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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.
Lakers End Slump, Bury Kings By 33
12.03.10
Kobe Bryant scores two over Luther Head.
The Lakers’ longest losing streak in 2 1/2 years is over. Back at home on Friday, the Lakers made short work of the Sacramento Kings in their easiest win of the season, 113-80, ending a four-game skid.
The champs came out focused from the start, and played strong defense from the opening tip to the final horn. They shot 56.6% from the field, and held the Kings to just 40.3%, including 5-16 (31.3%) from the three-point line. All stats were a vast improvement over what had been happening at both ends of the court during the losing streak.
Kobe Bryant was the game’s leading scorer with 22 points, and got to be a spectator the entire fourth quarter during the Lakers’ largest blow out of the season. He played a little over 26 minutes for the night.
Pau Gasol, playing despite a sore left hamstring, scored 16 points, with five rebounds, five assists, and three blocks in under 27 minutes. It was also a welcomed, short evening for Gasol, who has logged heavy minutes in recent games as the Lakers continue to try to get by without Andrew Bynum and Theo Ratliff.
Lamar Odom added 16 points and seven rebounds, and the Lakers’ bench, led by Shannon Brown’s 14 points, outscored the Sacramento bench 52-37.
The Kings kept the game close for most of the first quarter and trailed only 21-16 after the first 12 minutes. But the Lakers took over from there, leading 52-35 at the break, and by as much as 35 in the fourth quarter en route to the 33-point win. The 80 points were also a season-low for a Laker opponent.
Jason Thompson led the Kings with 19 points and 10 rebounds, although most of his damage was done when the game was well out of hand in the second half. Tyreke Evans had 15 points, but continues to struggle with his shot, hitting just 5-15 from the field.
A game against the struggling Kings was just what the doctor ordered for the Lakers, as they will head out on a six game road trip beginning next week, and are in desperate need of a positive swing of momentum before the two-week marathon.
The Lakers next game is Tuesday night at Staples Center against another stuggling team, the Washington Wizards, who do boast one of the league’s most-exciting rookies, and the number one pick in the draft, John Wall.
Lakers Blow Late Lead in Utah
11.27.10
Kobe drives to basket past Deron Williams.
Things were looking in good Utah. Kobe Bryant had scored 14 points over a two-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers had a five-point lead with just over two-minutes left. That’s where the fun ended in Salt Lake City on Friday night.
The Utah Jazz scored the last 11 points of the game, withstanding Bryant’s late scoring barrage, and defeated the Lakers 102-96. They also trailed the world champs by 19 points early in the game, but erased that deficit to take a 75-72 lead after three quarters.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 31 points, playing just under 34 minutes. Pau Gasol scored 21 and grabbed 11 rebounds, bouncing back from a sub-par game against Chicago on Tuesday. Lamar Odom had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
It looked like the game would be a laugher early, as the Lakers led 33-17 after one quarter, and still held a double-digit lead midway through the second. That’s when the Jazz’ bench, led by Ronnie Price, came in and sparked a rally that got them back in the game before halftime.
After the break, the game was a dogfight, as the lead changed hand several times, with no team leading by more than five points until the final score. The play of the game turned out to be Bryant losing the ball out front, and Raja Bell scoring an uncontested layup to put the Jazz up 98-96. Ron Artest then missed a wide-open three-pointer, and the Jazz made all their free throws down the stretch for the win.
Deron Williams led the Jazz with 29 points (10-14 from the field), and 12 assists. Al Jefferson, who hadn’t played on a team that had beaten the Lakers since 2005, scored 20 points, and grabbed eight rebounds. Paul Milsap had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Jazz, who moved to 12-5 on the season.
It was the second straight poor-shooting game for the Lakers, as they managed to hit just 41.8% from the field, and just 4-15 (26.7%) from the three-point line. In fact, Steve Blake and Derek Fisher alone combined to shoot 0-6 from beyond the arc. It was also the Lakers’ second straight game under 100 points, the first time that’s happened all year.
The loss dropped the Lakers to 13-3, and left them still 1/2 game behind San Antonio for first place in the Western Conference. Their next game is home on Sunday against the Indiana Pacers, who earlier this week knocked off the Miami Heat 93-77 in Miami. The Lakers head out for a quick two-game road trip after Sunday’s game.
Link: Lakers @ Jazz Box Score
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 Take Care of Business in Phoenix
10.30.10
Lamar Odom drives to basket against Suns.
The Lakers returned to Phoenix for the first time since dispatching the Suns in the Western Conference Finals last May, and took a win back to Los Angeles 114-106, behind a strong game from Lamar Odom.
Odom, starting in place of the injured Andrew Bynum, scored 18 points and dominated the glass with 17 rebounds. He also had five assists and hit 8-12 from the field. All the throughout the game, it was obvious how much the lack of size hurt the Suns on the boards, especially with the loss of Amare Stoudemire who is now playing in New York. The Lakers were able to take advantage of the size mismatches all night, and the sharp-shooting Suns managed to hit only 9-24 from the 3-point line.
Kobe Bryant had a solid game with 25 points on 9-19 from the field. He also added seven rebounds and needed to play only 34 minutes, getting more rest for his surgically-repaired knee which is still not 100% yet. Pau Gasol had 21 points, eight assists, nine rebounds, and two blocks, Ron Artest added 14 points and three steals, and Matt Barnes chipped in with 11 points off the bench, including 3-4 from behind the arc.
The Suns were led by Grant Hill’s 21 points, and Robin Lopez had a solid 18 points and 14 rebounds. Steve Nash struggled all night, hitting only 3-9 from the field, for eight points in 29 minutes. He did have nine assists. Goran Dragic had 15 points off the bench to go with four assists.
The game was tight early as the Suns gave a valiant effort to keep it close, and trailed only 57-50 at halftime. The Lakers stretched the the lead from 8-10 points several times in the second half, but never could put away the Suns, who managed to tie the game at 76 late in the third quarter. The Lakers pulled away early in the fourth quarter and the Suns never were never able to get to any closer than six points down the stretch.
The win moved the Lakers to 2-0 on the new season, the Suns fell to 1-2, losing their home opener after winning handily in Utah last night. The Lakers next game is Halloween night on Sunday against Golden St. at Staples Center. Golden St. may be without star second-year guard Stephen Curry, as he left the game on Friday against the Clippers after re-aggravating an ankle injury.
Link: Lakers @ Suns Box Score
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