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Laker Win Eighth Straight, Rout Mavs 114-103
12.04.03
In a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score, the Lakers continued their domination over the Mavericks, as they cruised to their eighth straight win, 114-103 in Dallas on Thursday night.
For the second straight night, Shaquille O’Neal was a monster on the defensive end. He controlled the defensive glass, blocked shots, and forced the Mavs into several ill-advised shots. He finished the game with 25 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, and three blocked shots.
The Lakers took the lead from opening tip, and getting up by as much 27-11 in the first quarter. They led the game 51-42 at halftime, and Dallas never really seriously challenged the rest of the way.
The Mavs struggled from the floor all game, as the Lakers’ defense held the high-scoring team to 37.4% shooting (37-of-99) from the field. The Lakers shot 44.2% (38-of-86) from the floor and made 31-of-40 (77.5%) from the charity stripe.
Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 32 points. Gary Payton scored 17 and dished out eight assists, and Karl Malone added 11 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
Steve Nash led Dallas with 30 points and eight assists, and was the recipient of two stitches after being hit in the mouth with a Malone elbow in the third quarter. The Mavs played without leading scorer Dirk Nowitski, who has an inured ankle.
The Lakers have now beaten the Mavericks 46 of the last 51 times the two teams have met. The Lakers current eight-game winning streak is their longest in two seasons.
The Lakers next game is Sunday night at Staples Center against the Utah Jazz.
Link: LakerStats.com Box Score
Link: NBA.com Recap
Phil Jackson Named NBA Coach of the Month
12.01.03
Phil Jackson, along with Indiana’s Rick Carlisle, were named NBA Coaches of the Month for games from October 28th through November.
The Lakers were 14-3 through November, and have won 25 straight home regular season games, including a 10-0 start this year. They’re also currently on a 6-game winning streak and have impressive blow-out wins over Indiana and San Antonio in the last week.
The Lakers are second in the league in scoring at 103.1 points per game, and in field goal percentage at .472.
Link: NBA.com – Carlisle, Jackson Named Coaches of the Month
Lakers Dominate in Battle of League’s Best
11.30.03
In a game most figured would be close, the Los Angeles Lakers pounded the Indiana Pacers 99-77 Sunday night at Staples Center, in a battle of two teams with the NBA’s best records.
The win for the Lakers was their 25th straight at home, setting a Los Angeles franchise-record. The previous record of 24 was set 15 years ago.
Shaquille O’Neal scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, and Karl Malone played another solid game with 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
In a quiet night, Kobe Bryant added 12 points and 7 assists and Gary Payton took just 7 shots, scoring 8 points. But on this night, their offensive output wasn’t needed, as the Lakers got solid efforts from the entire roster.
The Laker defense was smothering, forcing the Pacers into 23 turnovers and shooting just 39.1% from the field.
On the other hand, the Lakers shot 48.0% from the floor and 42.9% from beyond the arc, as they scored 99 points against the league’s best defense. Before the game the Pacers were allowing just 80.4 points per game.
The Lakers led the game 46-37 at the half, with O’Neal plagued with foul trouble. In the second half with him back on the court, the Lakers surged to a 68-51 lead after three quarters, and never looked back. The Lakers have beaten their last six opponents by an average of just under 20 points.
The Pacers were led by Al Harrington, who scored 18 points off the bench. Their leading scorer, Jermaine O’Neal, had foul problems of his own and scored just 14 points.
The Lakers now head to on the road for a “Texas-Two-Step.” They’ll play Wednesday night against in San Antonio against the World Champion Spurs, a team they just beat by 16 two days ago, then Thursday at Dallas, before heading home.
Link: LakerStats.com Box Score
Link: NBA.com Recap
Kobe Saves The Day, Lakers Sink Bucks 113-107
11.04.03
If tonight was any indication of Kobe Bryant‘s health, Laker fans have nothing to worry about. Bryant hit a variety of 4th quarter shots as he helped rally the Lakers from behind to beat the Bucks 113-107 in Milwaukee.
The Lakers, who trailed most of the second half, overcame as much as a 10-point deficit to take control of the game in the final minute. Bryant hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:30 left giving the Lakers a 103-101 lead, which they never relinquished. The All-Star guard then hit a jump shot with 30 seconds left to seal the victory.
Bryant scored a season-high 31 points, to go along with eight assists and seven rebounds, leading another very balanced Laker attack, with six players in double-figures. Shaquille O’Neal scored 23 and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. Gary Payton scored 19 in his return to Milwaukee, and Karl Malone, despite shooting only 4-of-15 from the field, scored 11 points to go along with his 11 rebounds.
The Lakers led the game by as many as 12 in the first half. But poor free throw shooting and a barrage of Bucks 3-pointers put the Lakers in a second half hole that they barely were able to dig out of. A late 11-0 run in the 4th quarter was capped by an O’Neal dunk and free throw helping the Lakers remain undefeated at 4-0.
The Bucks were led by Michael Redd who tallied a game-high 36 points, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Link: LakerStats.com Box Score
Link: NBA.com Recap
Warriors Return Favor, Pound Lakers
10.09.03
One night after an 18-point win in their preseason opener, the Lakers never got on track Wednesday, as the Warriors returned the favor from the previous night with a 99-83 victory.
The Lakers led 24-22 after one quarter, but never were really able to sustain any momentum, as the Warriors dominated the rest of the game, outscoring the Lakers 77-59 over the next three periods.
After the starters gave the Lakers the lead in first quarter, Coach Phil Jackson went with primarily younger players in the second, which is when the game got out of hand. “We won the first quarter with the first unit out there,” Jackson said. “The second quarter was a nightmare.”
“We had a breakdown out there. We had a little bit of offensive confusion. As soon as that happened, the players went to their natural instincts which is try and to score on their own, outside the context of what our offense is.”
The Lakers never did make a serious run in the second half, rallying to within 12 points at 59-47 early in the half, but never getting any closer. For the game, the Lakers shot only 37.2% from the field, including a horrendous 26.3% in the first half. By contrast, Golden State shot 51.9% for the game.
Gary Payton led the Lakers with 11 points. Shaquille 0’Neal, Kareem Rush, and Jannero Pargo each chipped in 10. Karl Malone
scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Warriors were led by Speedy Claxton, who tallied 20 points in the win.
The Lakers next preseason game will be Tuesday, October 21 against the Phoenix Suns in San Diego at 7:30 PM Pacific Time. Kobe Bryant, who is in Colorado today for his court proceedings, is expected to make his preseason debut in that game.
Link: Yahoo! Box Score
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