Archive for the 'Post-Game' Category

Bryant Hits 7th Winning Shot, L.A. Beats Toronto

blog_100309kobegamewinnerLosing 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.

59866155Toronto 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.

59866197To 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:

59866124POSTGAME 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.

Lakers 83, Bobcats 98: Running Diary

59812315Lakers - Bobcats Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers - Bobcats contest in Charlotte while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked to come back from a tough OT loss to Miami the night before.

Inactives
Lakers: Sasha Vujacic (shoulder)
Bobcats: Alexis Ajinca, Nazr Mohammed

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Bobcats: Raymond Felton, Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, Theo Ratliff

Pregame Podcasts with Radio PXP for Both Teams
Stepping in for Spero Dedes for L.A.’s play-by-play on radio is regular sideline reporter John Ireland, who spent some time with us to offer details: CLICK HERE. We also caught up with Bobcats play-by-play voice Scott Lauer to go over the matchup: CLICK HERE.

59812348First Quarter
8:12 Artest has been thieving so much of late, they’ve had to notify arena security. With six steals against Denver and five each against Indiana and Miami, Artest matched a feat that L.A. hadn’t seen since 1981, when a guy named Magic Johnson pulled off at least five steals in three straight. Ron opened the game against Charlotte by picking Boris Diaw’s pocket and finishing a layup at the other end for a 13-8 Lakers lead.

2:57 The Lakers looked good early, getting seven points each from Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum to take a 20-13 lead … but then L.A. inexplicably started missing easy shots at the rim, though both Gasol and Bryant felt they were fouled on respective attempts. The Bobcats, however, used those opportunities to get into transition, and quickly rolled off an 8-0 run to take a 1-point lead.

1:17 Bynum capped a good first quarter by drawing a foul at the rim and hitting 1-of-2 free throws for the final point of the quarter, giving L.A. a 26-23 lead and himself eight points with seven rebounds. The coaching staff wasn’t particularly pleased, however, when Shannon Brown and Artest took respective jump shots relatively early in the shot clock instead of going back inside to Bynum or Lamar Odom.

Second Quarter
8:28 The opening to the second quarter was on the poor, to quite poor, side for L.A. Charlotte managed an 11-3 run, including three consecutive layups that produced a 34-29 lead into a time out, bringing Bryant and Gasol back onto the floor out of a time out. During the time out, the Bobcats ran a promotion featuring guys in those huge sumo wrestler suits playing tic-tac-toe, and one kid immediately made a ridiculous play by failing to block an obvious winning spot. Why do people not know how to play tic-tac-toe?

4:30 Eleven. That’s how many turnovers the Lakers amassed in the first 15 minutes of action. They average just over 13 turnovers per 48 minutes on the season. Charlotte, however, was only able to take advantage to the tune of a 38-32 lead.

1:20 Remember against the Rockets early in the Western Conference Semi’s when Kobe passed it to himself off the glass and finished a ridiculous layup over Yao Ming? He pulled that trick again, getting a layup when it seemed he’d have no good option for a shot. The possession before, Bryant had up-faked four times before nailing a fadeaway, the two shots reminding us that Bryant can always get a clean look at the basket one way or another. His buckets, however, were answered, and the ‘Cats took a 49-43 lead into the break.

59812399Third Quarter
8:54 Charlotte put on somewhat of a bizarre halftime show featuring a collection of random dances and song performances … then the Lakers came out as if they were participating in the acts instead of playing basketball, conceding a 10-0 run to start the quarter while turning the ball over three more times. All of a sudden, the home team was up 59-43, the visitors looking nothing like the Lakers. The bright side at that point? Lots of time remained in the game, and L.A. could play no worse.

3:28 After hitting 1-of-2 free throws, Bynum nailed an open 17-foot jumper to bring L.A. within 10 moments after back-to-back Bryant jumpers cut into a 14-point lead. Signs of fight had begun to eminate from the Lakers, but two end-of-shot-clock threes from Charlotte nearly erased the progress the team was making.

1:00 Farmar’s three-pointer preceded a pretty passing play between Gasol and Odom resulting in Lamar’s one-handed dunk, producing a 5-0 run to end the third quarter and get the Lakers to within 12 at 75-63.

Fourth Quarter
12:00 Any time the Nature Boy Ric Flair comes out to pump up the crowd, it can’t hurt. Not sure who got more excited … Charlotte’s fan base, or Lakers radio analyst Mychal Thompson (a massive wrestling fan and fellow University of Minnesota alum). And while Bryant hit the first shot of the fourth, the ‘Cats responded with three straight buckets to push the lead back to 17, matching their high for the night.

6:00 Bryant tried to lead a final comeback by example with his defense, crowding Felton to the point that the former North Carolina guard pushed off. However, the Lakers couldn’t put offense and defense together, as Brown pulled up early in the shot clock for a jumper and missed badly. With that sore thumb, he’d hit only 1-of-7 field goals to that point (and Artest, also nursing a hurt thumb, was only 1-of-9), and the Lakers couldn’t cut into the lead.

3:00 The game all but over, L.A. was only fighting to avoid losing by more than 13, the most it had ever lost by in six all-time losses to Charlotte … but the lead ended up at 15 when the buzzer sounded, 98-83.

A game L.A. would surely like to forget, but has to think about tomorrow heading into Sunday’s NBA Finals rematch against Orlando, when the Lakers look to avoid losing three straight for the first time since acquiring Pau Gasol.

Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
38 Points in the paint for L.A., which got only 11 from Pau Gasol and 14 from Andrew Bynum (a total of just 10 after the first quarter), plus eight off the bench from Lamar Odom. They combined to shoot 11-of-29 from the field.

26 Points from Kobe Bryant to lead the Lakers and all scorers on 9-of-21 shooting and 8-of-9 free throws.

20 Turnovers for the Lakers, resulting in 24 Bobcats points.

15 Margin of victory for Charlotte, its largest ever against Los Angeles (previous was 13).

3 Game losing streak the Lakers hope to avoid in Sunday against Orlando. L.A. has yet to lose three straight games since acquiring Pau Gasol back in February of 2008.

Lakers Cruise Past Pacers, 122-99

59782993The 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.

“They’re the ultimate test period,” said Pacers coach Jim O’Brien. “It doesn’t matter what lineup that you put out there when you play the World Champions … you know you’re going to be tested at every spot.”

Indy hung around in the first half, trailing by just six at halftime before L.A. burst out of the halftime gates with a 38-17 third quarter, dealing quite easily with whatever personnel Indiana had on the floor.

“It looked like (we) got something back in the third quarter, came up with some steals and shot some balls,” said Phil Jackson. “They made things happen on the offensive end. It was a good win for us.”

While O’Brien started Hibbert, he played only 21 minutes, as the Pacers played small for most of the game with forward Troy Murphy at the center spot. Rewind back to L.A.’s 118-96 victory in Indianapolis in January, when Andrew Bynum destroyed such a small Pacers lineup, making his first four shots to put L.A. up 18-8. In the second half of that game, the Pacers started Hibbert and played him a fair amount in sum (28 minutes), but the Lakers still outscored Indy 33-22 in the third quarter to put the game on ice. Bynum finished with a season high 27 points.

59783012Though 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.

“Their length (is tough),” O’Brien explained. “They had 20 offensive rebounds* in Indiana, they murdered us on the glass. They murder a lot of people on the glass. They’re big and long and the triangle offense is one that gives you constantly good weakside rebounding. They just have all the ingredients.”
*L.A. had only 10 offensive boards on Tuesday in part due to 51.7 percent shooting and 24 free throw attempts.

Indy’s unconventional style helped keep things close early, as the Pacers took 14 three-pointers (making seven) in the first half in part by taking advantage of Murphy’s - who hit two threes - presence on the perimeter.

“They play a style of ball that is unique,” said Phil Jackson. “They really don’t start out in the low post. Our defense is generated off what normal NBA teams would run. We kind of load up our players, overload the sideline and make teams swing it, but this is a team we can’t play that normal type of defense against.”

But in the second half, the Lakers upped their intensity on D and absolutely stormed the Pacers in the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 38-17 in the period keyed by the individual play of Ron Artest. L.A.’s starting small forward holding his past six individual matchups under their average, completely neutralized Danny Granger, holding the 23.0 ppg scorer to just nine points on 2-of-9 shooting for the game, and came up with five steals in the third quarter alone.

“His defense was very good,” said Jackson, who added that the Lakers are better adjusting as a team to what Artest can do individually.

59782985Meanwhile, 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.

“They’re big, they’re strong, they have great inside-outside game and one of the great scorers in the game,” said O’Brien. “They’re a terrific basketball team.”

The Purple and Gold pushed their lead to as many as 32 early in the fourth quarter and had each starter on the pine with 8:25 to go in the period, the bench content to seal a 122-99 victory thanks primarily to 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from Farmar and 12 points from Shannon Brown.

Up next is a tough three-game trek through the South East, starting with a Thursday evening contest in Miami against the Heat.

Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
5 Steals in the third quarter by Ron Artest, a game after he notched six thefts against Denver. Artest also held Indiana’s leading scorer Danny Granger (23.0 ppg) to just nine points on 2-of-9 shooting.

14 Free throws made by Kobe Bryant, who began attacking the basket after struggling with his jumper early, missing his first five shots. He finished with 24 points on 5-of-14 shooting.

19 Points off the bench from Jordan Farmar, who was hot in making 8-of-10 shots including 3-of-4 from three-point range.

38 Points scored by L.A. in a big third quarter in which they allowed only 17 points to the Pacers to break the game wide open.

122 Points scored in the game for the Lakers, including 71 combined in the second and third quarter.

Lakers 95, Nuggets 89: Diary/Postgame Wrap

59765571Lakers - Nuggets Preview Podcast
We took a look at the Lakers - Nuggets contest in L.A. while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers used a huge second half to beat Denver.

Inactives
Lakers: Sasha Vujacic (shoulder)
Nuggets: Renaldo Balkman

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Nuggets: Billups, Afflalo, Anthony, Martin and Nene

100228kobebryantFirst Quarter
10:07 The game’s first variation from the norm came when Derek Fisher picked up his second personal foul just two minutes into the game, bringing Shannon Brown off the bench. Defensively, at least, this wasn’t a blow to L.A., since Brown’s bigger body is something Phil Jackson likes to throw at the 6-3, 202-pound Chauncey Billups. Brown promptly gave something on offense after checking in, hitting a jumper to put L.A. up 6-5 early.

6:21 Denver got the better of the first half of the quarter, building an 18-10 lead thanks primarily to four Lakers turnovers that resulted in six Nuggets points. All four TO’s came on steals for the visitors. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant had yet to take a shot, focusing on getting the ball inside to Pau Gasol (three field goal attempts).

1:13 Bryant, frustrated that J.R. Smith didn’t get called for a foul when reaching around him hard on an entry pass, drew his 11th technical foul of the season. Players can amass 16 techs before receiving a mandatory 1-game suspension, so with 22 games to go, perhaps the greater worry was that the Lakers had yet to get untracked while trailing 29-21 after Billups hit the technical free throw and a three-pointer on the ensuing possession. That was the margin by which L.A. trailed after the first, shooting just 40.9 percent from the floor to go along with seven turnovers, six personal fouls and 2-of-5 free throws (Denver made 9-of-13).

Second Quarter
9:56 After yet another Lakers turnover, and Andrew Bynum’s missed lay-in from five feet away, Carmelo Anthony scored on back-to-back Nuggets possessions to put Denver up 10, its biggest lead to that point. Bryant, meanwhile, was just 1-of-5 from the field, and Bynum had yet to score.

597655686:52 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.

0:37.2 Powell continued to influence the game with another dunk a possession after he’d found Odom for a layup out of a pretty three-man sequence of the triangle also featuring Bryant. Smith, however, picked up his fourth steal of the half and dunked at the other end to keep Denver up nine at the break, 52-43. Denver had figured out that the refs were letting a lot of reaching on the perimeter go, and unlike L.A. took full advantage by slapping at balls, helping cause 14 turnovers by the Lakers, already more than their season average (13.3.) Fortunately for L.A., Phil Jackson is perhaps the league’s best coach at making halftime adjustments.
*Also notable: rookie point guard Ty Lawson would not return for the second half after suffering a shoulder contusion on a collision with Bynum.

100228ronartestThird Quarter
8:56 Ladies and gentlemen, Phil Jackson! The Lakers were far more aggressive defensively to open the third, recognizing how the game was being called, and that played a big part of Denver starting 0-for-4 from the field, all on contested shots. Meanwhile, Bynum scored on consecutive possessions in the paint over the shorter Nene, preceding Artest’s swipe of Anthony and resulting layup. Then came another Nuggets miss and 1-of-2 Gasol free throws to cut Denver’s lead to 52-50.

5:22 After all that positivity for L.A., the Nuggets reeled off a quick 10-0 run to push the lead back to 11 at 64-53, capped by a two-handed breakaway dunk and then a three-pointer from Afflalo. The dunk was a result of his and Nene’s strip of Bryant, the fifth turnover for Kobe, whose broken finger can make controlling the ball more difficult. Oddly, the player who hadn’t been a big part of Denver’s run was Anthony, who’d made only 5-of-17 shots with Artest absolutely attached to his body.

0:17.2 How about Ron Ron? Two more all-up-in-Anthony’s-face defensive possessions caused two more turnovers, and L.A. capitalized half as much as it might have when Odom and Gasol each missed 1-of-2 free throws. Nonetheless, the game’s flow had returned once again to the Lakers thanks to some inspired effort on D, and L.A. had cut Denver’s 9-point halftime lead to just three at 70-67, despite only six points from Bryant.

Continue reading ‘Lakers 95, Nuggets 89: Diary/Postgame Wrap’

Backup Guards Chip In As L.A. Beats Philly

blog_100226brownfarmarWednesday in Dallas was not a good night for Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown.

Playing 28 total minutes off the bench between them in L.A.’s 101-96 loss to the Mavericks, the two guards combined for just nine points, two assists and two rebounds. Defensively, Brown had two steals and Farmar one, but they together drew the ire of Phil Jackson after ceding a buzzer-beating three-pointer to Jason Kidd at the close of the third quarter, giving Dallas a lead it would not give up.

That’s not ideal, to say the least, for two ultra-competitive guards that have collectively spent a large chunk of individual time honing their games not just in the offseason, but as the season’s gone on. Of course, winning remains the bottom line for both, and an unproductive game is easily shaken off when there’s a “W” after it.

Fortunately, the NBA season offers a new opportunity every a day or two, and the first chance to get Wednesday’s sour milk out of Brown and Farmar’s respective mouths came on Friday night at STAPLES Center against Philadelphia.

Take a look at the postgame box score from L.A.’s 99-90 victory, but don’t expect Farmar’s and Brown’s contributions to pop off the page.

Farmar: 19 minutes, 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting including 2-of-4 from three and 2-of-2 free throws, 1 block, 0 rebounds, 0 assists
Brown: 17 minutes, 5 points on 2-of-7 shooting including 1-of-3 from three, 1 assist, 1 rebound

But look a little closer: 10 points off the bench from Farmar and a defensive spark from Brown that woke up a somewhat dreary Lakers team were more than enough to help the Lakers win a game.

59491043Among 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.

“We want them to bring some energy, especially on the defensive end,” said assistant coach Brian Shaw. “When they come in the game, maybe get a couple of steals, get out in the break, do something exciting and get everybody going.”

That’s good with Brown.

“Defense is always my main focus,” he said. “That doesn’t change from game to game. When I come in the game, it’s defense.”

Because Farmar and Brown play for the league’s most talented team - where Lamar Odom comes off the bench, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are capable of nightly double-doubles and Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant - they often don’t need to do much more.

“We really just try to play with a lot of energy,” said Farmar of what was left. “Stay aggressive but at the same time, don’t go out there and do too much.”

Not that they don’t want to do more, or that they can’t.

Farmar’s single game highs this season (24 points, eight assists, five rebounds, three steals and 27 minutes) and Brown’s (27 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals and 39 minutes) show as much. So did key playoff contributions last season, such as Farmar’s big Game 3 in Houston or Brown’s key third quarter stretch in Game 5 against Denver.

59745757It’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.

There goes the steak, the potatoes, the broccoli and the rolls off the plate, leaving just the sauce and some butter.

“I think we did in the second half a little bit, got some stops, a shot clock violation, some three-pointers,” said Farmar. “We were able to establish the motivation in our favor.”

True enough. Then with 6:01 to play in the fourth, veterans Derek Fisher and Ron Artest returned to close out the game.

What Farmar and Brown were able to add to the effort against Philadelphia certainly surpassed what they put up against Dallas, but it wasn’t the increase in production - however insignificant in the box score it may have looked - so much as the result that mattered on Friday, and that always matters.

“It’s all about winning a championship,” said Brown. “That’s the big picture. We’re just trying to help the team win.”

That, they did.

POSTGAME NUMBERS
6 Big time celebs shown on the jumbotron late in the fourth quarter: Will Ferrell, Alyssa Milano, Ron Howard, Anthony Kiedis, John C. Reilly & Denzel Washington. Unfortunately, Jack Nicholson had already bounced from his usual seat.

8 Assists for Kobe Bryant, three below his season high, to lead the Lakers. Andre Iguodala had 10 for Philly.

32 Combined rebounds for Andrew Bynum (13), Pau Gasol (11) and Lamar Odom (9) to help L.A. edge Philly 47-43 on the backboards.

24 Points for Samuel Dalembert of the Sixers, his career high. More importantly, Dalembert was recognized on Friday morning by the NBA for his hugely important charitable efforts in his native Haiti, as he received the NBA Cares “Community Assist Award” for January.

64 Points in the paint for the Lakers, thanks primarily to the Gasol - Bynum duo that combined for 43 points.

Postgame Videos, Including Bryant’s Game-Winner

A quick reminder: after every Lakers game, you can head over to the Lakers Gameday page on Lakers.com to view postgame highlights, link to the game story (or running diary on the road), check out the box score, check out quotes and more.

Furthermore, you can click on our Lakers Gameday Archive Page to get all of that information on any Lakers game played in the last three seasons (I utilize this function for story research almost every day).

But because Kobe Bryant’s last-minute mastery can’t be shown too often, here’s the video from LA’s dramatic victory over Memphis on Tuesday night, featuring Bryant’s two three-pointers in the final minute.

TWITTER COVERAGE
Another way to ensure you’re getting all the in-game and postgame coverage you can handle is to follow us on Twitter. My account, @LakersReporter, features constant updates, notes and observations as the game goes on, and will often include postgame videos as well. Further information is provided on our parent account, @Lakers.

From tonight, we have Phil Jackson (parts 1 and 2) and Pau Gasol:

Lakers vs. Celtics: Game, Position Breakdown

59660780First, a rhetorical question: will we see the Lakers and Celtics meet in the 2010 Finals?

For many, that was a popular pick heading into the season, with Boston getting a (hopefully) healthy Kevin Garnett back after he missed the 2009 playoffs alongside Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, the much-improved Rajon Rondo and the acquired Rasheed Wallace. The Lakers, meanwhile, likely improved a team that beat Orlando 4-1 in the Finals by acquiring Ron Artest.

By Christmas, Lakers - Celtics still looked to be a good bet, with the NBA’s last two champions featuring largely the same players posting respective 23-5 records while looking at times like Shaun White on the half pipe, destined to settle the most current in a history of feuds.

Yet since X-Mas, Boston hadn’t held up its end of the bargain, assembling a paltry 10-13 mark to L.A.’s 19-8, pitting them a full 8.5 games behind Eastern Conference leading Cleveland (and that was before the Cavs added Antawn Jamison at the trade deadline).

At the center of Boston’s recent struggles has been Father Time, most notably as pertaining to Garnett, the league’s best defensive player and an extremely efficient and heady offensive force during Boston’s title run, who’d missed 10 games while dealing with a sore knee.

With this in mind, we kept a close eye (position-by-position) on how Boston looked against the Lakers on Thursday night in Los Angeles, albeit with the not-at-all-insignificant absence of Kobe Bryant, who missed his fifth straight game with a strained peroneal tendon.

SUMMARY
Trailing 76-69 heading into the fourth quarter, the Lakers posted a superlative 13-0 run to momentarily take an 84-80 lead with 7:14 to play, but managed just two points for the rest of the game as Boston eked out an 87-86 victory. Derek Fisher had a chance to win the game with a last second shot, but was well off on a deep jumper with Ray Allen draped to his chest (Fisher later said he thought Allen was going to take Boston’s foul-to-give).

There was some contention before the play, as Lamar Odom had cleared a defensive rebound off a Pierce miss on the previous possession and Pau Gasol had signaled a time out with around six seconds remaining, but LA was awarded just 2.2 seconds with which to work when the whistle finally blew.

In Bryant’s absence, Fisher and Shannon Brown combined to make just 3-of-18 shots as LA’s starting back court, while Pau Gasol scored 22 points, Ron Artest 15, Andrew Bynum 14 and Lamar Odom 13. Odom added 14 rebounds off the bench and Gasol three blocks as the Lakers out-rebounded the Celtics 50-43 but shot only 40.2 percent from the field.

Boston was led by Ray Allen’s 24 points, all of which came in the first three quarters on 10-of-12 shooting, while Kendrick Perkins added a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double. Rajon Rondo led the way with 11 assists, but made only 6-of-17 field goals including 2-of-10 in the second half. Like LA, Boston failed to score in the final 2:24 of action, but Rondo’s eight-foot runner high off the glass was the ultimate difference in the game.

59660829Point Guard
When the Lakers beat Boston on Kobe Bryant’s last-minute shot on Jan. 31st, their greatest struggle in the ball game was containing Rajon Rondo in the second quarter. Boston outscored the Lakers 33-17 in that period, thanks to Rondo’s nine points, eight assists and two steals, many of which came with Shannon Brown defending him. Bryant had defended him quite well for the rest of the game, but on Thursday it was Brown who got the start on Rondo in Bryant’s absence, with Derek Fisher checking Ray Allen.

Rondo found his own offense early, scoring eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, though Brown made progress as the first quarter by blocking Rondo’s final attempt at the rim. From that point on, however, Rondo began to settle for jumpers - missing all but two of 10 in the second half. By the end of the third quarter, he’d already amassed 10 assists, many of which came on catch-and-shoot swishes from Allen, but his missed wide-open jumpers played a key role in LA’s big fourth quarter run (13-0). Ultimately, Rondo notched 14 points and 11 assists on 6-of-17 shooting.

(Sidenote: The Celtics don’t have a backup point guard; Rondo plays a team high 37 minutes per game, though Boston did acquire Nate Robinson (who’s more of a shooting guard) in a trade with New York for Eddie House (Phil Jackson actually said he thought House was the better fit in Boston, as his “quick strike” threes can really change a game).

Fisher struggled with his shooting throughout the evening, making just 1-of-9 shots (0 of 3 from three) including the potential game winner: “They had a foul to give,” said Phil Jackson afterwards. “Fish broke off his cut. He was supposed to open the floor up and we were supposed to have an option there. It didn’t work.”

59660836Shooting Guard
Perhaps the league’s best shooter, Ray Allen was anything but when LA won the first matchup, missing all six of his three-point attempts including a potential game-winner after Kobe’s free throw line jumper. In that game, he made just 2-of-10 shots, but on Thursday it was an entirely different story. It was just the opposite in Los Angeles, as Allen was on fire in the first three quarters. He made 10 of his first 11 shots, including all four three-pointers, to pace Boston with 24 points, before missing his final four shots of the game.

Allen will always end up a tough matchup for the Lakers, since Bryant will usually guard Rondo, forcing Derek Fisher to give up at least five inches to Allen, who needs little room to get his shot off anyway … Sasha Vujacic, on the other hand, is actually two inches taller than Allen, and did an excellent job chasing him around screens in the fourth. That defensive stretch coincided with LA’s 13-0 run at the other end of the floor.

Offensively at the two guard, Shannon Brown started for LA, and struggled throughout with his shooting. He made just 2-of-9 shots, among the misses a pull-up jumper with 1:15 left that would have put L.A. up one. After scoring a career-high 27 points on Tuesday, Brown finished with eight on Thursday. Of course, it’s not Brown’s fault he had to play 39 minutes against a tough defense in Kobe’s absence, and something that wouldn’t happen with No. 24 on the floor.
Continue reading ‘Lakers vs. Celtics: Game, Position Breakdown’

Lakers Pull Away Late From Warriors

59632269Regular season win No. 42 wasn’t exactly pretty.

Playing without Kobe Bryant for the fourth straight game due to his left ankle injury, the Lakers on Tuesday night were at times as sloppy as Phil Jackson had described after the team’s practice on Monday.

Yet thanks to a 15-5 run to close the fourth quarter, LA improved to 26-4 at STAPLES Center with a 104-94 victory that counts the same as impressive Kobe-less W’s against Portland, San Antonio and Utah.

“We weren’t very sharp tonight,” said Pau Gasol after the game. “But we fought and pulled it through in the end.”

“Oh boy,” added Phil Jackson. “It’s just one of those games, but we managed to play the best with the two teams in the last three-and-a-half minutes or so.”

59631935The 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.

“I did not know Kobe was out or that I was going to start until we had our pregame talk,” said Brown. “So I just had to come out and be aggressive. We know that coming back off of All-Star break it is usually one of those times when everything is not clicking right the way it was leading into the break, so we just had to come out and show skills on both ends of the court and we got a victory.”

His play certainly pleased his coach.

“Shannon had a real fine game and it was a real benefit to us,” said Jackson. “I just thought we needed the speed, the quickness and speed. Shannon gives us that and a little extra hustle all the time which helps our defense out and helps our total game.”

Joining Brown on Jackson’s individual list of praise was Andrew Bynum, starting for the first time in two games (bruised hip). The seven-footer joined Brown in making up for a poor offensive night from both Pau Gasol and Ron Artest by hitting his first seven shots and finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

59632056With 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.

Early on, the game didn’t look like it would require a fourth quarter push for the Lakers, who quickly built a 36-24 lead after the first quarter thanks to Bynum’s 4-of-4 and Brown’s 5-of-7, but the Warriors pushed back with a 27-18 second quarter. Then LA, re-focused, opened a double-digit lead in the third quarter before once again conceding the lead early in the fourth quarter before the game settled to an 89-all tie.

From that point on, L.A. would concede only five points while scoring 15, including six straight from Gasol leading into the team’s final eight points, all from Brown, that shut the door.

Up next for the Lakers is a Thursday showdown with Boston, but until then, your numbers:

59632062POSTGAME NUMBERS
27 Shannon Brown’s career-high point total, made better by his career-high rebounding total (10) in his first ever double-double.

19 Turnovers for the Lakers, resulting in 23 Warriors points, helping Golden State stay in the game.

18 Rebounds for Lamar Odom in 29 minutes off the bench, bringing his season average to 10.0, good for 12th in the NBA.

17 LA’s advantage on the glass (53-36).

15 Second chance points for the Lakers, compared to four by the Warriors, who managed just three offensive rebounds.

Postgame Videos from Utah



LAMAR ODOM


PHIL JACKSON PART I


PHIL JACKSON PART II

No Bryant, No Bynum, No Problem

59525646In 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.

Kobe Bryant (ankle) missed his second straight game, and Andrew Bynum (hip) joined him on the inactive list, just the third game the young center missed this season and the second Bryant has missed in three seasons.

The Lakers are no stranger to playing without Bynum, but playing without Kobe never seemed a possibility until he literally didn’t take the floor of L.A.’s Saturday evening win in Portland. No. 24’s previous missed game due to an injury? Check all the way back to December of 2006.

But on Monday, there was a noticeable extra collective hop in the remaining Lakers’ step in pregame warm ups that carried through the contest. All of those who saw the floor found a way to contribute, led by a huge game from Pau Gasol and by Lamar Odom’s all-around play.

59525638Gasol, 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.

“It was fun,” said Gasol of the all-around effort. “I think it was a good challenge for us; the way we played tonight was beautiful to be out there … we played hard and got a nice win.”

Phil Jackson cited L.A.’s rebounding (45-42 edge), defense (held the Spurs to 55 points in the final three quarters) and the respective individual efforts of each of his players.

“It is always good for a ball club to feel like they rally,” he said. “We stepped into the game with two starters that were out and we had to put two or three guys from the bench on the court that probably do not have too many minutes.”

There was Ron Artest, who nailed back-to-back three-pointers to counter a 9-0 start to the game and finished with a line of 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.

And Derek Fisher, who canned 6-of-9 shots for 13 points and provided steady floor leadership throughout.

There was Sasha Vujacic, who has struggled for much of the year but checked in late in the second and immediately nailed his first three shots, two of them three-pointers, to help erase a nine-point S.A. lead. Later, he offered some scrappy defense in the fourth quarter.

And Jordan Farmar, who in 18 minutes off the bench scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting … Shannon Brown, who started in place of Bryant and scored eight points with three assists … Luke Walton, who played only 11 minutes but added four points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal to the effort.

59525641“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.”

Speaking of that execution…

“We were aware of how we needed to play, especially being short handed,” explained Odom. “We limited their second-shot opportunities, ran the triangle and played good team defense.”

It wasn’t easy at first, as Tony Parker repeatedly got into the lane and helped the Spurs score 34 points in the opening quarter (Bynum’s interior presence may have helped), 20 of which came in the paint. But L.A.’s defense collectively stepped up in the second, holding the Spurs to 13 points total while scoring 22 of their own to turn a six-point deficit after one into a three-point halftime lead.

Then in a solid all-around third quarter, the Lakers opened an 11-point lead, but the Spurs chipped six points off that margin to create a 73-68 margin into the fourth. There, Gasol was terrific, as documented by his eight points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the final period alone as the Spurs never got closer than six points.

“Pau is a good director out there with the ball,” said Jackson. “He is unselfish, he reads the defenses well. He made some really goo passes tonight and I told him his defense was good.”

“(Gasol) put it together tonight,” added an admiring Bryant after the game. “We’ve seen glimpses of that this season … hopefully he can keep it up.”

59525649Whether 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.
*Bynum is doubtful

“I’ll make a decision on Wednesday,” said Kobe. “Game-time decision. If I’m ready to go I’ll play.”

Yet as Bryant acknowledged, if the Lakers play team basketball as they did in defeating the Blazers and Spurs without him, there’s little need for him to rush it in Salt Lake City.

Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
4 Personal fouls committed by the Lakers in the second half, to 12 by the Spurs. That resulted in 13 free throws to six for San Antonio.

7 Lakers who scored at least eight points.

20 Spurs points in the paint in the first quarter alone as Tony Parker repeatedly got into the lane, aided by the absence of Andrew Bynum. L.A. improved significantly afterwards, however, holding S.A. to 28 paint points for the rest of the game.

43.9 L.A.’s winning percentage (18-23) without Kobe Bryant since 2003-04 in 41 games heading into the victory over the Spurs.

46 Minutes played by Pau Gasol, who did yeoman’s work in a 21-point, 19-rebound, 8-assist, 5-block effort.