Archive for the 'Post-Game' Category

Denver’s 3’s Win Game of Runs

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 5, 2010
in Post-Game
. Closed

59505312Throughout the first week of the 2008-09 Western Conference Finals, the Lakers found themselves amidst a heavyweight fight, going blow for blow with the Denver Nuggets.

L.A. took Game 1 by two points, dropped Game 2 by three points, snatched Game 3 on the road by six and then lost by 19 in Game 4. Not a lot of room for error, to be sure.

Then in the third quarter of Game 5, Kobe Bryant fully figured out Denver’s aggressive, trapping defense to turn what had been a seven-point deficit into a nine-point victory. L.A. carried nearly the same formula into Game 6 at Denver, and clinched the series on the road in more-than-convincing fashion, 119-92.

Friday’s matchup at STAPLES Center, however, took place in early February, not late May.

Among the differences: while the Lakers were focused on winning, not a great deal was at stake; Kobe Bryant was playing on a bad ankle, while Carmelo Anthony opted not to play for the seventh straight game due to his own injured ankle; the teams had met only once this season, back on Nov. 13 when the Nuggets beat a Pau-Gasol-less Lakers team on a back-to-back.

“It’s more difficult in the regular season because in the playoffs you’re only focusing on that one team,” said assistant coach Jim Cleamons. “We realize that Denver is our opponent tonight, but we’re going to see a different defense tomorrow night in Portland. There is a rhythm that players get accustomed to, and that’s more difficult in this case.”

59505331As such, it wasn’t surprising to see an up-and-down game in which the Lakers built big leads, then watched Denver shoot its way right back into the contest before the Nuggets nailed nine second half threes to ultimately make the game’s final run and earn a 126-113 road win.

Chauncey Billups alone hit five of his nine total three-pointers in the third quarter that Phil Jackson said ultimately changed the course of the game for good, but there were so many hard-to-explain runs, we had to keep a detailed log of the swings in quarter-by-quarter fashion:

First Quarter
5:09 Remember how Kobe hurt his ankle last game and some though him “questionable” for the game? He responded by sinking his second straight three, from the same spot after pulling up in transition, to climb to 5-of-6 from the field for 13 of L.A.’s 24 points to create an 11-point lead as L.A. threw the first punch. In related news, Bryant is not a normal person.

0:04.6 Chauncey Billups drew a foul from Kobe while attempting a three-pointer, making 2-of-3 free throws to cap an 11-0 answer amidst a 17-4 overall run as the Lakers nearly fell asleep after that terrific Bryant-inspired start.

0:00.5 Remember the NCAA title-winning dunk for NC State in 1983, when Lorenzo Charles caught a halfcourt desperation attempt and stuffed it home? Well, the stakes weren’t quite as high tonight, but Gasol snatched Bryant’s miss out of the air and dropped it home to tie the game at 30 after one.

59505314Second Quarter
9:00 “Mind over matter for Kobe Bryant” was the 710 ESPN radio call by play-by-play man Spero Dedes after No. 24 dropped his fourth three-pointer of the first half to climb to 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, putting L.A. up 43-36 thanks to a 13-6 run to start the second. Moments later, Bynum left the game in favor of Gasol, after not moving as fast as he has in previous games. Though he managed to score eight points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting with four rebounds, he just wasn’t getting up and down the floor extremely well. Perhaps not coincidentally, Bynum was wearing a left knee sleeve, which hasn’t been the case of late.

3:01 Just as quickly as L.A. built its lead to open the quarter, they once again let Denver come back the other way until the Nuggets led 57-53, a 21-10 streak for the powder blues.

0:05.4 That “game of runs” thing continued to close the half, as L.A. climbed back into the driver’s seat with an 11-2 burst capped by Gasol’s put-back slam of a Josh Powell layup attempt (Powell got six minutes of relief duty, scoring four points with a board). At the break, L.A.’s lead was 64-59.

Third Quarter
4:37 Ready for your next lead swing? The latest to that point came as Bryant got consecutive tough hoops to fall, complaining that he was fouled on each, the latter of which was a spinning, fall-away bank off glass from the elbow that put L.A. up seven.

2:29 You knew what was coming next … this time it was all Billups, who literally nailed three consecutive three-pointers, No.’s 6, 7 and 8 on the night in 10 attempts. That put Denver on a 12-2 run, got him to 34 points on the evening, while Kobe had 27 for the Lakers.

0:02.4 The Nuggets run continued through the end of the quarter, when J.R. Smith capped Billups’ ninth three (seriously) with two free throws to give the Nuggets a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

59505277Fourth Quarter
9:25 Another run? Really? Ty Lawson and J.R. Smith scored four points apiece off Denver’s bench to cap an 8-0 run that gave the Nuggets their biggest lead of the game at 102-91.

3:48 Bryant’s and-1 layup followed Gasol’s put-back dunk for a quick 5-0 Lakers spurt that cut Denver’s lead to eight as L.A. tried to make a final push…

0:29.9 … But instead, the Nuggets ran off the final run of the game in ridiculous form, making three more three-pointers to finish an absolutely absurd 15-of-22 from distance (68%) and ultimately run away with a 126-113 win.

POSTGAME NUMBERS
3.5 Games between the Lakers (38-13) and Nuggets (34-16) in the standings.

9 Career high three-pointers nailed by Chauncey Billups, including five in the third quarter alone, for 27 of his game-high 39 points.

17 Rebounds for Pau Gasol, plus 17 points.

27 Points for J.R. Smith off the bench, including 19 in the second half. Shannon Brown led the Lakers with 13 off the pine.

33 Points for Kobe Bryant on 11-of-22 shooting, plus nine rebounds despite his injured ankle.

68 Denver’s unheard of shooting percentage from three-point land, including Billups’ 9-of-13 and J.R. Smith’s 3-of-4.

Lakers Beat Bobcats … Finally

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 3, 2010
in Post-Game
. Closed

59491042What is it about the Charlotte Bobcats that has killed the Lakers in the past, producing six victories in the last seven meetings between the teams?

Do the bright orange uniforms of a franchise that has yet to make the playoffs act as high-dosage kryptonite for purple and gold? (those colors do clash pretty badly, but to be fair, Charlotte wore its blue-pinstriped kits on Wednesday).

The only other NBA franchise against which the Lakers have an all-time losing record is the Boston Celtics. The Bobcats, meanwhile, have met L.A. just 10 times since the team debuted in Charlotte, winning six of those contests including both meetings last season and three straight at STAPLES Center.

The two wins in 2008-09 allowed the ‘Cats to join Orlando as the only team that the Lakers didn’t beat last regular season, and while L.A. got its revenge and more against Orlando in the Finals, their first shot at the Bobcats didn’t come until Feb. 3rd at STAPLES Center.

59491057Assistant coach Brian Shaw had even quipped during our pregame LakersTV interview that he was going to utilize reverse psychology with the team, simply asking them to keep the game close and not embarrass themselves since Charlotte would inevitably win.

Apparently, Shaw’s (fake) strategy worked, because on this Wednesday evening, Charlotte didn’t manage to shoot the Lakers with its traditional poison arrow in a 99-97 Lakers victory. Yet even without All-Star Gerald Wallace, a first-time All-Star, the Bobcats didn’t make it easy.

Clawing around throughout, the ‘Cats kept things tight until the Lakers ultimately preserved a late lead in the final minutes to emerge with a two-point win.

Neither team led by more than five points in the first three quarters the Lakers played after an eight-game road trip, and the Bobcats managed to cut an eight-point lead halfway through the fourth back to just one before late buckets from Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar sealed the deal.

It was thanks to the terrific all-around play of Odom (19 points, seven rebounds) and Andrew Bynum (17 points, 14 rebounds) that L.A. was in the game in the first place, and fitting that Odom made the game’s biggest play by tipping in a Ron Artest miss with 1:02 left in the game to give L.A. a five-point cushion.

With his team up three and 0:07.9 seconds left on the clock, Farmar put the game on ice by slapping away an inbounds pass that was gathered by Pau Gasol and passed back to L.A.’s backup point guard for a breakaway dunk. Flip Murray did hit a three from near halfcourt at the other end, but it was too little, too late.

59491056Gasol and Kobe Bryant - who tweaked his left ankle at the close of the first half - combined to make just 8-of-25 shots, mandating the collective effort from Odom and Bynum, while Artest chipped in 14 points and Shannon Brown combined with Farmar for 19 off the bench.

“I think (the key) was Lamar coming off the bench and making those big plays and getting his tips in,” said Bobcats guard Stephen Jackson, who led all scorers with 30 points.

Phil Jackson noted the general play of his bench, which outscored Charlotte’s 40-27.

“The bench played well tonight, gave us a little bump which is good to see,” said Phil Jackson. “We survived the night when Kobe really was hampered by his injuries.”

Bryant, who first tweaked his left ankle in Philadelphia on Friday, played through the pain by turning into a passer in the second half, notching four assists in the third quarter but managing just 2-of-12 shots from the field for five points. After the game, Bryant limped out of the locker after uttering this quote: “I was hurting today, to be honest,” a rare admission from perhaps the league’s toughest player.

Gasol, meanwhile, made 6-of-13 shots for his 14 points, but he did add five assists and came up with three blocked shots including a crucial swat of Jackson with 1:16 left in the game and L.A. nursing a three-point lead.

“That’s what we need to do, we need to step up our defense in the last quarter of the game especially,” said Gasol. “There’s no other way to do it … get stops, get extra possessions, and now that I’m in better shape as far as my legs go I need to help on that aspect of the game even more.”

59491043Odom, who scored L.A.’s final six points of the third and accounted for its first five of the fourth to create some breathing room, created much of his offense off six offensive rebounds. Ironically, Jackson had mentioned before the game that Odom didn’t need to - or like to - force his offense as he had to before Gasol arrived and Bynum emerged. But as the rest of the team stalled, Odom filled the void.

“He’s extremely versatile and he can contribute in many ways,” said Gasol, who noted Odom’s 8-of-10 performance from the field. “He read the mismatches that he had well and was able to attack and put the ball into the basket.”

As a result, the Lakers took home their league best 24th home victory to climb to 38-12 on the season heading into a tough back-to-back against Denver and Portland set for Friday and Saturday.

Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
534 Wins while coaching the Lakers for Phil Jackson, surpassing Pat Riley’s previous Lakers record of 533. After the game, Jackson credited his players and fellow coaches for the honor.

34.8 L.A.’s shooting percentage in a sluggish first quarter, perhaps reflecting the team reacquainting itself with STAPLES Center after an eight-game road trip. They improved, however, to finish at 46.4 percent for the game.

9 Rebounds corralled by Andrew Bynum in the first quarter alone. He’d finish with 14 to lead the Lakers, four short of his season high.

7 More rebounds collected by the Bobcats, which L.A. overcame in part by forcing twice as many Charlotte turnovers (14) as it committed (seven).

3 Blocks from Pau Gasol to lead L.A., including a clutch swat of Stephen Jackson with 1:16 remaining in the game and the Lakers clinging to a three-point lead.

Lakers Bench Keys 98-92 Win Over Orlando

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 18, 2010
in Post-Game
. Closed

59329453When the Lakers and Celtics met at STAPLES Center last Christmas, it was L.A.’s first chance to avenge a 4-2 NBA Finals victory by Boston in 2008. The purple and gold certainly had that contest circled on the schedule, and proceeded to win 92-83.

This season, after winning the 2009 Finals 4-1 over Orlando, the Lakers had already been on the other side of a “revenge game” three times, losing to first round opponent Utah, second round victim Houston and Western Conference Finals loser Denver once apiece.

On Monday night, the Magic came to Los Angeles.

“We knew they were going to come out and be ready to basically get some revenge from the series,” said Shannon Brown, who’d play a major role in the rematch.

As it turned out - at least for one night - Orlando couldn’t join the revenge trend.

Not after a 15-0 Lakers burst out of the fourth quarter gates turned a four-point deficit heading into the final period to a 79-68 lead that ultimately closed at 98-92 thanks to some too-little-too-late Orlando three-pointers.

Leading the way for the Lakers wasn’t Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol, but subs Brown and Jordan Farmar, who combined for 20 second half points and inspired a major shift in energy.

“Tremendous letdown in the third quarter, but we played an inspired fourth,” summarized Phil Jackson. “I told (the bench) they’re the reason why we got this game.”

59329476In the first half, the Lakers opened a 13-point lead, but a fierce third quarter charge from Orlando turned a five-point halftime deficit into a nine-point lead late in the period. Enter the backcourt bench duo, who together inspired a 21-2 run from the 3:16 mark of the third quarter to the 6:38 point of the fourth.

“We told each other, ‘Now’s our time, let’s go. Let’s do it,’” said Farmar. “We just wanted to go in there and really be aggressive and play with a little more energy. Everything was a little flat and lackadaisical and they had all the momentum. We had to change that up.”

That they did. In fact, after consecutive Lamar Odom put-backs allowed L.A. to tie the game at 68 after a 68-64 deficit at the start of the fourth, Farmar reeled off nine straight points himself with a three-pointer, a jumper, a layup and two free throws.

“Jordan had a real inspired 6-8 minutes there,” said Jackson.

Brown, meanwhile, only finished with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting on the same day that his presence in the 2010 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest was requested (he accepted, don’t worry), leaving Jackson to praise his growth as a player since his trade from Charlotte last February.

“I think it’s maturity,” said the head coach. “I think it’s opportunity … and it’s responsibility. He’s a young man who’s very diligent about his work. He puts in the effort and it’s paying off for him.”

Brown and Farmar combined with Odom (nine points and 16 rebounds) to outscore Orlando’s bench 42-15, helping the Lakers overcome a tough shooting night for the finger-injury-saddled Kobe Bryant, who made just 4-of-19 shots from the field but led L.A. with seven assists. Bryant also noted L.A.’s improved defense of Dwight Howard in the second half, after the All-Star big made 9-of-12 first half shots for 18 of his 24 points.

“We wanted to limit those (interior touches) and make it a lot tougher for him to catch in the paint,” said his Olympic teammate. “Pau (Gasol) and Andrew (Bynum) both did a great job, and our weak side helpers were very solid wrapping him up and making him (go) to the line.”

Howard’s first half had kept the Magic in the game despite 3-of-12 shooting from three-point land, where as the Lakers managed to hit their first four from distance and 5-of-9 in the half. L.A.’s shooting vanished in the third quarter (5-of-22, 22.7 percent) but returned in a fourth quarter (12-of-25, 48 percent) that featured nine Lakers free throws and seven Magic turnovers, L.A.’s total for the game.

The Magic won’t get another attempt at revenge until March 7 in Orlando, while the Lakers must now pack for their longest road trip of the season that takes the purple and gold train through Cleveland, New York, Toronto, Washington, Indiana, Philadelphia, Boston and Memphis.

Tiring just to look at, right? Alas, until then, your numbers:

59329474POSTGAME NUMBERS
0 Games the Lakers have lost this season when leading at any point during the fourth quarter, out of 32 wins. By comparison, no other team has lost fewer than four games when leading at any point of the final period.

7 Lakers turnovers, tying the team’s season-low. The Magic, on the other hand, had seven turnovers in the game-deciding fourth quarter alone.

27 L.A.’s advantage in bench scoring (42-15) thanks to 22 from Shannon Brown, 11 from Jordan Farmar and nine from Lamar Odom, who added a game-high 16 rebounds and five assists.

44.5 Brown’s vertical jump, used here to signify his invitation to the 2010 Sprite Slam Dunk contest. Brown led the Lakers with 11 first half points and finished with a career-high 22.

24,981 Kobe Bryant’s career point total after he scored 11 against Orlando, leaving him 19 away from being the youngest player to score 25,000.

Bynum, Gasol Play Big in 40-point Blowout

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 15, 2010
in Post-Game
. Closed

59291950It’s no secret that the Lakers like to pound the basketball inside.

That’s like saying that “The Situation” from MTV’s “Jersey Shore*” just “likes” to lie in tanning beds and call girls, or that DJ Paulie D “likes” to apply copious amounts of product to his hair and spin records.
*Since the cast of the show was at STAPLES enjoying the game, we’re allowed to mention them. It’s in the rule book.

Of course, if Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum were on your squad, wouldn’t you want to throw the rock in the paint as much as possible?

Unfortunately for the Lakers, that combination had been on the floor for only 22-of-39 games this season, due primarily to the left (six games) and right (11 games) hamstrings of Gasol. Yet with Gasol on the bench, Bynum had been playing some of his best basketball of the season in averaging almost 20 points and 12 boards in respective Pau-less stints, while he had failed to register a single double-double when playing alongside Gasol.

59291112That left assistant coach Frank Hamblen (among others) wondering aloud on LakersTV at Friday morning shootaround what we would see against the Clippers at 7:30 p.m., when all 14 feet of big men were once again in the starting lineup.

“We’ll just see with Pau coming back if there’s enough room for both big guys in the paint to succeed,” he said.

As it turned out … there was plenty of room.

In what turned out to be the team’s biggest victory of the season (126-86, to be exact), L.A. wasted no time using their length as Bynum and Gasol combined for 16 of the purple and gold’s first 18 points, all of which came in the painted area.

“It’s good when we’re able to set the tone early as far as pounding the ball inside to get Andrew going and get myself going,” said Gasol. “Then the ball will come out of the post because they’re going to start double teaming and we’re going to get open shots for the guys on the outside.”

After their squad was temporarily derailed in the second quarter (falling behind by nine points) the Lakers did precisely as Gasol described, nailing a plethora of open jumpers as the game rolled on and the Clips collapsed inside, including seven second half three-pointers, outscoring L.A.’s other team a whopping 73-36 in the second half after holding just a four-point lead at the half.

In that third quarter, Bynum and Gasol transitioned to the backboards, outrebounding the Clippers 7-3 themselves over the first ten minutes of the period as the Lakers found themselves quickly up by 22. ‘Drew and Pau even found themselves sharing the same statistical line with 2:19 left in the third: 18 points and six rebounds apiece.

“Always, every time you make a mistake, they have a guy that can make you pay the price,” said Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy. “That’s the thing about their team that if you’re giving weak side help and you come up on one of the bigs, (the other is a) pretty easy target to find.”

59291021Gasol’s night would end after the third quarter with 20 points, seven boards, three blocks and three assists, while Bynum checked out for the final time with 8:36 left in the fourth after posting 20 points, seven boards, two assists and two blocks.

Alas, while Bynum was three boards short of that double-double, he played only 28 minutes and was an efficient 8-of-13 from the floor, while Gasol hardly looked like he hadn’t played in two weeks and took up none of Bynum’s space on the block.

“I thought they looked great,” said Kobe Bryant of his bigs. “I made it a point to tell Andrew, ‘I don’t want you to be passive, you gotta be aggressive, you can’t think about stepping on toes.’ Pau’s a phenomenal player, he’ll figure his way through it as I do.”

While those bigs were doing their thing, Bryant overcame back spasms that plagued him in Texas to score 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting, including four three-pointers and 6-of-8 free throws. When Kobe sat down after 38 minutes, the bench caught fire in the fourth and outscored the Clippers 37-19.

“When we play together and move the ball, play defense the way we did especially in that second half, we’re a tough team to beat,” said Gasol. “Things are working out.”

The same could be said about the team’s collective health, finally. Since Luke Walton, who’d missed the bulk of the season with a back injury, played in his first home game after appearing in both Texas matchups, the Lakers had all 13 players on the roster available for the first time.

A 40-point victory was a good enough way to celebrate that health, particularly the 14 feet in the middle of the paint.

Up next for the Lakers is a matchup with 2009 Finals opponent Orlando on Monday night at STAPLES Center. Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
8 Game-high rebound total from Derek Fisher in only 19 minutes. Fish added six assists, a team-high, and four points and received Phil Jackson’s “Player of the Game” postgame praise.

11 Minute played by Lamar Odom, in which he produced seven points, two boards and two assists. The Lakers will surely need him for further minutes in a tough slew of games in the second half of January.

12 Pau Gasol’s free throw attempts, and makes, in his first game action since Jan. 3. He finished with 20 points, seven boards and three blocks.

28 Lakers bench points in the fourth quarter alone, including 10 from Sasha Vujacic, seven from Shannon Brown, six from D.J. Mbenga and five from Jordan Farmar.

30 Points from Kobe Bryant, looking like his back never bugged him, in 38 minutes on 10-of-20 shooting and 6-of-8 from the line to lead all scorers.

40 Victory margin in L.A.’s impressive 126-86 effort, the biggest Lakers victory of the season (previous was 35 over Dallas on 1/3).

Lakers Buck Milwaukee, Win 95-77

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 10, 2010
in Post-Game
. Closed

59255024Free throws aren’t the most fun topic in basketball about which to talk (or write).

Not when you have dunks, three-point shooting, pretty passes, Kobe Bryant, or, well, anything (second-chance points, anybody?) to go over.

Yet after the Lakers made only five freebies to Portland’s 32 in a 107-98 Friday night loss - the biggest free throw discrepancy in the NBA since March of 2006 - the purple and gold took a different approach in converting 25 during Sunday’s 95-77 blowout victory over Milwaukee.

In what was otherwise a rather sloppy basketball game - the team’s combined to shoot just 36 percent for the evening - the Lakers repeatedly drove the ball to the basket at one end and flooded the paint at the other, producing a 61-43 edge on the glass and a gap from the charity stripe as wide as the Panama Canal (OK, not quite).

Jordan Farmar was one of three Lakers (Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant) to get to the foul line six times, and eight different Lakers went at least twice as L.A. made 25-of-30. The Bucks managed only 9-of-13.

“Personally, I like to get in the paint and make things happen,” said Farmar, who made all six. “(It helps) collapse the defense and make big plays.”

59255127And while Milwaukee’s defense was collapsing, L.A.’s was solid throughout the game, limiting the Bucks to an opponent-season-low 77 points.

In fact, L.A. made more free throws - 10 - in the first quarter than Milwaukee scored points as the home team took a commanding 24-8 lead that wasn’t seriously threatened throughout the evening.

By halftime, the Lakers had made 15-of-17 free throws and the Bucks only 2-of-2, which for once turned out to be the most exciting statistic as the teams combined to throw up 57 bricks, shooting a collective 29.6 percent in a first half as Milwaukee scored a season-low 28 for a Lakers’ opponent.

It wasn’t until a 13-5 run to close the third quarter, capped by Shannon Brown’s halfcourt, buzzer-beating three-pointer, that the game featured some good old-fashioned basketball fun. With the contest well in hand, Brown and Farmar put on a show, highlighted by two huge defensive swats at the rim by Brown and a personal 10-0 scoring run from Farmar that blew open a 26-point Lakers lead. The two guards combined to score 30 of their 36 total points in the second half, Farmar finishing with 17 and Brown a season-high 19.

Their scoring helped mask another rough shooting night for Kobe Bryant (4-of-21), which Phil Jackson blamed almost entirely on Bryant’s injured finger and the guard’s experimentation with and without a splint on his right index finger.

“He has been fiddling around with his ‘prosthetic’ for his broken finger,” Jackson explained. “It’s noticeable in his shooting and he knows it so I think he is going to go back to what worked before.”

59255094Also making up for Bryant’s shooting night was the glass dominance of Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom, who collected 35 boards between them. Bynum set a new career-high with 18, and Odom had 17 to continue an impressive stretch that had him averaging 14 per night in the previous eight games.

As a team, the Lakers collected a season-high 61 rebounds, including 52 defensive. That, alongside the free throw gulf, was far too much for the Bucks to overcome.

L.A. is set to embark on a two-game Texas trip beginning Tuesday in San Antonio and continuing in Dallas on Wednesday; until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
1 Field goal made in 14 first half attempts from Kobe Bryant, who was experimenting by playing without a splint on his injured finger. He put it back on at the half, later saying that his finger simply wasn’t strong enough to support his shooting stroke without the splint. In other words, his range of motion is better without the splint, but the strength isn’t there. He re-aggravated the injury in the Sacramento game, and continues to deal with varying degrees of swelling.

12 First quarter points for Andrew Bynum, four more than Milwaukee’s entire team. Bynum finished a solid game with 17 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and three blocks. It’s no coincidence that Bynum was a game-high +31.

28 First half points scored by Milwaukee, a season low for a Lakers’ opponent in one half.

30 Combined second half points from Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar, both of whom scored 15. Brown finished with 19 and Farmar 17, while both players added four rebounds and three assists.

45 Feet from which Brown nailed a halfcourt buzzer-beating shot to close the third quarter.

77 Points scored by Milwaukee, tying a season-low for an opponent against the Lakers.

Lakers 91, Clippers 102: Running Diary

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 6, 2010
in In-Game and Post-Game
. Closed

59233458CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE LAKERS’ GAMEDAY PAGE
We took a look at the Lakers - Clippers contest at STAPLES Center while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked for their fifth straight win.

Inactives
Lakers: Luke Walton
Clippers: Blake Griffin, Kareem Rush, Brian Skinner

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Odom* and Bynum
Clippers: Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Rasual Butler, Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman
*Odom got the nod as Pau Gasol missed his second full game after straining his left hamstring in L.A.’s Sunday evening victory over Dallas.

Gasol Getting Better
The most interesting pregame information out of the Lakers’ locker room was that Pau Gasol and his hamstring went through shootaround without pain. To be exact, here’s Phil Jackson’s quote: “He worked pain-free today, so that’s nice to know.” There’s no timetable for his return, but the Spaniard is listed as “day-to-day” with a moderate strain.

59232741First Quarter
10:28 You know when baseball players sometimes try to motion hits into fair territory with their bodies (Carlton Fisk in the playoffs would be the obvious example)? Well, Lamar Odom did so for a three-pointer. But it was even better, because the ball was spinning around the rim, which meant Odom was moving his hips around as if he had a hula hoop on. The triple also halted a 6-0 Clippers run to start the game.

4:38 A positive sign for the Lakers: Ron Artest nailed his second straight three-pointer, a nice development since his shooting touch hadn’t returned in his first game back (3-for-11 against Houston on Tuesday) from a five-game hiatus (concussion).

1:17 Andrew Bynum’s slam, thanks to a pretty pass from Odom, was his third of the quarter. Throw in a tip-in, and he led the Lakers with eight points in a 26-25 advantage.

Second Quarter
9:22 Two battles going on tonight: the basketball contest … and the crowd contest. Clippers and Lakers fans seemed to enjoy seeing who could be louder when respective teams performed well, the volume reaching its highest point when Kobe Bryant up-faked two Clips defenders and dropped a fallaway jumper off glass to bring L.A.* within two.
*This abbreviation always refers to the Lakers. At least on Lakers.com.

2:48 Can’t use the “He must love playing at home!” line for Baron Davis, since he plays for the Clips and all. But the L.A. native had an excellent all-around start to the game, notching seven first quarter assists, twice stripping Lakers players and blocking Shannon Brown’s perimeter shot before finishing at the rim (six points) moments later. His layup put the Clips up 47-42, and his aggressive play dictated that of his team throughout the half.

0.04 The Lakers can generally make up for a poor shooting half (34.1 percent in this one) with a special effort from Bryant, but Kobe was the biggest field goal miss culprit with a 3-for-13 effort, including a miss at the buzzer that allowed the Clippers a 52-43 lead at the break.

59233459Third Quarter
8:00 Struggling from the perimeter, Bryant went straight to the basket for consecutive dunks, the first an alley-oop from Odom and the second a breakaway two-hander after his steal.

5:55 Those flushes appeared to ignite Kobe’s perimeter game, as he pulled up from distance on three consecutive possessions, including a three-pointer and an and-1. All three went down, giving him 27 points and cutting the Clips lead to 10. Moments later, Shannon Brown nailed a three-pointer to cap an 8-0 Lakers run that cut the lead to just four.

0:29.0 Chris Kaman took a contested 20-foot jump shot, Bynum’s hand in his face, and the ball clanked high off the front rim … before bouncing in about two seconds later. The J followed a Davis’ make to give the Clips the last four points of the quarter, and a 79-73 lead heading into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter
9:55 Bynum, Jordan Farmar and Artest scored back-to-back-to-back buckets to tie the game in just over two minutes, sans Kobe. And we officially had a “Battle for L.A. Basketball” … at least for one regular season game.

6:07 Shannon Brown and Farmar continued to provide a solid bench boost in the first half of the fourth quarter, though the Clips managed a 4-0 run into a timeout to lead 87-83. That would bring Bryant back into the game as the Lakers looked to steal a game they’d trailed almost throughout.

2:55 Craig Smith, a.k.a. the Rhino, scored on 2-of-3 possessions to put the Clippers back in control, holding a 94-85 lead. He got his name from Kevin McHale when McHale was the Wolves’ GM and Smith a rookie, for his charging drives to the hoop. Does this interest you? He’s from Inglewood and went to Fairfax High, if that helps. Alas, the Lakers would get no closer as the Clippers finally snapped a nine-game losing streak to the purple and gold.

The Lakers have a chance to break a long losing streak of their own - eight straight losses at Portland - on Friday night.

Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
2 The biggest lead of the ball game for the Lakers, which came in the first quarter.

15 Points off the bench from Shannon Brown, who played well after Derek Fisher struggled to 1-for-3 shooting and four turnovers in 20 minutes. Also Andrew Bynum’s point total, coupled with 14 rebounds for the center’s first double-double since November.

16 More rebounds for Lamar Odom, who’s on a rebounding binge of late. In fact, Odom has double-digit boards in seven straight games, averaging 14.1 per contest.

17 Kobe Bryant’s point total in the third quarter, helping L.A. knock four points of the Clippers’ 10-point halftime advantage. Bryant finished with a game-high 33 points, but needed 30 shots to get there.

20 Advantage in points in the paint for the Clippers (54-34), in likely the stat of the game. It’s quite rare to see the Lakers outscored by even a point in the paint, let alone 20, but the Clips were the aggressors throughout the evening.

38.4 Lakers shooting percentage on the evening, to 46.0 percent from the Clippers.

Bynum, Odom Fill Gasol Gap: L.A. Beats Houston

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 5, 2010
in Post-Game
. Closed

59225270There aren’t many teams in the NBA that could shrug off the temporary loss of one of the league’s best players and still beat respectively tough Texas teams in consecutive games.

Yet the Lakers, without Pau Gasol and his 17 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists, hung on late to beat the ever-pesky Houston Rockets 88-79 two days after crushing Dallas 131-96.

“For a team that scored 131 points the other night, it looked like it was a struggle for us to score tonight,” said Phil Jackson. “We were able to finish this game better than I expected.”

The purple and gold, who expect Gasol back sooner than later, do happen to have guys named Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum.

That always helps.

59225271Odom, a health concern himself heading into the contest (stomach), was fantastic throughout the game in amassing a season-high 19 rebounds, 17 points and nine assists in a near triple-double.

“The guy that was unable to practice yesterday and was pretty sick was the guy that was the star in the game,” said Jackson. “(Odom) knew we were at a deficit tonight without Pau (Gasol) … it was a terrific game (for him).”

“He had a great performance, very impressive, he is really locked in,” added Kobe Bryant, who scored 22 points. “He is doing what we need him to do and he has been playing excellent, focused basketball.”

Meanwhile, Bynum - who opened the season with eight double-doubles in nine games in Gasol’s absence - was two boards away from another while leading all scorers with 24 points.

“I just got more touches and I got my touch back around the rim,” said Bynum. “Shots started falling for me and it got easier from there.”

The Lakers also welcomed Ron Artest back into the lineup after a five-game hiatus (concussion). While he struggled to find a rhythm offensively (3-of-11 shooting), as Jackson said he expected before the game, Artest got right into the mix on defense, causing turnovers on Houston’s first two possessions of the game and generally harassing his man throughout the evening.

In fact, with 1:37 remaining in the first half and L.A. holding a 39-29 lead, Artest reached in on Carl Landry about 70 feet away from the Lakers’ basket, putting Landry at the line in the bonus. An ill-advised play, sure, but Artest’s constant defensive aggression seemed to have an affect on Houston as it has generally on opponents throughout the season. Other teams are simply less comfortable when the former Defensive Player of the Year is on the floor.

59225334“Comfortable” is not a good word to describe Houston’s offense particularly in the first half, when they channeled the Mavericks’ Sunday inability to hit a shot by making just 35.9 percent of their attempts in a 41-33 halftime margin. It wasn’t exactly L.A.’s best performance, either; while they made 46.2 percent from the field, L.A. coughed the ball up 10 times (20 total) to allow Houston to stay within striking distance.

In that first half, Bryant endured a swipe to his already-injured shooting hand, struggling to only 3-for-11 from the field in the second half, yet still managed to connect on one of the game’s bigger buckets, a 10-foot leaner with 48.3 seconds remaining to give L.A. a six-point cushion. Bryant, who said after the game that he would be “fine” (shocker), soldiered through 43 more minutes in L.A.’s 28th win.

The Lakers aim for their fifth straight victory against the L.A. Clippers, a road game at STAPLES Center on Wednesday. The visitors will need another solid effort from Odom and Bynum, since the Clips boast a solid 4-5 combo of Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman.

Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
15 Kobe Bryant’s place on the all-time NBA scoring roster after his first bucket of the game pushed him past Patrick Ewing.

19 Lamar Odom’s season-high rebound total, just three off his career-high of 22 set two seasons ago against Golden State.

20 Lakers turnovers, resulting in 18 points for Houston and helping the Rockets to stay in the game.

35.9 Houston’s shooting percentage in the first half, producing just 33 points.

48 Points in the paint for L.A., many of which came courtesy of Andrew Bynum (24 points) while Houston managed just 36. “They dominated the basket area on both ends of the court,” said Rockets coach Rick Adelman … It was pretty obvious that they were trying to go inside on us right off the start. They accomplished that.”

Lakers 131, Mavericks 96: By The Numbers

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 3, 2010
in Post-Game
. Closed

59219980Sunday’s contest at STAPLES Center was hardly a contest.

Perhaps in part because the Dallas Mavericks had surprised the Lakers with a 94-80 victory in L.A.’s second game of the season, L.A. showed little interest in making this a ball game, jumping to a 30-13 lead after the first quarter and closing with a season-high 131 points in victory.

“They played great and we played terrible,” summarized Mavs Coach Rick Carlisle.

At one point early in the fourth quarter, the lead reached 43 points, thanks in part to a season-high 66 bench points including Jordan Farmar’s career-high-tying 24. Shannon Brown and Sasha Vujacic added 11 points a piece off the bench, while Andrew Bynum led the way with 19 on a perfect 8-of-8 from the field.

The only bad news for the Lakers was the loss of Pau Gasol to a left hamstring strain*, which appeared to occur late in the first quarter as the Spaniard left the game and did not return. He’ll be re-evaluated in the morning, and we’ll have full coverage on Lakers.com.
*Gasol strained his right hamstring in preseason and missed the first 11 games of the season.

Yet in this game, with so many numbers jumping off the stat sheet, we kept a running total during each quarter to summarize L.A.’s league-leading 27th win.

PREGAME
0 Potential more games that Ron Artest will miss, after Phil Jackson said that his starting small forward was cleared to practice on Monday. While Artest remains questionable for Tuesday’s game against Houston, Jackson said he is “hopeful” to get him back.

14 Margin of victory when Dallas beat L.A. 94-80 in the season’s second game for both teams. The Mavs had come off a tough home loss to Washington a bit angry, and L.A. seemed to suffer a Ring Night letdown.

59219975FIRST QUARTER
3 Shots hit by Gasol in as many attempts before he left the game after 7:12 of action.

6 Rebounds for Lamar Odom in the period (plus four points and an assist) as the Lakers led the board battle 16-13. He’d finish the game with 15 boards, 15 points and six assists.

16 The Mavs’ putrid shooting percentage in the first quarter on 5-of-24 from the field. Ouch. Dallas got caught shooting a lot of jumpers, as L.A. did a good job in cutting off driving lanes and closing off the paint (three blocks).

SECOND QUARTER
4 Three-pointers made by the Lakers in the period, including two from Farmar and one each from Brown and Kobe Bryant.

21 Bench points in the quarter, including eight of Farmar’s 12, and all nine of Brown’s. The first quarter had featured a Vujacic three and his four rebounds, while D.J. Mbenga came in to block two shots in what was an excellent first half for L.A.’s pine unit.

26 L.A.’s lead after Bryant nailed a three-pointer to follow back-to-back Shannon Brown buckets, the team’s biggest margin to that point.

59220000THIRD QUARTER
100 Bynum’s field goal percentage for the game after he sank his eighth shot in eight attempts, all from within 10 feet (just like L.A.’s coaches draw it up). Bynum’s perfect performance moved him from 12th to 8th in the NBA in field goal percentage (56.4 percent). It was also the most makes without a miss since Nick Van Exel’s 9-for-9 on 11/16/97.

39 Points in the quarter for the Lakers, who seemed to swish everything they collectively threw up, including 4-of-6 three-pointers.

0 Points in the quarter for Bryant, who took just one shot, instead content to draw attention and dish (three assists). He watched the fourth quarter from the bench and finished with 15 points, enough to match Patrick Ewing for 15th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

FOURTH QUARTER
18 Point margin reached by Farmar when he canned his fourth three of the game, a new season high in for an individual bench player, topping Brown’s 17 against Golden State (11/28).

25 More bench points in the quarter for the Lakers, including nine from Farmar, six from Adam Morrison, four each from Mbenga and Josh Powell and a bucket from Brown.

43 L.A.’s largest lead of the game, reached when Farmar nailed a three-pointer with 10:59 to go in the fourth as L.A.’s starters enjoyed the view from the bench.

POSTGAME - SEASON HIGH EDITION
11 Sasha Vujacic’s season-high point total on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three.

15 Season-high tying rebounds for Lamar Odom.

24 Jordan Farmar’s career-high-tying points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-8 from three.

35 Margin of victory in the game, L.A.’s largest of the season.

58.3 Three-point percentage, also a season high, on 14-of-24 makes.

63.4 L.A.’s ridiculous shooting percentage, which sets a season high and is the best shooting performance since Jan. 4, 2008 against Philadelphia, when the Lakers shot 66.2 percent.

66 Bench points for L.A., by far a season high. Which led to…

131 A season-high in points, surpassing the 130 scored at Golden State on 11/28/09.

Bryant Beats Buzzer (Again!)

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 1, 2010
in Post-Game
. Closed

Kobe BryantOn Dec. 4, Kobe Bryant nailed a dagger three-pointer off glass to beat the Miami Heat; on Dec. 16 in Milwaukee, Bryant dropped a 15-footer in overtime to crush the Bucks; just last Saturday in Sacramento, Bryant sank back-to-back threes in overtime to beat the Kings.

Perhaps Bryant was upset that neither of those triples in Sac-town came at the buzzer, because with the Kings in L.A. on Friday night, Bryant drilled home a perfectly-arched three-pointer as the final horn sounded to turn a loss into a 109-108 victory.

Amazing.

“He’s right with Michael (Jordan),” said Phil Jackson. “These players - I don’t know how they get themselves into these positions - but they do an unbelievable job of hitting shots that are remarkable shots, marvelous shots.”

How did it happen? After Ime Udoka had missed both free throws at the other end with 4.8 seconds remaining, Bryant caught a short lob pass from Pau Gasol after the Spaniard had collected the inbounds pass of Sasha Vujacic. Bryant pushed himself off Sergio Rodriguez, who’d come over on a switch, composed himself behind the three-point line and lofted a pure jumper that left his hand with 0.1 on the clock and rotated end-over-end until splashing through the net.

“It looks like they went into a zone coverage on the inbounds pass and that side was wide open,” explained Bryant. “It was just a matter of me getting to that spot with enough time to get a shot off.”

“I just started smiling and watched it go in,” said Jordan Farmar, who played nearly the entire fourth quarter for the second straight game. “I already knew it was going in. He made it and we just all started looking at each other, laughing.”

59214288The triple was Bryant’s fifth of the game and fourth in the second half, in which the league’s leading scorer posted 27 of his game-high 39 points. In the process, he led the Lakers to their first come-back victory from a 20-point deficit since Dec. 12, 2006, against Houston.

It was an especially tough loss for a Kings team that stormed out of the gates to a 52-32 lead in the second quarter, thanks in part to terrific execution out of the pick and roll (61.4 percent first half shooting) and flat-out effort.

“It’s a big challenge to play the Lakers,” said Kings rookie forward Omri Casspi before the game. “For them it might just be another game to play the Kings, but wherever they go, people try to show up and play their best because it’s the Lakers and they are champions.”

Indeed, before Friday evening’s contest at STAPLES Center began, assistant coach Frank Hamblen recognized Casspi’s sentiment, and explicitly hoped that L.A.’s players realized just how feisty the young Kings can be particularly when they see purple and gold.

“We’ve stubbed our toe a few times playing against Sacramento over the years after they’d gone down (from) the great teams they had,” said Hamblen in our LakersTV chat. “You have to play hard every night. They bring it every night, especially against the Lakers.”

In that first half, the Lakers didn’t seem to get that.

Instead, center Spencer Hawes looked like Vlade Divac, making 6-of-8 shots (including a three-pointer), grabbing seven rebounds and finding cutters for four assists. Casspi channeled Peja Stojakovic, hitting 5-of-8 shots while grabbing four boards, and point guard Beno Udrih did a Mike Bibby impression to the tune of five points with six assists as the Kings jumped out to a 52-32 lead halfway through the second quarter.

They play 48 minutes, however, and the way L.A. came out of halftime, it appeared as if Hamblen spent some time with each and every Laker. And maybe a few extra minutes with Lamar Odom.

59214272The lanky lefty, in fact, was fantastic to open the third, scoring 10 of L.A.’s first 13 points as the Lakers went on a 13-4 run to cut the lead down to just four in a heartbeat. The Kings would answer with a 6-0 spurt of their own, but Bryant took over in atonement for a 3-of-11 first half by nailing 6-of-9 shots in the third alone (including three three-pointers) for 16 points.

The duo was so good that they combined to score 28 of L.A.’s 30 points in the period, cutting a 15-point lead to just four until Casspi’s corner three with 10 seconds left made it 86-79 heading into the fourth quarter. The D wasn’t bad, either.

“Defense,” said Jackson. “We had a few turnovers, got some runs. That changed the game, got the momentum swung in our favor there in the third quarter.”

Halfway through the final quarter, Bryant (who’d had literally 45 seconds of rest for the whole game) dropped three consecutive jumpers in 1:15 of action to give the Lakers their first lead of the game at 95-93.

Yet the Kings refused to die, getting back-to-back threes from Hawes - who scored a career-high 30 points - to take a four-point lead with 2:02 remaining, only to see Odom and Gasol score back-to-back hoops, Pau’s plus the harm to push L.A. on top 104-103 with 1:14 to play.

Casspi, who played nothing like a rookie, scored the final three of his 23 points on a corner trey, before Shannon Brown’s two free throws tied things up at 106. Then it was Udrih’s turn, as the Slovenian finished off a beautiful spin move out of the high pick and roll (Sacramento’s bread and butter all night) to create a two-point margin with 10 seconds to go. Brown’s ensuing three-point attempt went in and out, which set up Udoka’s two missed free throws and Bryant’s heroics.

Just like that, the Lakers had won their league-best 26th game, with Dallas - who beat L.A. at home back in October - coming into town on Sunday.

Until then, your numbers:

59214393POSTGAME NUMBERS
61.4 Sacramento’s scorching hot shooting percentage in the first half, helping build a 64-49 lead for the Kings.

47:15 Minutes played by Kobe Bryant, who added five rebounds, five assists and a steal to his 39 points.

44 Second half points for the Kings, after 64 in the first half.

28 Combined points for Bryant (16) and Lamar Odom (12) in the third quarter, leading L.A. to a 30-22 advantage. Andrew Bynum had the team’s only other bucket.

20 Points for Odom in his first 20-point game of the season. He added 10 rebounds, three assists and a block.

16 Rebounds from Pau Gasol to lead the Lakers. The Spaniard added 17 points, a block, and the game-winning assist (four total) on Bryant’s game-winning three.

0 Fourth quarter minutes played by Derek Fisher for the second consecutive game after the veteran point guard again struggled with his shooting (1-of-10). Instead, Fisher was on the bench providing encouragement and support for Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown, both of whom contributed positively in the final period.

Bryant Drops 44, Odom Finds Game, L.A. Wins

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on December 29, 2009
in Post-Game
. Closed

Lamar OdomPhil Jackson had been the exact opposite of happy with L.A.’s near 21-foot frontcourt lineup of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.

“I don’t think there’s been anything that’s been good about it,” he said before Tuesday’s contest against Golden State.

Fair enough (can’t argue with 10 championships).

But with Ron Artest out for the third consecutive game (concussion), Jackson was compelled to roll out his giants yet again against a Warriors squad that preferred to run-and-shoot like Warren Moon’s Houston Oilers.

As it turned out, the Warriors did in fact run right by the Lakers … but only in the first half, scoring 35 first quarter points and 60 at the half before Bryant led the Lakers to 71 second half points of their own in a 124-118 victory.

Bryant, brilliant as he’s been so often this season, scored a season-high 44 points on 13-of-27 shooting (48.1 percent) and a perfect 16-for-16 from the foul line. Oh by the way, he added a season-high 11 assists and four rebounds.

“That guy is amazing,” said Warriors Coach Don Nelson. “To be able to shoot like he did with the (avulsion fracture of his index finger) on his shooting hand, it’s amazing … I love watching him play.”

59204463As for that big lineup?

Gasol played well throughout, notching 27 points (his own season high) and 12 rebounds. Bynum saw only 24 minutes of playing time, scoring 11 points with seven rebounds but according to Jackson struggled to stay with the Warriors at times. It was Odom, however, who was the X-factor with an excellent second half. This after - by his own admission - he was, well, really bad in the first half (0-for-5, two rebounds).

“He just has to remember sometimes what a great player he is,” said Bryant. “He kind of starts to doubt himself too much, which he shouldn’t.”

Odom remembered right from the third quarter jump, sporting a newfound aggression at both ends of the floor. And when he’s playing like that, the Lakers really become the Lakers.

He attacked the glass (six rebounds in the first six minutes), drove into the paint and dished (two assists), blocked a shot, then stole a perimeter pass and converted free throws at the other end. It wasn’t a coincidence, of course, that during Odom’s hot stretch the Lakers started the quarter on an 23-11 run to open a 76-71 lead after Odom’s foul shots.

Then after a short rest, the lanky lefty returned in the fourth to make three key plays down the stretch that helped seal a victory. First, he took advantage of his size to drop a lefty hook over Corey Maggette to give the Lakers a three-point lead with 3:28 to play. Then came a key defensive swat of Anthony Morrow near the rim, and finally an offensive rebound and immediate put-back bucket with 1:45 left to again give L.A. a three-point cushion. All eleven of Odom’s points came in the second half, as did 9-of-his-11 rebounds.

Finishing off the home team’s three-pronged attack was, fittingly, the Bryant-Gasol All-Star duo, which combined to swish six free throws en route to a six-point victory.

59204539The effort of Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic off the bench shouldn’t be forgotten, as Jackson inserted both players into the game with 3:41 left in the third quarter and kept them on the court for the duration with Derek Fisher and Bynum resting on the bench.

“Jordan was active and aggressive,” said Jackson. “I thought he played a pretty good game tonight. Sasha had matchups that we could use. It was the direction that we wanted to do things out there.”

Farmar nailed an important three-pointer with 2:44 remaining and finished with 12 points and five assists, while Vujacic added six points, two boards and two assists. Both players helped counter Golden State’s athleticism in the backcourt with solid transition defense, a key second half factor towards the ultimate outcome.

In the process, the Lakers improved to a league-best 25-6, which they’ll put on the line with upcoming games against Sacramento, Dallas and Houston.

Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
7 40+ point games for Kobe Bryant this year, after only four such efforts last season.

15 Fast break points for the Warriors in the first half, key to their 60-53 advantage as the Lakers managed only two.

22 Second-chance points on the Lakers, a full 16 more than their opponents thanks in part to 12 offensive rebounds.

30.4 Bryant’s points per game averaged thanks to his season-high 44, pushing him past Carmelo Anthony (30.0) for the league lead.

71 Second half points for the Lakers, to 58 for Golden State. Bryant had 27 in the period, while Odom, Gasol and Farmar all added double figures (11, 11 and 10, respectively).