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ESPN: Lakers Trade Sasha Vujacic to New Jersey
12.14.10
Joe Smith. The newest Laker?
From ESPN.com:
The New Jersey Nets agreed to trade Terrence Williams to the Houston Rockets in a three-way deal that will land them Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic and a pair of first-round draft picks, sources confirmed to ESPN.com.
The trade, which has been agreed upon in principle, will also send Nets veteran power forward Joe Smith to the Lakers, while New Jersey will receive Los Angeles’ 2011 first-round pick and Houston’s 2012 lottery-protected first rounder, sources said.
Read the entire story here. So long Sasha, thanks for those two fouls shots in Game 7. Oh yeah, your girlfriend was hot too. Hello Joe Smith.
Lakers Do Enough To Get By Wizards
12.08.10
Pau Gasol lays in two against Wizards.
In game that was far closer than it should have been, the Lakers got 32 points from Kobe Bryant and beat the slumping Washington Wizards 115-108 at Staples Center on Tuesday night.
The game wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for the Lakers, although it looked like it would be for a while. They led 69-56 at halftime, and by the middle of the third quarter, had a 19-point lead.
But the Wizards chipped away late in the period, and cut the Lakers’ lead to 87-84 after three. They got no closer in the fourth, however, as the Lakers managed to make enough plays down the stretch for the 7-point victory.
Pau Gasol nearly had his second triple-double of the season. He wound up finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists, and five blocked shots, in almost 43 minutes. It appears that whatever was wrong with Gasol’s hamstring seems to have improved over the last several days, as he showed no signs of injury on the court.
Lamar Odom also had a nice night with 24 points and seven rebounds. Shannon Brown added 12 off of the bench.
Former USC-star Nick Young scored 30 points off the bench in his return home to lead the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas played his first game against the Lakers in over three years, scoring 23 points. The last time he played at Staples, he scored 60 points in a 147-141 overtime win. That was also the last time the Wizards beat the Lakers, they have lost eight straight since.
Rookie John Wall was very impressive, scoring 22 points and dishing out 14 assists, as he showed his incredible speed and quickness in the open court scoring several dazzling layups.
The game certainly wasn’t a thing of beauty for the Lakers, as their field goal percentage plummeted in the second half, and they finished shooting just 44.9% from the floor for the game. They also struggled again from the three-point line, hitting just 7-25 (28.0%). They did outrebound the Wizards 45-34 including 22-9 on the offensive end. The Wizards also did turn the ball over 17 times, compared to only 13 for the Lakers.
While it may not have been the ideal way to go out before the upcoming seven-game road trip, a victory is still a victory. And with everyone in the West playing so well right now, the Lakers can ill afford to falter against any more sub-.500 teams.
The Lakers’ next game is tomorrow night against the Clippers. And while the Lakers are technically considered the “road” team for the game, they really won’t hit the road until they play in Chicago on Friday. It will be the Lakers’ first look at Clipper rookie-sensation Blake Griffin.
The Lakers also hope to have Andrew Bynum back at some point on the road trip, as he completed his first full practice on Monday with the team, and experienced no pain or swelling in his knee. A good sign for a return soon.
Lakers Fail to Show Against Pacers
11.30.10
Kobe Bryant shoots over Brandon Rush.
The Indiana Pacers had never beaten the Lakers at Staples Center since the facility opened in 1999, including three Finals losses in 2000. On Sunday night, they changed all that, beating the Lakers 95-92 in a very lackluster performance by the world champs.
The Pacers took over in the second quarter, outscoring the Lakers 28-19, and holding a 51-45 lead at halftime. They never relinquished that advantage, and held a double-digit lead through much of the second half, before the Lakers rallied late in the fourth quarter to make a game of it.
Kobe Bryant scored 41 points, but missed two potential game-tying three-pointers in the final 10 seconds, and the Pacers players and coaches celebrated their second impressive road win in less than a week. They beat the Miami Heat in Miami last Monday 93-77.
Lamar Odom scored 15 points, and grabbed 11 rebounds in the losing effort. Pau Gasol added 13 points, and 12 rebounds, but shot only 5-15 from the field. Both he and Odom appeared tired at the end of the game, having to over 40 minutes with the Lakers injuries up front. It seems the heavy minutes are starting to take their toll on the Lakers’ best two inside players.
The Laker bench, which has played so well this season, also struggled, scoring only 14 points and hitting just 1-8 from beyond the arc. The Lakers as a team shot a paltry 38.6% from the field, only 7-23 (30.4%) from the three-point line, and were outrebounded again 48-45.
The star of the game for the Pacers was center Roy Hibbert. The third-year pro from Georgetown scored 24 points, with 11 rebounds, and six assists, as he continues to make remarkable progress this season. Danny Granger had 18 points, and Darren Collison scored 14, as the Pacers upped their record to 8-7.
The Lakers’ loss dropped them to 13-4 and 1 1/2 games behind the Spurs for first place in the Western Conference, as they head out on a two-game roadtrip this week to Memphis and Houston. The Lakers also are awaiting word on when they will have center Andrew Bynum back on the court, as the team is desperate for help up front.
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 Sweep Trip, Pummel Timberwolves
11.19.10
Pau Gasol battles down low against Timberwolves.
The Lakers completed a perfect 3-0 road trip, with a 112-95 whitewashing of the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center on Friday night.
It was also a perfect night for Matt Barnes, and not just figuratively. Off the bench, he led the Lakers with 24 points, and went a perfect 7-7 from the field, including 5-5 from the 3-point line, and 5-5 from the foul line. And to top it off, he also had seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals. This was easily Barnes’ best game as a Laker and maybe of his career.
Kobe Bryant had 23 points and eight rebounds, and several highlight plays despite shooting just 8-27 from the field. Pau Gasol shook off tweaking his ankle early in third quarter, and scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Lamar Odom added 11 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
The Lakers didn’t take the Wolves lightly this time like they did in Los Angeles two weeks ago. They came to play from the start, led 51-41 at halftime, and by as much as 23 in the fourth quarter. They emptied the bench and cruised to the victory to finish up an undefeated road trip, with all three wins by at least 11 points.
The Lakers also made a concerted effort to shut down the league’s leading rebounder Kevin Love, as he didn’t score in the game and grabbed just seven rebounds in 34 minutes of action. Love victimized the Lakers last time for 23 points and 24 rebounds, and recently had a 30/30 game against the New York Knicks. But on this night, he was completely taken out of the game by Lamar Odom.
Minnesota did have a couple of bright spots though. Darko Milicic scored 23 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and had six blocks, in what was arguably the best game of his career. And Michael Beasley continues his resurgence up north, scoring 25 points and notching 10 rebounds.
The Lakers did get a scare when Shannon Brown was poked in the right eye early in the fourth quarter on a layup attempt. He stayed in the game to shoot free throws, but was having a hard time seeing out of the eye, and went to the locker room to be checked out. He did return to the game and played several minutes, as it appeared the injury was not that serious.
The Lakers also did a good job on the defensive end, holding the Wolves under 40% (39.6%) from the field, and just 6-26 (23.1%) from the 3-point line. They also had 10 steals and eight blocked shots.
The team returns home for a Sunday contest against Monta Ellis and the Golden St. Warriors at Staples Center. The Lakers beat the Warriors 107-83 back on Halloween night at Staples, as the team from the Bay Area played without guard Stephen Curry. This time they will be without All-Star forward David Lee, who is recovering from an infected elbow suffered in a game last week against the New York Knicks.
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