Los Angeles Lakers Rosters, Statistics, Records, News, and More!
Posts tagged Tuesday
Lakers Fight Past Nets in D’Antoni’s Debut 95-90
11.21.12
Dwight Howard slams two of his 23 against Brooklyn.
The By The Numbers recap for the Lakers’ 95-90 win over the Brooklyn Nets at Staples Center on Tuesday night. The Lakers are now 6-5, and next play at Sacramento on Wednesday night.
667
The winning percentage of the Nets after the Lakers victory over them on Tuesday. It marks the first time the Lakers have beaten a team over .500 this season.
90
The amount of points the Lakers allowed on Tuesday night. They are now 4-1 when the opposition scores 90 points or less. Their only loss was the 84-82 defeat to San Antonio last Tuesday.
85
The amount of points the Lakers starters scored on Tuesday, led by Kobe Bryant’s 25 on 15 shots. Other than Darius Morris, the other four starters scored at least 17 points.
59.5
The percentage of shots the Nets missed on Tuesday…meaning of course they shot 41.5% from the floor, hitting 34 of 82 shots. Only one player who took more than three shots hit 50% of them…Brook Lopez at 11-18.
51
The percentage of free throws the Lakers hit on Tuesday, going 19-37. Yes a lot of that was Dwight Howard who shot a miserable 7-19 (36.8%), with a bunch of them in the 4th quarter as Brooklyn began to purposely foul him. Despite that, the Lakers still hunkered down and won the game.
33
The number of points the Nets scored in the second half. This marked the first time all season the Lakers have won a game they trailed at the half. Brooklyn led 57-56 at the break.
27
The number of points the teams’ two benches scored. Neither was very effective…the Nets had 17 from the reserves, and the Lakers just 10.
23
The number of assists the Lakers had on their 35 baskets. They only turned the ball over 11 times, and with that came a very solid assist/turnover ratio of 2.09. Ball movement wasn’t as crisp as it has been, but Brooklyn is a very good defensive team also.
15
The number of rebounds Dwight Howard grabbed on Tuesday. He’s now pulled down 73 boards in his last five games (14.6 rpg), and has seven double-doubles on the season…including five in a row.
3
The number of field goals the Lakers made in the 4th quarter against the Nets…and yet they won the game! Metta World Peace hit a three, Dwight Howard had a dunk, and Kobe had a baseline runner in the final two minutes. Other than that, it was all free throws…and lots of missed ones too. But it didn’t matter, they got the win.
See you after tomorrow’s game in Sactown.
New Look Lakers Open Season With Uninspired Loss
10.31.12
Kobe Bryant lays in two against Dallas.
Not too much was made of the Lakers’ 0-8 preseason record, for the very reason that the games meant nothing. But after Tuesday’s season-opening embarrassing loss 99-91 to the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center, one has to wonder if maybe there isn’t more to worry about.
Once again on Tuesday the Lakers struggled to find any consistency offensively or defensively, looking very much like a team that hasn’t played together long. After leading early in the second quarter 33-25, they did little right after that, as the injury-depleted Mavericks rallied and took a 48-46 lead into halftime after strong play from their bench. For the game, Dallas’ bench outscored the Lakers’ 37-17.
In the second half, things didn’t go much better, as the Lakers found themselves down by as many as 15 points several times, and they never made much of a run at any point. The final score and stats really aren’t indicative of how poorly they played, except for the pathetic 12-31 (38.7%) from the free throw line, which included a 3-14 night from Dwight Howard, making his Laker regular season debut.
One of the few bright spots for the Lakers was the play of Pau Gasol who led all players with 23 points to go along with 13 rebounds and six assists. Kobe Bryant, who didn’t practice all week due to a strained foot, played, and hit 11-14 from the floor en route to 22 points. Dwight Howard did score 19 to go along with 10 rebounds, but struggled all night to get into the flow of the game, and eventually fouled out with about two minutes left.
Dallas didn’t have anyone dominate the game, but got solid performances from several players, and had six players in double figures. Newcomer Darren Collison led Dallas with 17 points on 8-12 from the field. Brandan Wright, starting for the injured Chris Kaman, scored 14 on 5-5 from the floor. O.J. Mayo had 12, and Shawn Marion had 11 points and nine rebounds. Remember the Mavericks are also playing without All-Star forward Dirk Nowitsky.
The Lakers did manage to shoot 49.4% from the floor, but were a miserable 3-13 (23.1%) from beyond the arc, with Steve Nash, also making his Laker debut, hitting just 1-4 from distance. They did cut down on the turnovers that plagued the team in the preseason, as they committed only 14 miscues. They did also outrebound Dallas 46-40.
The Lakers will try to bounce back tomorrow in an arena they always struggle at, the Rose Garden in Portland, when they take on the Trail Blazers in the second game of a back-to-back.
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 Take Care of Business in Toronto
12.19.10
Kobe Bryant reverses home two against Raptors.
The Lakers should feel pretty good about themselves on their long flight home, as they finished up a seven-game road trip with a 6-1 record, after a 120-110 win over the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Kobe Bryant, playing with a sprained pinkie on his shooting hand, scored 20 points in only 28 minutes, as the Lakers used the bench for big minutes on this day. Pau Gasol scored 19 to go along with 8 rebounds in just over 30 minutes of action.
In fact the Lakers’ bench outscored the Raptors’ bench 57-27, led by Andrew Bynum’s 16 points and seven rebounds, easily his best game since his return on Tuesday. Shannon scored 14 points, Matt Barnes had 12, and even seldom-used Luke Walton scored a season-high nine points. The Lakers bench also hit 6-12 from the three-point line.
It was a game the Lakers had control of by the middle of the second quarter, yet they never could quite put the Raptors away, despite having as much as a 16-point lead at 68-52, early in the third quarter. The injury-depleted Raptors continued to make a game of it, but never were able to get any closer than six points in the second half.
Linas Kleiza led all scorers with 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds for the Raptors. Former USC star DeMar DeRozan had a brilliant third quarter with 19 points, and scored 23 for the game, including 11-11 from the foul line. Jose Calderon chipped with in a double-double, scoring 20 points and dishing out 12 assists.
For the game, the Lakers shot 51.9% (41-79) from the floor and outrebounded Toronto 46-35. The Lakers also went to the foul line 39 times, making 31 of them for 79.5%. But it really was the bench that did most of the damage on this day, as their play continued to keep the Lakers safely ahead when the Raptors would make runs to get back in the game.
It is not uncommon for Phil Jackson to play his bench big minutes on the last game of a long a road trip, and with the Lakers’ depth this year, it makes it an even easier decision for the coaching staff.
The Lakers have now beaten their last four opponent by at least 10 points, and have won five in a row, their longest winning streak since starting the season 8-0. They’re now 11-5 on the road.
The champs return home for two games this week, Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, and of course the game of the year in the NBA, Christmas Day against the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat. The Lakers also play seven of their next 10 at the friendly confines of Staples Center.
Recent Chatter