Losing three straight games just wasn’t something L.A. had done in a while. Not once, in fact, since acquiring Pau Gasol from Memphis in February of 2008, at least until a three-game road trip through Miami, Charlotte and Orlando ended that streak.
“We don’t like losing” was Gasol’s impression of Captain Obvious after Monday’s practice.
But losing four straight? Unheard of, especially with Phil Jackson on the bench. In his 19 seasons as an NBA head coach, Jackson’s teams had lost four straight only 10 times total, and never during any one of his 10 championship seasons.
As such, there was no way the defending champs were letting that happen on Tuesday at STAPLES Center against Toronto, a near-average (32-29) team battling for 5th place in the Eastern Conference. Right?
Right … but just barely.
Kobe Bryant, of course, had the answer himself, nailing a game-winning baseline jumper with 1.9 seconds on the clock, leaving the Raptors only a full court desperation heave that fell 30 feet short.
Toronto did hang tough throughout the game, even tying things up at 107 on a Chris Bosh three-pointer with nine seconds remaining. But then Bryant rose for his seventh game-winning shot* of the season (no typo).
*Click there to watch the first six.
The play developed as Ron Artest inbounded the ball to Pau Gasol, who waited until Bryant freed himself of primary defender Antoine Wright, then evaded the double-team of Andrea Bargnani.
“I was surveying the floor, figured they were going to double me early so I went into a position where I could see my cutters,” Bryant explained. “(The double) didn’t come early, (and) that gave me an opportunity to skate baseline once they did come, and I knocked down the shot.”
“That’s one of his shots,” said Lamar Odom while smiling his own comment, realizing Bryant has seemingly hundreds of shots in his repertoire. “He could see the double-team coming, so he can just go baseline until the space runs out and fade away. It looked good … it went straight through.”
The Raptors had managed to make things pretty interesting down the stretch first by opening a 58-50 lead at the half behind 7-of-10 shooting from three. The Purple and Gold cut that lead down to three points after the third quarter (84-81), reclaimed the lead with 9:50 to play in the fourth on Odom’s left-handed layup and ultimately needed Bryant’s jumper to end the losing streak.
“I’ve worked long hours at that shot,” he added. “It’s my job to kind of bail us out (at times). That’s why baseball has closers.”
This season in particular, Kobe has certainly been Mariano Rivera.
To give Kobe a chance to shut the door, L.A. used a solid low post game keyed by Andrew Bynum that kept him in the game throughout most of the fourth quarter. The big center had little problem scoring around smallish bigs Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh, making 5-of-7 field goals for 11 points in the third and finishing with 22 points, six boards and two blocks.
“He was playing well,” said Phil Jackson. “If you’re a coach and he’s playing well, you better have him in the game. Andrew played well.”
Meanwhile, Gasol pitched in 17 points and nine boards, while Odom added 10 points, six boards and four assists in the second half alone as each Laker big did some work.
“It doesn’t really matter (which big man) you guard,” said Raptors forward Reggie Evans. “With L.A., pick your poison. All of them are good.”
The Raptors quickly responded to Odom’s lead-changing layup with a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead briefly, but Bryant would rattle off 14 points in the final 8:19 and finish with a game-high 32 points, plus six dimes and six rebounds.
So, the three-game losing streak was over, and it didn’t reach four (which again, never happened during any of Jackson’s 10 championship seasons). But the Lakers know they need to play better to win it again.
Derek Fisher, whom Bynum recognized publicly for motivating the team at halftime, explained that everybody wants a shot at the champs, particularly if the champs aren’t playing exactly like champs (still with us?).
“When the giant appears vulnerable or there’s a chink in the armor or an open wound, people have a tendency to go at that,” said Bryant’s co-captain. “Thus far we haven’t come across as invincible or unbeatable, so of course teams are going to believe that they can win. How we play, with efficiency, concentration, focus, that’s what teams need to feel.”
Fisher went on to reiterate, as Jackson had said after the game and Bryant earlier in the week at practice, the Lakers feel that they have ample time to build things up.
“We’re not playing at the level that we’re capable of playing,” Fisher concluded. “I don’t know exactly why - I think you could point to a number of different things - but I think we’re all confident and optimistic that we can figure it out, and we’re going to stay the course.”
L.A. will next head on the road, to Phoenix and Golden State, to continue the quest. Until then, your numbers:
POSTGAME NUMBERS
4 Raptors who hit at least two three-pointers, including Chris Bosh, whose triple tied the game with nine seconds to play. L.A. hit only 3-of-15 from downtown, one each from Ron Artest, Derek Fisher and Shannon Brown.
7 First half three nailed by Toronto on 10 attempts. That helped the Raptors throw 16 assists on 23 field goals, compared to just seven dimes for L.A. on 16 makes.
28 Points in the paint for the Lakers in the second half, a 12-point edge over Toronto, who won that battle 22-16 in the first half.
32 Points for Kobe Bryant on 11-of-20 shooting and 10-of-11 free throws, none bigger than his dagger jumper with 1.9 seconds to play. It was his seventh game winner, tying the total number of wins for the New Jersey Nets.
44 Free throws attempted by the Lakers, a season high that showed the home team’s aggression.
First Quarter
Third Quarter
The Pacers tried to go big, they tried to go small, but it ultimately didn’t matter as the Lakers rolled to a 122-99 victory, the 10th straight year L.A. has beaten Indiana in Los Angeles.
Though he needed to play just 26 minutes as Phil Jackson rested his starters in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, Bynum operated with ease yet again, making 6-of-8 shots for 16 points. Pau Gasol added 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, and the Lakers edged Indy 56-44 in the paint.
Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant attacked the rim (10 of his 24 points), Bynum dunked (two hammers), Derek Fisher hit his third three and Pau Gasol hit the glass (five boards in the period). Then Jordan Farmar, Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown came in and flew around on defense, forcing turnovers and finishing at the other end for 11 total points.
First Quarter
6:52 Jordan Farmar’s corner three was much needed after the Nuggets’ lead reached 13 as the Lakers continued to struggle in general. They simply weren’t getting it done at either end of the floor, yet at least remained within striking distance. Three minutes later, needing a lift from someone after Bynum and Gasol both picked up their respective third personal fouls, Phil Jackson turned to Josh Powell … and J-Peezy promptly responded with two straight buckets in the paint, the second a two-handed dunk from Kobe, to cut the lead to nine. 
Third Quarter
Wednesday in Dallas was not a good night for Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown.
Among Farmar’s points was a third-quarter-ending 3-pointer that put L.A. up five instead of two heading into the fourth, and his 17-foot jumper with 6:52 to play in the game gave the Lakers their biggest lead to that point (85-78). Brown’s defensive focus helped slow Philly point guards Louis Williams (nine points after the first quarter) and Jrue Holiday (eight total points), which is generally what L.A.’s coaching staff is looking for from both Lakers’ backups.
It’s just that on some nights, there might not be as much of an opportunity. For example, Farmar has played more than 25 minutes just once. And on a night such as Friday, there was this: Bynum put up 20 points and 13 rebounds, Gasol 23 points and 11 rebounds double-doubles, Bryant finished with a team-high eight assists in addition to his 19 points and two steals and Odom added 11 points, nine boards and three blocks.
First, a rhetorical question: will we see the Lakers and Celtics meet in the 2010 Finals?
Point Guard
Shooting Guard
Regular season win No. 42 wasn’t exactly pretty.
The team’s lack of consistency didn’t affect Shannon Brown, however, who started in place of Bryant and scored a career-high 27 points - including 12 in the fourth quarter - plus a career-high 10 rebounds. His first ever double-double, which came on an efficient 11-of-19 shooting night, was particularly enjoyable for Brown after a disappointing performance at the Slam Dunk Contest. 
With Bynum’s return to the starting lineup came Lamar Odom’s return to the bench, but that didn’t keep the lefty from grabbing a game-high 18 rebounds (vaulting his season average to 10.0 per game) and adding nine points. While Gasol (5-of-14 field goals) and Ron Artest (5-of-13) struggled to score, they did combine to toss 11 assists, and Artest matched Bynum’s three steals at the defensive end.
POSTGAME NUMBERS
In a firm reminder of just how deep and talented they really are, the Lakers rallied to a 101-89 victory over visiting San Antonio despite the absence of their best, and biggest, players.
Gasol, who struggled with his shot (8-of-20) due in part to fatigue (46 minutes), still managed to score 21 points, grab 19 rebounds, toss eight assists and block five shots. Odom added a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double of his own, but it was a complete effort that saw seven Lakers score at least eight points that ultimately did the trick.
“You never want to see your teammates injured in any way, but I think anytime guys get an opportunity to prove that they belong in this league, that they can play at a high level, they’re going to take it,” said Fisher. “When Kobe and Andrew are out, we have to execute to get high quality shots, so the ball moves more. When those guys are in there, we can rely on them to do great things.”
Whether Gasol will have Bryant at his side when he and the rest of the Lakers face Utah on Wednesday night* is yet to be determined, however.
