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Lakers Grind One Out Against Timberwolves
03.18.11
Andrew Bynum blocks Kevin Love's shot.
The Lakers have won 11 of 12 games since the All-Star break, but Friday night’s win against the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves may have been the toughest victory of the bunch.
The Lakers overcame Kobe Bryant’s struggles with his sore ankle, and Andrew Bynum’s fourth quarter ejection to beat the Wolves 106-98 at Staples Center.
Pau Gasol scored 25 points and four blocks on 12-17 from the field, as the Lakers battled back from an early 10-point deficit. Bryant struggled with his shot most of the night but did finish with 18 points, five assists, and four rebounds. Bynum had 10 points and 14 rebounds before he was tossed in the fourth quarter after a Flagrant 2 foul call on Michael Beasley.
Bynum, who again was dominant on the defensive end again, struggled a bit offensively and was clearly frustrated late in the game after missing a dunk and committing an offensive foul.
As Beasley drove to the rim, Bynum jumped up and threw out his hip and elbow into Beasley who went crashing to the floor, but did get up angrily very quickly. Bynum was ejected after officials checked the replay. Beasley made both foul shots, but left the game moments later with a sore hip. At the time the Wolves still held the lead.
Bryant who scored just six points in the first half, scored 12 in the second half, and hit some crucial jump shots late to get the Lakers back out in front. He didn’t start the second half, as it appeared he was getting extra work done on his sprained ankle during halftime. Shannon Brown started the third quarter and finished with 14 points off the bench.
With the Wolves clinging to an 89-88 lead, the Lakers went on a 12-6 run, highlighted by a Lamar Odom three-pointer with just over 1:30 left in the game that put the Lakers up by their biggest margin of the night 100-94. Minnesota could get no closer than five in the final minute as the Lakers extended their winning streak over the Timberwolves to 15 games. The Wolves haven’t beaten the Lakers since March of 2007.
For the game, the Lakers shot 47.6% (40-84) from the field, including 8-19 (42.1%) from beyond the arc. They held Minnesota to 44.3% (39-88) from the floor and just 7-21 (33.3%) from long range. The Wolves did win the rebound battle 45-44, but actually held a double-digit rebound lead early in the game.
Wesley Johnson led all scorers with 29 points on 11-21 from the floor for Minnesota. Michael Beasley had 18 points and seven rebounds before he left the game, and Kevin Love tallied another double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
The win put the Lakers in sole position of second place in the Western Conference at 49-20, one full game ahead of Dallas, who lost to San Antonio 97-91 on Friday.
The world champs continue their seven-game homestand on Sunday night against the surging Portland Trail Blazers. Los Angeles has beaten Portland twice already this season. They could however be without the services of Bynum, who may face a league suspension for his flagrant foul on Beasley. That could pose a problem against the suddenly very big and healthy Trail Blazer team.
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 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.
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