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Lakers - Warriors Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers - Kings contest in Sacramento while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked to win their third straight road game.

Inactives
Lakers: Luke Walton (back)
Kings: Jon Brockman

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Kings: Beno Udrih, Tyreke Evans, Donte Green, Carl Landry and Spencer Hawes

Pregame Notes
(Editor’s note: We were a bit light on pictures right after the game, as you can see by the photo above) For a full preview of the contest, CLICK HERE. Details include Sacramento’s adjustment after the Kevin Martin for Carl Landry trade, Tyreke Evans’ play and what L.A. specifically wants to do to counter certain Kings’ plays such as the high screen and roll with Spencer Hawes and Beno Udrih.

First Quarter
8:15 Andrew Bynum was an absolute man among small children in the paint in the game’s first four minutes, during which he dunked three times and laid in a fourth time, the Kings flailing limbs his way to no avail. That helped the Lakers to an early 11-4 lead in front of a terrific, energized crowd.

6:16 The Bynum-inspired start was all well and good, like the past season of “Friday Night Lights.” But the next two minutes were more like “The Jerry Springer Show,” (guilty pleasure or not) as the Kings rattled off a 9-0 run, the first seven points scored by Spencer Hawes (who happened to set a career high with 30 points against L.A. on New Year’s night.

0:02.4 The final six minutes swung the pendulum back L.A.’s way, in a big way, thanks almost exclusively to Kobe Bryant. No. 24 reeled off 13 straight points himself, and the Lakers conceded only four at the other end to build a 28-17 lead after the first quarter. Feel free to align Kobe’s dominant stretch with the “Real World - Road Rules Challenge” series (OK, last random TV reference for a while, sorry). Bynum, meanwhile, finished the quarter with 11 points and six rebounds, already approaching his solid recent stretch that’s had him average nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds over his last three games.

Second Quarter
9:46 No TV reference this time, but feel free to think of a really bad show as the Lakers’ bench conceded a 10-2 run to start the half. The Farmar-Brown-Morrison-Odom-Gasol fivesome played right into Sacramento’s hands by trying to run up and down, letting the Kings right back into the game.

6:06 After a Tyreke Evans layup, the scoreboard read “Kings 20, Lakers 6″ in the first six minutes of the second, continuing what has been a deplorable stretch of second quarters for L.A. of late, to the point that Phil Jackson has mentioned the hard-to-explain issue more than once. But thanks to the solid first quarter, the Lakers trailed by just one after a Kobe jumper.

0:51 The final half of the second saw the teams swap leads several times as good things continued to happen for L.A. when Bynum touched the ball inside, whether intentional or not. After Bryant’s driving attempt (his 18th shot of the half) rimmed out, Bynum broke through for an offensive board, then stuffed it back for yet another dunk. Moments later, Kobe spotted Bynum alone under the rim and lofted an alley-oop pass for, you guessed it, another dunk that had the 7-footer at 17 points with eight boards. It wasn’t like L.A. was calling much for ‘Drew, either, as much of his action came off five offensive boards.

Third Quarter
8:57 Broken record alert: L.A. has success when consistently feeding Bynum and Gasol on the block. Pau nailed his sixth field goal in seven attempts moments after Bynum made his ninth in 12 attempts, drawing praise from the efficiency gods (combined 15-of-19, 79 percent). They were connecting with as much consistency as Michael Jackson songs on “Thriller.”

3:02 So, it wasn’t exactly Artest’s best game on offense, as he’d missed his first four shots before muscling his way to a left-handed layup to put L.A. up 69-62. Yet it was still funny when he kissed his bicep and looked towards Sacramento’s bench after the make. Ron Ron.

0:01.0 When Bryant went to the bench to begin the second quarter, the Kings went on a big run (10-2). With two minutes left in the third, he and Fisher went back to the pine, but the Lakers got four straight buckets from four different players (Gasol, Vujacic, Brown and Odom) including Odom’s pretty lefty layup with just a second to go, helping the Lakers take a 77-68 lead into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter
10:27 Here’s what I typed on Twitter to describe a nasty finish to a great open to the fourth (you can always follow @LakersReporter for live game updates): Shannon Brown officially violated Sacramento air space. What an absurd one-handed thunder jam. Lakers up 16. Brown’s slam came from the right wing, courtesy of a slick Gasol pass from the middle of the floor. The Spaniard can lead the break. The hammer capped a 7-0 run to open the quarter.

5:17 Lakers opponents generally play with an Ivy-League-dreaming-high-school-kid-before-the-S.A.T.’s effort level, and the Kings were no exception, cutting the 16-point lead in half on a baseline layup for Evans, who was approaching a triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Kobe was on TD watch as well with 27, nine rebounds and six dimes.

2:07 Bynum’s two free throws not only put the Lakers up 11, the game well in hand, gave him 21 points with his 12 rebounds, joining Gasol (26 and 11) with 20-10 double-doubles. Kobe was actually just one board away from joining them, which would mark the first time three Lakers players have done so in one game since 12/21/84, when guys named Magic, Kareem and Worthy did it. Unfortunately, Kobe would be stuck on nine boards … but on the bright side, the Lakers won the game, 106-99.

That marked three straight road wins for the Purple and Gold, who return home for a two-game stretch against Minnesota and Washington (Friday and Sunday). Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
3 Lakers with at least 20 points and nine rebounds, as Kobe Bryant went for 30 and nine (plus seven assists), Pau Gasol posted 28 points and 12 rebounds and Andrew Bynum 21 points and 12 boards. Had Kobe nabbed one more rebound, the trio would have been the first to reach 20+ and 10+ double-doubles since Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy did so in 1984.

9 Lakers turnovers, much improved from the 24-turnover game in Golden State the night before.

10 Free throws missed by the Lakers, including an 8-for-14 struggle for Bryant at the stripe.

27 Points scored by Lakers not named Kobe, Pau or Andrew.

45 Combined points (25), rebounds (11) and assists (9) for Kings rookie Tyreke Evans, just an assist away from a triple-double a game after he missed the coveted TD by one rebound.

Lakers - Suns Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers - Suns contest in Phoenix while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked to break a streak of four consecutive road losses.

Inactives
Lakers: Luke Walton
Suns: Leandro Barbosa

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Suns: Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, Amare Stoudemire and Robin Lopez

Pregame Notes
The Lakers blew Phoenix out in both games in L.A. (total of 39 points) but lost by 15 here in the Valley of the Sun earlier this year. For a full preview, plus Phil Jackson’s pregame thoughts, CLICK HERE.

First Quarter
8:15 The early game plan for both teams: feed the post. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol took four of L.A.’s first 6 shots, while Amare Stoudemire - thanks in part to two of his own offensive boards - took seven shots in the first four minutes, making three to keep Phoenix within three points.

5:27 A good beginning for Bynum continued as the 7-footer first sprinted up the floor and jammed home Derek Fisher’s trailing pass, then tipped in Bryant’s miss on the following possession to score eight of L.A.’s 18 points. However, the Suns switched into a zone defense that gave the Lakers problems, helping inspire an 8-0 run that put Phoenix up 24-18 with 2:54 to play as Phil Jackson was forced to call his third time out.

15.2 Put-back layups from Lamar Odom and Gasol cut what had been a nine-point lead to five, but Gasol missed his third straight free throw on the and-1 opportunity. Nash then pulled up for a jumper to make it a 31-24 margin at the quarter break. Stoudemire was terrific, going off for 17 points and seven rebounds, while the Lakers couldn’t have been happy with their execution at either end.

Second Quarter
10:53 That execution, however, improved almost immediately as Bryant returned to start the second (he’d played only seven first quarter minutes due to picking up two fouls). First was an open Josh Powell jumper (swish), then an open corner three for Shannon Brown (swish) that cut Phoenix’s lead to two.

8:37 Phoenix answered right back with a 6-0 run that again pushed the lead to eight, leaving L.A. searching for a spark yet again. They got a quick one from Sasha Vujacic, who caused two turnovers in a row with his uber-aggressive defense, and nailed a pull-up three in between. Minutes later, Artest nailed a three and Bynum a short jumper to again cut the lead to two.

0:22.4 Remember how L.A. was struggling on offense? Yeah … that stopped happening. A fantastic stretch featured Lakers points on eight consecutive possessions, resulting in an 18-6 run that turned an 8-point deficit into a 7-point lead (53-46) at the half. Ron Artest was key, nailing two three-pointers and sticking back his own offensive rebound for eight of his 10 points in a solid individual stretch.

Third Quarter
8:54 L.A. turned back to Bynum to open the third, and ‘Drew responded with three buckets, the first two dunks, to help L.A. reach its biggest lead of the day at 10. Fisher added a three, and Phoenix looked helpless to stop the multi-faceted Lakers attack that hasn’t been consistently available of late, particularly on the road.

6:26 Much like a shark, when it smells a bit of blood, Kobe goes right for the jugular, often on a pull-up three in transition that I call his “momentum three.” He nailed one to put the Lakers up 15 points, almost completely quieting the crowd. After another stop on defense, Bryant pulled up yet again to try and push it to 18, but missed.

0:22.2 Quite a difference a few minutes makes, as suddenly L.A. went back to its offensive struggles of the first quarter to concede an 11-0 run that cut that 15-point lead to just two, though Odom did manage to end the quarter with a layup that made it 77-73 into the fourth quarter. Nash, Richardson, Stoudemire and Hill all played a role in the Suns’ burst, though Phoenix’s second unit would enter to start the fourth.

Fourth Quarter
9:10 Quite a thorn in L.A.’s side was Suns’ sub and resident “energy guy” Louis Amundson, who dunked on consecutive possessions to put Phoenix back in front for the first time since halfway through the second quarter, getting to 10 points with 10 rebounds in 23 minutes.

5:06 And there went the coach. Alvin Gentry, furious that Gasol wasn’t hit with a flagrant after a hard foul of Amundson, got ejected, allowing Fisher to sink two free throws that put L.A. back up 10. Artest had just hit his third triple of the game, and Fisher would nail his third two minutes later as L.A. clung to its lead.

1:26 Stoudemire’s two-handed dunk through traffic followed Richardson’s three to cut L.A.’s lead back to just four at 100-96, but Nash missed a three and then turned the ball over on the next possession to get the Lakers the ball back, resulting in 1-of-2 Kobe free throws (he oddly missed the first, which almost never happens late) to give L.A. a 5-point cushion with 16.5 seconds left for the Suns. That would prove to be enough, as the Suns would miss a few desperation attempts before Fisher sealed the win by intercepting Richardson’s pass.

With that, L.A. had snapped its 4-game road losing streak, and improved to 48-18 on the season.

Up next, a Monday-Tuesday back-to-back in Golden State and Sacramento. Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
2 Assists away from a triple-double for Kobe Bryant, who scored 21 points with 10 boards and eight dimes.

5 Starters with at least 15 points, led by 21 from Bryant, 18 from Andrew Bynum and 15 each from Derek Fisher, Ron Artest and Pau Gasol.

6 Three-pointers made by Fisher and Artest, both of whom nailed three. The Lakers made 9-of-25 triples, while Phoenix connected on 6-of-21 from distance.

9 Missed free throws by the Lakers, which nearly came back to bite ‘em. Phoenix hit 22-of-27, L.A. 13-of-22.

49.4 L.A.’s terrific shooting percentage, including 8-of-12 from Bynum and 7-of-11 from Gasol.

The last time the Lakers were in Orlando, they were drinking champagne in the locker room after a 4-1 series win culminating in Game 5’s 99-86 victory. Here’s the running diary from L.A.’s 15th championship-clinching contest.

Game 1
Lakers - Magic Running Diary, June 4, 2009
Lakers 100, Magic 75: Postgame 1

Game 2
Lakers - Magic Running Diary, June 7, 2009
Lakers 101, Magic 96: Postgame 2

Game 3
Lakers - Magic Running Diary, June 9, 2009
Lakers 104, Magic 108: Postgame 3

Game 4
Lakers - Magic Running Diary, June 11, 2009
Lakers 99, Magic 91: Postgame 4

Inactives
Lakers: Adam Morrison, Sun Yue
Magic: Tyronn Lue, Jeremy Richardson

Starters
Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum
Magic: Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard

Phil Jackson Pregame
- Jackson opened his presser by talking about Tex Winter, who he said is able to watch and enjoy the Finals from home but isn’t able to speak on the phone: “When I became the head coach of the Bulls, I asked Johnny Bach to be the defensive coordinator and Tex to be the offensive coordinator. Tex is obviously the innovator of the triangle offense … His dedication to it made him the drill sergeant to the team. He always encouraged team play and system play, so if it became too individual, he would always bring that to bear. But more than anything else, he kept a running score on the sideline, which is now done by Brian Shaw.”
- He also talked about how difficult it is to maintain a singular focus with all the outside distractions with just one more game to win. Ultimately, he said, it’s not about him and his 10th title: “It’s really about these young men and what they’re doing.”
- Finally, Jackson compared Jameer Nelson’s return to Orlando’s lineup to Andrew Bynum’s prior to the playoffs and explained that the team skipped the morning shootaround due to the time that would have been wasted getting to and from the arena. Instead, the team watched film at the hotel.

Stan Van Gundy Pregame
- “They’re prepared, they’re in a good frame of mind, it’ll come down to how well we play. I thought practice yesterday was very good, I thought the walk through this morning was good.”
- Van Gundy said he doesn’t worry about missed free throws, because they aren’t a lack of effort or execution. It just happens. He added that Dwight Howard’s improved considerably throughout the season … But just missed some shots.
- He doesn’t think Orlando is getting “badly outplayed,” but didn’t take the bait to say that the Magic should or could be up or even in the series, as an Orlando reporter suggested. “What it could be is basically anything, the reality is it’s 3-1,” he said. In other words, he said that the Magic had a chance to win two of the last three, and the Lakers had a chance to win Game 3, meaning the series “could” have been 4-0, 3-1 or 2-2. But it’s “not.”

Jim Cleamons Pregame Video
Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons joined us to preview the final game, and take a deeper look at the pick and roll, which has been critical for both teams in the series. CLICK HERE and scroll down to “Coach Speak” to watch.

Follow Us On Twitter
In case there aren’t enough observations for you in the diary, feel free to follow us on twitter on @Lakers or @miketrudell.

First Quarter
12:00 The energy in the building for Game 5 is noticeably less than that of Game 4 … Will that seep into the Magic (or Lakers) players? One thing to keep in mind in the early goings: Bynum, Gasol and Odom all had two fouls after quarter one of Game 1, which in large part caused L.A.’s 12-point deficit at halftime.

11:25 Lee scored the game’s first points on a deep pull-up jumper after Bynum turned the ball over trying to find Gasol down low, but quickly made up for it by grabbing an offensive board and keeping it alive for Pau’s tip in.

8:17 Orlando was extremely active on defense as the Lakers struggled to get good looks, resulting in two deep jump shots from Bynum. At the other end, Turkoglu and Lee scored on consecutive drives to put Orlando up 11-6.

7:00 Phil Jackson called timeout after Bryant was stripped and Alston converted a layup at the other end, with Kobe coming up lame surely due to pain on his troublesome finger. However, Bynum grabbed a Fisher miss and stuck it back in, his first make in seven attempts after he was forced into some tough shots.

4:15 After Bryant stuck his second consecutive jumper, Bynum converted his second straight field goal in the paint, a dunk over Howard, to bring L.A. within four at 21-17. In essence, L.A. had survived Orlando’s initial burst.

2:21 At an extended TV timeout that only the Finals can provide, Orlando’s “Dancin’ Dads” performed a bizarre dance to “Ridin’ Dirty” and “Pretty Fly For A White Guy” that you’re glad you missed, though to be fair, they sort of redeemed themselves when my top-three rap song “Big Pimpin’” came on.

0:53.4 Bryant’s two free throws cut Orlando’s lead to just one at 27-26, getting him to 11 points to lead all scorers. On the next possession, Howard got to the free throw line and missed badly on the first in an interesting situation since the last freebies he shot allowed L.A. to tie Game 4. He made the second, however.

0:00 After a Luke Walton miss, Mickael Pietrus (who moments earlier had converted a driving layup after taking six steps) couldn’t convert a quarter-ending three, making it a 28-26 margin after one. In Game 4, L.A. had trailed 24-20.

Continue reading ‘REMIX: Lakers - Magic Game 5 Running Diary’

Lakers - Heat Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers - Heat contest in Miami while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked for their fourth consecutive win.

Inactives
Lakers: Sasha Vujacic (shoulder)
Heat: James Jones

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Heat: Carlos Arroyo, Dwyane Wade, Quentin Richardson, Michael Beasley, Jermaine O’Neal

Pregame Injury Update - Shannon Brown
Brown took a few moments to describe his newly injured right thumb: CLICK HERE.

First Quarter
7:55 If you watched the Lakers defeat Denver on Sunday, it was a familiar sight when early in Miami Kobe Bryant brought a double-team to the right block, then swung the ball to the weak side for a wide-open Derek Fisher three-pointer, which swished through to knot the score at nine. In unrelated news, Miami’s introductory video looked like it was produced in the 1970’s, for some reason, with each player wearing strange outfits amidst weird bubble letters (just so you know).

6:26 Fisher capped a nice opening stretch by nailing his third straight shot for a team-high seven points, giving the Lakers a 13-10 edge. That Fisher was taking shots was related to L.A.’s struggle to get the ball inside, as Miami is one of the league’s better teams at denying entry passes to the post. Phil Jackson said the key was good ball movement from side to side within the triangle scheme, which can sometimes take a bit of time in terms of adjusting within the game.

0:07.3 Though he started slowly from the field (1-of-4) and the line (2-of-4), Bryant hit his last two shots of the second at the rim, including his hang-in-the-air-through-the-lane-and-use-the-glass (like in the 2009 NBA Finals) trick to score the final basket of the first to put L.A. up 27-26. The Lakers shot 63.2 percent from the field, but turned the ball over six times for 11 Heat points.

Second Quarter
9:58 With Bryant and Gasol on the bench, Odom began to look for his shot to open the second, connecting on consecutive jumpers as Udonis Haslem played him to drive. Earlier today, Odom was (as always) in the team hotel weight room earlier in the day with his personal trainer getting a work out in, which he says helps keep his body feeling strong and energized during games. Bryant is a well-known game day workout fiend, while Josh Powell lifts before the game at the arena.

3:02 Because of Wade’s penetration, Bryant slipped off his man - Quentin Richardson - just a bit to help, and that’s all the space Q needed to hit his third three-pointer of the game for a team-high 11 points, bringing Miami within a point of the Lakers. In other Q news, does anyone else wish he still had Darius Miles around for the two-fist-on-head bit?

1:28 After playing just six minutes in the first quarter due to foul trouble, Andrew Bynum made up for it in the second, grabbing all nine of his rebounds, including four offensive that helped earn his 10 points. Gasol and Artest added buckets for the Lakers to close the half, earning a 47-44 on 50 percent shooting with 10 turnovers.

Third Quarter
8:57 Michael Beasley, last year’s No. 2 overall pick after Derrick Rose, had a nasty put-back dunk on Gasol, then immediately drew a technical foul for taunting the Spaniard. To follow up, Beasley stared at the jumbotron for a full 25 seconds until they showed the replay.

4:27 Richardson continued to kill the Lakers from the three-point line, nailing back-to-back triples - his fifth and sixth of the game - to reach 22 points and give the Heat a 67-63 lead. Three more, and Q would tie Chauncey Billups and his nine threes against L.A. for the opponent season high.

0:10.2 Dorrell Wright closed the third quarter with a baseline jam off Wade’s pretty pass, giving the Heat a 74-68 lead heading into the final quarter. Bryant was up to 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Artest, Bynum and Fisher were also in double figures.

Fourth Quarter
10:25 Wright hit a three in the corner and Arroyo a pull-up jumper in transition to give the Heat their biggest lead, at nine, as the home team was just the latest to save their best game in a long time for the Lakers. Miami had dropped four straight games before squeaking by Golden State’s D-League filled squad, but was responding to a big crowd - not the norm in South Beach - in a big way.

7:54 The Lakers bench put forth a key 7-2 stretch, featuring two monster dunks from Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar’s three, two of the plays coming off Odom assists. Brown’s first dunk may have won him the Slam Dunk Contest, as he exploded off the baseline, double-pumped and finished with two hands. Just all nasty and fierce, and L.A. was within four at 83-79.

3:12 The team’s respective superstars hit threes on back-to-back possessions, first Wade, then Kobe, as Miami retained a 92-87 lead as the clock grew as an enemy to L.A. Then, after an impressive push from L.A., featuring a Fisher three and Kobe’s pull-up jumper plus some solid defense, Bryant drew a shooting foul on Richardson and sank both free throws to put L.A. up 97-96. That happened fast.

0:03.3 Yet it paled in comparison to Bryant’s game-tying jumper in the lane from about 17 feet over Wade, which answered Richardson’s seventh three-pointer of the game that had made it 99-97 seven seconds prior to that. Miami had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Wade’s double-clutch jumper was well short, thanks to the defensive pursuit of both Odom and Artest. Time for some overtime, L.A.’s first extra session since Dec. 26 at Sacramento. Generally, Kobe just wins it in regulation.

Overtime
3:17 I think Kobe found his shooting touch. He followed that regulation J with back-to-back jumpers over Wade and Richardson, respectively, to put L.A. up 103-101. He’d hit once again a minute later, but Miami kept matching as the game was tied at 105.

0:37.3 L.A. got a big driving hoop from Odom to tie things at 107, but Wade alley-ooped to O’Neal for a layup that put Miami back on top. But then Odom, after just missing a three, stole the ball and fed Farmar for a layup that preceded Haslem’s open jumper to make it 111-109 Heat. Quite an entertaining final stanza, to say the least.

0:18.7 The latest biggest play of the game came as O’Neal stepped in front of a driving Bryant to draw a charge, getting possession back for Miami, which got two free throws from Arroyo to go up four. Bryant missed a three on the ensuing possession, Arroyo added 1-of-2 free throws with 0:06.2 to play, and the Lakers had been beaten in overtime for the first time in five games.

Up next is a Friday night contest in Charlotte, but until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
7 Three-pointers hit by Miami’s Quentin Richardson, all in the first three quarters, for 21 of his 25 points, including the dagger that put the Heat up 99-97 with 11.1 to play. Chauncey Billups’ nine threes on Feb. 5 was the most against L.A. this season.

10 Missed free throws by the Lakers (15-of-25), while Miami made 21-of-25.

14 Points for Derek Fisher in one of his better games of late, including a late three-pointer that keyed L.A.’s late comeback.

18 Of Kobe Bryant’s 39 points that came in the fourth quarter and overtime.

22 Combined points from Andrew Bynum (12) and Pau Gasol (10), a number which will rarely get it done for the Lakers.

Click here for the Lakers Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers - Mavericks contest in Dallas while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked to win their third straight road game.

Inactives
Lakers: Sasha Vujacic (shoulder)
Mavericks: Caron Butler (illness)

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Mavericks: Jason Kidd, DeShawn Stevenson, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki, Brendan Haywood

How Good Is Dallas?
Few have questioned L.A.’s place as the team to beat in the Western Conference, particularly since the defending champion Lakers (43-14) have built a solid 5.5-game lead on second place Denver (37-19). But after making a trade with Washington that netted Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson for Josh Howard, James Singleton and Drew Gooden, the Dallas Mavericks (36-21) have thrust themselves into the “Who’s second best in the West?” argument along with Denver and Utah (36-20). For more CLICK HERE.

First Quarter
8:10 Dallas showed L.A. something that they didn’t have in the past early, as Brendan Haywood scored on a turnaround jump hook from the baseline over Bynum. Erick Dampier, out a month with an injury, is not a scorer. Bynum, however, responded moments later with an offensive rebound and stick-back over Haywood to put L.A. up 12-10, which was close to the score of the Canada - Russia Olympic hockey game.

2:14 On Tuesday night in Memphis, Kobe Bryant barely grazed the rim all night on a beautiful looking jump shot (particularly with his two threes in the final minute), but he was all over the orange cylinder on Wednesday. He missed his first five shots against Dallas, but Bynum (eight points on 4-of-4 shooting*) and Artest (five early points) helped the Lakers stay level.
*How easily had Bynum been scoring against Dallas? He was 8-of-8 on Jan. 3, 8-of-11 on Jan. 13 and began 4-of-4 in this one.

0:44.7 On back-to-backs, it’s typical of Phil Jackson to play his bench guys early, and Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar had all checked in by the three-minute mark. It was Farmar who made the final contribution of the quarter, using Brown’s steal to convert a tough and-1 layup in transition despite being fouled by Jason Kidd. That hoop put L.A. up 23-20 after one despite Kobe’s 0-for-5 start.

Second Quarter
10:11 Odom had a spark of his own going to start the second, first nailing a three and then filling the lane for a lefty layup to make it 30-27 Lakers. Before the game, Phil Jackson was asked if he was at all worried with Odom’s rhythm being affected by Bryant’s return, particularly after his poor game against Memphis. Jackson’s response was, effectively, not at all.

7:07 As Odom scored again, getting to nine points to match Artest, LA revealed how its depth sometimes takes two games to showcase. Last night was all Kobe and Pau, but Odom/Artest/Bynum carried the Lakers early in this one, creating a 38-34 lead. In other news, Jay-Z and Beyonce were sitting courtside for the game, prompting the Mavs to put Beyonce’s SNL skit up on the jumbotron with the heads of Steve Nash, Manu Ginobili and Yao Ming in place of her dancers. Over/under on songs by those two played over loudspeakers: five (I’ll take the over).

3:25 Bryant hit for the first time on a tough baseline jumper, in the process passing Reggie Miller for 13th on the NBA’s all-time leading scoring list with 25,280 points. Up next is Alex English (25,613). Kobe then hit another jumper amidst L.A.’s 10-0 run, but the Mavs countered with a 10-2 run, including the final six points of the half, to get within one at 50-49.

Third Quarter
7:20 Fisher made a ridiculous over-the-shoulder shot after being wrapped up be Stevenson on a breakaway, but the continuation bucket was waived off in favor of a clear path foul. Fish nailed both free throws and Bryant hit his third straight jumper, however, to make it a four-point possession. That helped the Lakers cut into what had become a five-point deficit when Dallas scored the first six points of the quarter.

5:45 Make that four straight jumpers for Bryant, who was scoreless in the first quarter but was clearly starting to heat up. That gave him 14 points on 7-of-17 shooting, 4-of-6 in the third, to put L.A. up 61-60. In other news, we were up to three Jay-Z/Beyonce songs at that point (I set the over/under at 4).

0:53.3 Gasol, with just nine points and four rebounds to that point, did show why he’s among the league’s best passing big men by spotting a cutting Brown for an easy layup to put LA up 72-71. Kidd, however, hit his fourth three-pointer of the game at the buzzer to give the Mavs a two-point cushion heading into the deciding quarter.

Fourth Quarter
8:53 Bynum, who hadn’t scored since the first quarter, got a baseline hook to go that brought L.A. within two points. The 80-78 score wasn’t indicative of the quarter’s early flow, however, as the Lakers had turned the ball over three times in the first two minutes and change, but watched the Mavs fail to convert the TO’s into points.

5:52 How much did the Mavs want to win this game? Dirk thrust his two hands up into the air after an and-1 put Dallas up 87-82 with nearly half the fourth quarter left, to be met by Terry’s two-handed fist pound on his chest. In related news, Terry had looked like someone who drank about five Red Bulls before the game, putting up nearly as many fist-bumps and crowd-prompts-for-cheering as points (24).

0:57.0 With L.A. down nine with 2:20 to go after a Terry layup, Odom exploded for six points in a minute, thanks to an and-1 layup and a corner three, before Bryant’s driving layup cut the lead to 97-94. Could the Lakers pull off two straight last minute comebacks?…

…0:25.9 No. Bryant, just a night after nailing two threes in the last minute, actually missed a tying attempt after a big defensive stop from L.A. That forced the Lakers to foul, and Terry made both free throws to get to 30 points. Bryant and Dirk exchanged free throws in the final seconds, and the game was over, Dallas winning 101-96. L.A. seemed to run out of gas to an extent, as witnessed by the turnovers and some missed chances to clear rebounds. Bryant in particular looked a bit tired, playing big minutes for the second straight night after 18 days off.

L.A. will try to get back in the win column on Friday against Philadelphia at home, but until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
61 Combined points for Dirk Nowitzki (31) and Jason Terry (30). Lamar Odom’s 21 led the Lakers.

17 Turnovers for the Lakers, including six in the fourth quarter, which keyed the Mavericks’ final push.

8 Offensive rebounds for Dallas in the first half, helping the Mavs out-rebound L.A. by 10 (26-16).

6 Lakers in double figures, led by Odom (21), Bryant (20), Artest (13), Fisher (12), Gasol (11) and Bynum (10).

4 Three-pointers made by both Terry and Jason Kidd, on 17 total attempts. Kidd added 13 assists and seven rebounds for the Mavs.