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Big Second Half Propels Lakers Past Jazz
04.02.11
Kobe Bryant drives to the basket against the Jazz.
For the first 24 minutes of Friday night’s game in Utah, it seemed like the Lakers were destined to give back the game they gained from Thursday’s nights hard-fought victory against Dallas.
But these Lakers are just playing at a whole other level. The champs rallied from 17 points down, overwhelming the undermanned Utah Jazz in the second half, and scored a 96-85 at EnergySolutions Arena, their ninth straight win, and 17th in the last 18 games.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 21 points and Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol each had 16. Gasol also added a team-high nine rebounds in the win.
Utah jumped on the Lakers early, led 26-13 in the first quarter, and then put together an 11-0 run in the second quarter to build a 41-24 lead. But that’s when the tide began to shift. Los Angeles fought back with an 18-7 run to close the half, and trailed just 48-42 at the break.
The second half was all Lakers, as Derek Fisher’s three-pointer finally got the Lakers even at 62 with just over four minutes left in the third quarter. Moments later they took the lead for good when Kyrylo Fesenko was called for goaltending on a Shannon Brown shot. The Lakers led 71-64 after three.
The lead stretched to 83-65 early in the fourth, and the Lakers held off the Jazz the rest of the way for what turned out to be a fairly easy victory. Los Angeles outscored Utah 52-35 in the second half.
Utah played without three of their key players, as Andrei Kirilenko, Devin Harris, and Raja Bell all missed the game with injuries. The Lakers played without Matt Barnes, who was suspended by the NBA for his role in Thursday night’s melee with Dallas.
C.J. Miles, who had been in a shooting slump, scored 13 points in the first half for the Jazz, and finished with a game-high 24. Al Jefferson added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Milsap chipped in with 16 points.
The Lakers shot just 39.4% from the field in the first half, but finished the game at 47.9% (34-71). They also held the Jazz to 41.5% (34-82) from the floor, and 2-10 (20.0%) from the three-point line. The Jazz did outrebound the Lakers 44-39, including 15-6 on the offensive end, but held a much bigger advantage (28-18) at the end of the first half.
The win, combined with San Antonio’s sixth straight loss at Houston on Friday, brought the Lakers to within 1.5 games for first place in the Western Conference, with seven remaining. The Lakers’ current 17-1 record is the highest post-All-Star break winning percentage (.944) in league history. The Jazz are second, going 31-4 (.885) after the All-Star break back in 1997.
The loss eliminated Utah from the Western Conference playoff race, marking the first time a team started 15-5 and 27-13 and didn’t make the playoffs.
The Lakers now return home for a Sunday afternoon battle at Staples Center against the new-look Denver Nuggets, who have been playing very well since trading their superstar forward Carmelo Anthony last month. The two teams have split their two meetings this year, with the Lakers winning the last game 107-97 in Denver back on January 21.
Link: Lakers @ Jazz Box Score
Kobe Closes Out The Warriors as Lakers Win
01.13.11
Kobe Bryant drives towards basket against Warriors.
Kobe Bryant has the reputation of being the game’s best closer. On Wednesday night he didn’t disappoint, taking over the game in the final six minutes, and rallying the Lakers past the pesky Golden St. Warriors 115-110 at Oracle Arena.
Bryant scored 17 of his game-high 39 points in the final 5:49, as the Lakers overcame an early 14-point deficit. He also had a crucial assist on a Ron Artest three-pointer with under two minutes left, that gave the Lakers a five point cushion. Bryant grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists, and hit 13-21 from the field.
But it wasn’t just the heroics of #24 that saved the Lakers on this night. Lamar Odom came off the bench to score 20 points, to go along with nine rebounds, and single-handedly kept the world champs in the game early in the fourth quarter, before Bryant came in and closed it out.
Pau Gasol had another solid game with 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum scored 11 points to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds.
The Warriors led most of the game. They jumped out to a 37-23 lead in the second quarter, behind the sizzling shooing of Monta Ellis, who scored 21 of his 38 points in the first half. After the Lakers went ahead briefly at 43-42, the Warriors went on an 11-2 run to close the half and take a 53-45 to the break.
In the third quarter quarter, the Warriors kept the pressure on the Lakers, keeping the lead between 6-8 points most the quarter. Ellis hit a buzzer-beating jumper that gave Golden St. a 75-69 lead after three.
The fourth quarter turned into a duel between Ellis and Bryant, with the reigning 2-time NBA Finals MVP finally getting the better of his shooting guard counterpart down the stretch, hitting big shot after big shot, including a dagger three-pointer to put the Lakers up 105-99 with just over 30 seconds left. The Warriors hit several threes down the stretch, but the Lakers made all the foul shots for the win.
Ellis for the game hit 15-26 from the field, and 4-5 from three-point line, playing all 48 minutes of the game. Dorell Wright also played the entire game, scoring 27 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. Stephen Curry had 15 points and 10 assists.
Both teams shot the ball well, the Lakers hit 51.2% (42-82) from the field and 26-29 (89.7%) from the foul line. The Warriors shot 50.6% (44-87) from the field and a ridiculous 13-30 (43.3%) from beyond the arc. Los Angeles dominated on the glass 47-27, including 18 at the offensive end, which gave them a lot of second-chance opportunities, offsetting the massive three-point differential.
And after turning the ball over frequently in the first half leading to 20 fastbreak points for the Warriors, the Lakers finished the game with a respectable 14 turnovers.
The Lakers have now won six straight games, and are sitting in second place in the Western Conference, 4.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs. They’re now 14-6 on the road, and have won eight of their last nine away from Staples Center.
The champs next face the slumping New Jersey Nets on Friday night at Staples Center. The Lakers won the first meeting in New Jersey 99-92 back in early December, a game that was a lot closer than it should have been. Former Lakers Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic will make their first appearances at Staples Center in uniforms other than purple and gold. Farmar will also receive is 2009-10 NBA Championship ring.
Fisher’s Buzzer-Beater Gets Lakers By Clippers
12.09.10
Derek Fisher hits the game-winner against Clippers.
Normally when Derek Fisher hits a game-winning shot, it’s a jump shot. On Wednesday night he tried something a little different, as he banked in a layup at the buzzer, to lead the Lakers to a wild 87-86 win over the Clippers at Staples Center.
The game seemed to played in mud all night, as neither team had much of an offensive flow. After an early lead, the Lakers found themselves down the rest of the night, never really did find their rhythm, but were able to make enough plays down the stretch to pull out what was seemed to be a loss to their hallway rivals.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 24 points, and while he only scored four points in the fourth quarter, his two baskets in the final two minutes of the game, set up the dramatic finish.
With the Clippers leading 84-83 after a Bryant basket, Ron Artest knocked away a pass for a steal, and Bryant then drilled an 18-foot jumper to put the Lakers up 85-84 with 22.8 seconds left.
After a timeout, the Clippers’ Eric Gordon, who scored 24 points himself, spun down the lane and found DeAndre Jordan for dunk, and an 86-85 lead with 15.5 seconds left. Not calling a timeout, the Lakers brought the ball down and Bryant was fouled by Gordon before he could get up a shot with 3.1 seconds left. The Clippers had a foul to give, although Gordon didn’t appear to commit the foul intentionally.
After a Laker timeout, Fisher took the inbound pass above the top of the three-point line, and drove the left side of the lane to the basket against Eric Bledsoe, and floated in the running layup at the buzzer over the outstretched fingers of DeAndre Jordan, who nearly blocked the shot, for the exciting 87-86 win.
Fisher only hit three baskets in the game, but the last one mattered the most.
Shannon Brown had a big night off the bench for the Lakers, scoring 16 points, and single-handedly keeping the Lakers in the game in the third quarter after they had fallen down by 12 points, including a 50-foot heave at the buzzer to bring the Lakers to 71-65 after three.
Lamar Odom, plagued by foul trouble, scored just 8 points and eventually fouled out of the game. Pau Gasol also continues to struggle, scoring just 10 points on 4-13 from the field, although he did grab 11 rebounds.
Clippers’ rookie star Blake Griffin, who also was in foul trouble early and struggled to find his game in the first half, wound up with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Eric Bledsoe added 11 points and seven assists, and DeAndre Jordan scored nine points, and grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Lakers were once again were outrebounded, 52-39, and shot a miserable 42.5% from the field. The Clippers were their own worst enemy down the stretch, turning the ball over on two straight possessions to allow the Lakers the chance to get close in the final two minutes. Ron Artest had four steals for Lakers.
While most thought the game wouldn’t be close, the Clippers were not intimidated by the world champs, and weathered an early 20-12 Lakers lead to take a 43-41 lead into the break. They led by 68-56 late in third before the Lakers mounted a charge to get back into the game. The lead changed hands three times in the final 22 seconds of the game.
The Lakers next game is on Friday in Chicago against the Bulls, who now have Carlos Boozer back in the lineup. Boozer didn’t play in the first meeting between the two teams, an 98-91 win by the Lakers back on November 23. The Lakers are hoping to have Andrew Bynum back on Tuesday when they play the Washington Wizards in the nation’s capital.
Lakers Sudden Skid Reaches Three
12.01.10
Kobe Bryant bottled up in Memphis.
It wasn’t that long ago the Lakers started the year 8-0, and discussions began to creep up how this team might challenge the Bulls’ magical 72-10 record. Now just ten games later, the team is searching for answers, as they have dropped three straight following Tuesday’s 98-96 loss in Memphis against the Grizzlies.
In a recurring theme over the last week, the defense continues to struggle, allowing yet another sub-.500 team to shoot well, as Memphis hit 48.8% from the field, and 8-12 (66.7%) from the three-point line, and seemingly scored at will down the stretch of the game.
The struggles also continued on the offensive end, as the Lakers, once leading the league in scoring at over 112 points per game, now have scored less than 100 in their last four games, shooting another miserable 43.6% from the floor, and an even worse 7-22 (31.8%) from the three-point line.
Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 29 points, but again struggled with his shot, hitting just 9-25 from the field. He did also had seven rebounds and five assists. Pau Gasol continues to play too many minutes, as he logged just under 45 on Tuesday, scoring 15 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, despite shooting just 5-13 from the floor.
Despite all the issues, the Lakers trailed by only two at halftime 51-49, but fell down by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter, before a late rally got them back in the game. Ron Artest hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 98-94 with just over a minute left.
After the Lakers scored to make it 98-96, they were able to force a Grizzly turnover with 14 seconds left in the game, and decided not to call timeout to set up a play. Bryant dribbled up court and drove to the middle of the lane, but lost the ball in mid-air and was forced to pass out to Ron Artest, who had his last ditch attempt blocked by Rudy Gay to seal the win for the Grizzlies. Artest finished with 12 points.
Mike Conley scored a season-high 28 points on 10-13 shooting, inciuding 4-5 beyond the arc. Rudy Gay only had 14 points, but had six big blocks, including the one on Artest as time ran out. The Grizzlies had six players score in double-figures, and turned the ball over only seven times.
The loss dropped the Lakers to 13-5, and they are now shockingly sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference, 2 1/2 games behind the San Antonio Spurs, who continue to play very well at 15-2.
The Lakers conclude their short two-game trip on Wednesday in Houston, in the second of a back-to-back set. The Rockets are without center Yao Ming, and most-likely without starting point guard Aaron Brooks, both out with injuries.
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.
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