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Ugly Start
12.27.11
Usually I’ll write some recaps of the games as the season progresses, but after the first two games of the 2011-12 season, there’s really not much positive to say for the Lakers. Hence I haven’t felt like writing all that much. Of course box scores and stats have been updated as they always will be, although that has been a chore too after losses.
There’s really not much to say so far. The Lakers blew Christmas Day’s game against Bulls with some inexplicable decision-making down the stretch, as well as four costly missed free throws. They couldn’t have helped the Bulls more unless they put the ball in the basket for them.
Monday’s game in Sacramento wasn’t much better. The Lakers never found any rhythm, and when they finally got to within two in the fourth quarter at 89-87, they allowed Marcus Thornton a wide-open three-pointer and that was pretty much that.
Two really ugly losses for different reasons. Hopefully tonight against Utah will finally allow the Lakers to right the ship, but right now it’s difficult to know what team will show up. Hoping this is just an early season bump in the road with the short training camp, new players, and new coaching staff.
Trying to stay positive!
Lakers Blow Lead, Lose to Clippers
01.18.11
Kobe Bryant goes up for two against Clippers.
The Lakers frustrated Blake Griffin, frustrated the Clippers, then watched it all come apart in the fourth quarter, and saw their 7-game winning streak go with it in a 99-92 loss to the Clippers at Staples Center on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant had 27 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, and took the game over in the third quarter as the Lakers built a 12-point lead at 67-55. But after that run, it was all downhill for the champs, as the Clippers started making shots, and Griffin got physical inside.
In a tight game, the Lakers led 45-44 at halftime, with Griffin scoring just two points, as Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom made life hard on the Clippers’ star rookie. After the Lakers led by double-digits late in the third quarter, the Clippers came alive led by the scoring of Eric Gordon and Griffin.
After a three-pointer by Ron Artest put the Lakers up 82-78 in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Clippers used a decisive 16-3 run to put the game away. Then tempers got a little testy. Griffin pushed Lamar Odom in the back going for a rebound with five seconds left, to which Odom was not too happy in a game that was clearly over.
The two got tangled up and went into a war of words with some pushing. Artest and Baron Davis ran in and tried to be peacemakers in the altercation. No punches were thrown, but all four players were ejected, with Artest’s ejection seeming quite ridiculous.
Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 13 rebonds for the Lakers, and Pau Gasol added 13 points and eight boards, but had a very tough time with the physical Griffin in the second half, and eventually fouled out of a forgettable ending for the Lakers.
Griffin, after a terrible first half, finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds, but shot just 7-20 from the floor. His string of 14-straight games with over 20 points was also snapped. Gordon had a game-high 30 points, hitting 13-20 from the field and 4-7 from beyond the arc. Davis was the only other Clipper in double-figures with 14 points.
The Lakers shot miserably from the field, at 41.3% (31-75), and an even worse 3-20 (15.0%) from the three-point line. They did get to the foul line 33 times, hitting 27, which helped offset the poor shooting from the floor. The also lost the rebound battle 50-45.
The Clippers didn’t shoot much better at 43.7% (38-87) from the field, but they hit 9-21 (42.9%) from long range and had 15 offensive rebounds.
The loss dropped the Lakers to 30-12 on the season, and 14-7 on the road.
The Lakers’ next game is Monday against Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center. The Thunder come in with the third-best record in the Western Conference and have won four straight. It will be the team’s first meeting since the Lakers beat the Oklahoma City 4-2 in a memorable first round match-up in last year’s playoffs.
Lakers Get the Horns in the Chicago
12.10.10
Kobe Bryant slams home two against Bulls.
If the Lakers played the rest of the game Friday like they did at the beginning and the end, they wouldn’t have suffered their fifth loss in their last eight games. But, in yet another lackluster effort, the Lakers fell short to the Bulls at the United Center, 88-84.
The game started well for the world champs, as they jumped out to 13-point lead in the first quarter, and still led 29-20 midway through the second. But that’s when the wheels came off, as Derrick Rose got hot, and the Bulls went on a 16-3 run to end the half, and take a 36-32 lead into the break.
In the second half, things didn’t get much better. The Lakers took a couple brief leads early in the third quarter, but couldn’t stop Rose from breaking down the defense inside, and stepping out for three-pointers. Eventually they found themselves down 82-69 with just over three minutes left in the game.
That’s when the Lakers put on a furious rally, and got as close as 83-80 with 48 seconds left after a Derek Fisher three-pointer from the corner. After Rose split a pair of foul shots to put the Bulls up 86-82, Kobe Bryant was fouled, but he was only able to make 1-2 from the line. After a Lakers’ foul on the rebound, Ronnie Brewer hit two from the line, and the Bulls had the win.
Bryant led the Lakers with 23 points, but only shot 9-23 from the field, and continues to struggle from the foul line, going 4-6 on Friday. Bryant did however pass John Havlicek, and move into 11th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 26,398 points.
Pau Gasol did have a solid game with 21 points, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots. Lamar Odom added 18 points and eight rebounds.
Early on, the Lakers dominated the game inside, with Gasol the recipient of several easy scores inside. As the night wore on however, the Lakers got away from going inside, starting taking a lot of three-pointers and watched their early double-digit lead slip away quickly. They hit just 3-13 from beyond the arc for the game.
Derrick Rose led all scorers with 29 points, to go along with nine assists, five rebounds, and several key baskets down the stretch, as the Bulls beat the Lakers for the first time since 2006. In fact only one member of the current Bulls was on the team when they last beat the Lakers, and that was Luol Deng.
Deng scored 14 points, and Carlos Boozer added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Boozer didn’t play the first time the two teams met this year in Los Angeles, a 98-91 Lakers’ win.
The Bulls didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, hitting only 41.3% from the field, but made up for it by hitting 8-17 (47.1%) from the three-point line, which proved to be the difference in the game.
In a rather disheartening statistic, the Lakers have now only beaten two teams this season with a winning record, but will play just one more .500 team (Indiana) during the rest of this five-game trip.
The Lakers’ next game is Sunday in New Jersey against the slumping Nets. Also, the Lakers are hoping to have center Andrew Bynum back for Tuesday’s game in Washington.
Link: Lakers @ Bulls Box Score
Laker Day on NBA TV
09.17.10
If you’re anywhere near a television today and have NBA TV, the station will be playing games and programs associated with the Lakers all throughout the day, in honor of Phil Jackson’s 65th birthday.
Shows rotated include a replay of Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers. Of course everyone remembers that game. Watch the Lakers’ furious fourth quarter rally highlighted by the “Bryant…to Shaq” alley-oop in the final minute to seal the Lakers first trip to the NBA Finals since 1991.
You can also watch Game 1 of the 2001 Western Conference Semi-Finals, a tough game the Lakers won 108-105 on their way to sweeping the Kings, and putting together the NBA’s best-ever postseason at 15-1. It of course culminated with a second straight title after a 5-game win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals.
Game 3 of the 2002 NBA Finals will be on. That was the tightest of the games against New Jersey, as the Lakers went on to “threepeat” and sweep the Nets 4-0.
They’re also showing Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. We all remember how that one ended, so please enjoy watching the Leprechauns go down again.
There’s also two shows on both the 2009 title team and the back-to-back champs of 2010.
So enjoy a full day of Lakers on the tube. You can check your local TV listings or the guide on your cable box for exact times of these programs today.
Lakers Run By Shaq and Suns!
11.21.08
It was close for the first half, but the Lakers’ bench flexed their muscle and dominated the second, beating the Phoenix Suns easily 105-92 in Phoenix on Thursday.
Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 24 points, but shot only 8-23 from the field. That was no matter, as the Lakers’ bench piled up 43 points and were led by Lamar Odom‘s 13 points, Jordan Farmar‘s 11, and Trevor Ariza‘s 10.
The Lakers led 50-44 at the half, but turned up the defensive intensity in the second half. They led by as many as 18 points and cruised to the victory. The Suns shot only 44.2% from the floor, and committed 15 turnovers, to the Lakers 7.
Former Laker, Shaquille O’Neal, had a solid game, scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds, but he didn’t get much help. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 21 points, but missed several lay-ups and was mostly relegated to being a spot-up jump shooter.
There were few remnants of the Suns’ former quick-strike offense, as new coach Terry Porter has insisted the team pound the ball into Shaq first. As a result, Steve Nash, who looks very pedestrian in this new offense, scored just 8 points, none until the middle of third quarter.
The Lakers play host to Denver on Friday, as part of a back-to-back. It will be the first chance to see the Nuggets with Chauncey Billups running the point.
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