off his career-high of 37 points. He also added six rebounds and four assists.
Farmar and Vujacic got warm ovations from Lakers’ fans in their first games back at Staples Center. Vujacic was second on the team in scoring, tallying 17 points on 7-16 from the field off the bench. Farmar also had a nice game with 12 points, also coming off the bench. They were the only two players in double-figures besides Lopez.
The Lakers next game is Sunday at Staples Center against the Clippers. The Clippers will be the designated home team for the game, and are playing much better ball as of late, including a shocking 111-105 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday. The Lakers beat the Clippers 87-86 back on December 8th, on a running layup by Derek Fisher at the buzzer.
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