Posts tagged starters

Pau Gasol dunks over Hasheem Thabeet of Memphis.

It was another short night for the starters, as the Lakers dominated from start to finish, and dispatched the Memphis Grizzlies 124-105 at Staples Center on Tuesday night.

For the second straight game, the Lakers bench saw extensive action as the contest was blowout by early in the second quarter.   Kobe Bryant scored all of his team-high 23 points in the first half, and played just 25 minutes.

In the battle of the Gasol brothers, Pau, coming off his Western Conference Player-of-the-Week award, easily won this match-up scoring 21 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing out five assists.  Marc managed 11 points and eight rebounds, but was a non-factor most of the night as the game got out of hand early.

The Lakers led 34-23 after one, and turned up the offense in the second quarter, led by Bryant’s 14 points in the period, to take a 73-46 lead into halftime.  The Grizzlies never got closer than 14 points in the second half,  and the Laker reserves maintained the cushion throughout, even briefly pushing the lead up to  32.  Matt Barnes led three Lakers in double-figures off the bench with 16 points and 14 rebounds.  Shannon Brown scored 13, including 3-3 from the 3-point line, and Steve Blake added 10.  The Lakers’ bench outscored the Grizzlies’ 50-30.

Lamar Odom scored 17 on 6-7 shooting, including eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal.  Odom is averaging over 16 points and 12 rebounds to start the season.

Memphis was led by Rudy Gay’s 30 points, 12-18 from the field, and 3-3 from behind the arc.  Mike Conley had 16 points and eight assists after signing a 5-year/$45 million extension earlier in the day.   O.J. Mayo struggled from the floor scoring only eight points, on 3-11 shooting.  He also had his troubles with Bryant on the offensive end, which has been a familiar story for the third-year pro when he has played against the Lakers.

All-Star forward Zach Randolph again sat out for the Grizzlies with a sore back injured on opening night.  Memphis definitely missed his presence offensively and on the glass, as they were outrebounded 59-36.

The Lakers shot 51.2% from the field, and 14-23 (60.9%) from the 3-point line for the game, but again turned the ball over far too many times with 19.  They had 20 turnovers two nights earlier in a blowout win against Golden St.

The Lakers play their first back-to-back games of the season as they take on the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento tomorrow night.  The Kings are playing well at 3-1, and are coming off a win over Toronto, where they rallied from a 17-point first quarter deficit on Monday at home.

Link: Lakers vs. Memphis Box Score