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Lakers Breeze Past Struggling Pistons
11.17.10
Kobe Bryant scores two of his 33 against Pistons.
The Lakers made short work of the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, leading by as many as 26 points in the second half, as they cruised to a 103-90 victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Kobe Bryant took advantage of smaller defenders all night, scoring a game-high 33 points, with nine rebounds, and four assists in just under 32 minutes of action. Pau Gasol dominated the worst-rebounding team in the league in the paint, with 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Lamar Odom added 15 points and 14 boards. The Lakers outrebounded the Pistons 55-41.
In a microcosm of the Pistons’ season so far, guard Richard Hamilton was ejected with two technicals just five minutes into the game, after he picked up two early fouls guarding Kobe Bryant. Discipline and internal battles have been a recurring theme for Detroit, as they continue to unravel on the court.
The Lakers took advantage of the Pistons’ woes, jumping out to a 59-45 lead halftime. The lead ballooned to 78-52 late in the third quarter, as the NBA champs showed no mercy in piling up the points. The final score was not indicative of how one-sided the game really was, as the Pistons made it respectable against the end of the Lakers’ bench in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons were led by Rodney Stuckey’s 18 points. Tayshaun Prince had 13 points, and Austin Daye added 12. Nobody else on the squad tallied more than eight points.
The Lakers held the Pistons to a miserable 39.3% from the field, including 4-16 (25.0%) from the 3-point line. The only bright spots for the home team on the stat sheet were that they only committed just five turnovers, and held the league’s highest-scoring team to 103 points. The Lakers have now beaten the Pistons three straight times in Detroit, after dropping the previous six there.
The Lakers conclude their three-game road trip on Friday in Minnesota. The Lakers have already beaten the Timberwolves once this season in Los Angeles, but it was a struggle in a 99-94 win back on November 9.
Lakers Bounce Back, Topple the Bucks
11.16.10
Matt Barnes throws it down against Bucks.
The Lakers made sure their losing streak ended at two, as they came back strong in the second half and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 118-107 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.
Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and had three assists in a solid all-around performance. But it was really the play of Shannon Brown off the bench that propelled the Lakers to victory. Brown scored 16 of his 21 points in the decisive fourth quarter, including 4-5 from behind the 3-point line, helping the Lakers erase a 59-57 halftime deficit.
Pau Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Lamar Odom added 13 points and 7 boards, as the Lakers rebounded from Sunday night’s shocking loss at home to the Suns at home where they allowed 22 3-pointers. On this night, they held the Bucks to 46.1% from the field, and just 9-24 from beyond the arc (37.5%).
The Bucks were hot early though, hitting 8-13 from the 3-point line, and taking a back-and-forth battle to the locker room with a lead. The Lakers turned up the defense in the second half, holding the Bucks to 22 points in the third quarter and taking a 90-81 lead into the final period. They Bucks never got closer than seven after that.
The Lakers shot the ball well in all facets on Tuesday, hitting 53.8% from the field, 82.8% from the foul line, and a season-high 10-16 (62.5%) from the 3-point line.
Los Angeles-born Brandon Jennings led the home team with 31 points and 6 assists. Drew Gooden had a superb game with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Andrew Bogut, still struggling with his shooting elbow, scored 12, and grabbed 18 rebounds (9 offensive), but hit just 2-10 from the free throw line.
The Lakers play the second game on this three-game trip tomorrow night in Detroit against the struggling Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Lakers have beaten the Pistons the last two years at the Palace, after dropping six straight there.
Link: Lakers @ Bucks Box Score
Lakers Buried By Avalanche of Threes
11.15.10
Kobe Bryant looks to pass against Suns.
The Phoenix Suns hit 22 3-point baskets, one short of the NBA record, as they dropped the Lakers 121-116 at Stapes Center on Sunday. It was the Lakers’ second straight loss after opening the season 8-0.
The Suns led the game for most of the night, behind the hot shooting of Jason Richardson, who scored 35 points with eight rebounds, on 13-20 from the field, including 7-10 from beyond the arc.
Six different Suns hit 3-pointers as the team shot 22-40 from distance, a whopping 55%. Steve Nash had 21 points and 13 assists, and Channing Frye added 20 (4-9 on 3-pointers) off the bench. Hedo Turkoglu hit 5-7 from the 3-point line for 17 points.
Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 28 points and 17 rebounds and Kobe Bryant nearly had his second triple-double of the season, finishing with 25 points, 14 assists, and 9 rebounds. Lamar Odom had 22 points and 11 rebounds, but committed a costly technical foul late in the game with the Lakers trailing by two.
The Suns took a 56-53 lead into halftime, and stretched their advantage to 90-76 late in the third quarter with a barrage of long-distance bombs. Every time the Lakers got close in the fourth, Phoenix had an answer.
The biggest play of the night however was in the final minute. After Lamar Odom drove to the basket for a layup to cut the Suns’ lead to two, he began yelling at the officials for a foul call as well. With the new tighter rules for technical fouls in place, Odom was whistled for one which the Suns converted to put them back up three at 112-109. With the momentum gone, the Lakers were unable to rally as the Suns closed out the game for the win.
With two straight losses, the Lakers hit the road for three games this week, starting in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. The Bucks started off the year slow but have been playing much better as of late, and are back to .500 at 5-5. Last year’s game in Milwaukee was headlined by Kobe Bryant’s overtime buzzer beater to give the Lakers a 107-106 win.
Lakers Blow Lead, Fall in Denver
11.11.10
Ron Artest goes up for two against Nuggets.
The Lakers blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead, played sloppy down the stretch, and watched Carmelo Anthony pour in 32 points as the Nuggets knocked the Lakers from the ranks of the undefeated, 118-112 in Denver on Thursday night.
It was a game the Lakers were in control of most of the night, leading by as many as 14 midway through the third quarter. They held a 95-85 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the game when the Nuggets went on a 16-0 run to take a 101-98 lead. The Lakers took their last lead at 105-103 on a layup by Shannon Brown , but were thoroughly outplayed down the stretch, settling for too many 3-pointers, as the Nuggets pulled away late for an impressive come-from-behind win.
Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 34 points, but hit only 11-32 shots from the field. He missed several open jump shots down the stretch as well. Pau Gasol had 17 points and a season-high 20 rebounds, but was clearly frustrated by the Nuggets’ smaller lineup employed by coach George Karl for large parts of the game. Ron Artest had a solid game with 18 points.
The real bright spot for the Lakers was the play of Shannon Brown, who scored 19 points off the bench and made several big shots and plays in the fourth quarter to keep them close. But it wasn’t enough, as the Lakers fell to 8-1 on the season.
Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 32 points (on 14-25 shooting) and 13 rebounds. His play was the difference down the stretch as he hit big basket after big basket to help get the win. Nene had 18 points.
But it was the play of the Nuggets’ bench that got the them the lead in the fourth. Ty Lawson got the to the rim at will, scoring 17 points with 5 assists, and J.R. Smith, who has struggled this year so far, found his range from beyond the arc and scored 13 points.
The Lakers will try to bounce back on Sunday as they take on Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center on Sunday. The Lakers beat the Suns 114-106 in the second game of the season in Phoenix.
Kobe Powers Lakers Past Timberwolves for 8-0
11.10.10
Kobe Bryant drives to basket against Timberwolves.
The Los Angeles Lakers matched the second-best start in franchise history at 8-0, with a sloppy 99-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Staples Center on Tuesday.
Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 33 points, including 23 of them in the first half. He hit only 3-13 from the field in the second half, as the Lakers were never able to put the pesky Timberwolves away until the final minute of the game. Bryant bounced back from a sub-par game on Sunday against the Trail Blazers when he scored just 12 points on 3-11 shooting.
Pau Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Lamar Odom shook off a foul-plagued evening, scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds in just under 27 minutes of play. Ron Artest added 13 points.
The biggest star of the night though was former UCLA standout Kevin Love, who scored 23 points and grabbed a career-high 24 rebounds for the Timberwolves. It was the second 20/20 game of Love’s career. Michael Beasley scored 17 points, and Sebastian Telfair added 13 points and 9 assists for the visitors, who lost to the Lakers for the 12th straight time.
The young Timberwolves, led by former Laker coach and player Kurt Rambis, fought the defending champs all game long, and even cut a seemingly-secure 11-point Laker lead to eight in the final seconds of the third quarter on a half-court heavy by Maurice Ager. The Wolves closed to within two late in the fourth, before Lamar Odom hit a 3-pointer and then a driving layup to give the Lakers an 94-87 lead, as they hung on for the win.
It was a lethargic performance by the Lakers, who were coming off a strong win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, and may have very well looking past the young Timberwolves towards their Thursday night battle in Denver. The game was marred by sloppy play as the Wolves turned the ball over 27 times, and the Lakers had 18.
The Lakers were also dominated on the glass for the second time in three games, as the Timberwolves held a 54-42 rebounding edge, including 26 on the offensive end. The second chances helped the visitors hang in a game where they shot just 38.0% from the field.
The Lakers try to move to 9-0 on Thursday, facing their toughest test of the young season against the Nuggets in Denver. The Lakers best start in franchise history is 11-0, accomplished by the 1997-98 team that went on to win 61 games.
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