Lakers Cavaliers Game Results - 08-Feb-09

CLEVELAND (AP) - No second All-Star. No triple-double for LeBron James. And now, no more home winning streak.

It's been a rough few days for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Lamar Odom scored a season-high 28 points, Kobe Bryant added 19 and the streak-breaking Los Angeles Lakers handed Cleveland its first loss at home this season, 101-91 on Sunday.

The Cavaliers came in 23-0 at Quicken Loans Arena, but were stopped by the Lakers, who ended Boston's 19-game winning streak on Christmas Day and halted a 12-game run by the Celtics earlier this week.

James finished with 16 points on just 5-of-20 shooting for Cleveland, which hadn't lost at home since Game 5 against Washington in the first round of last season's playoffs.

The Lakers weren't intimidated in the NBA's rowdiest arena and went 6-0 on a road trip that also included stops in Minnesota, Memphis, New York, Toronto and Boston.

Pau Gasol added 18 points with 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which played a solid all-around game and made just six turnovers - none over the final 19:28. The Lakers' trip started rocky with center Andruw Bynum injuring his knee against the Grizzlies, but it couldn't have ended any better.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 22 to lead Cleveland. Mo Williams, whose All-Star snub had infuriated the Cavs, scored 19 and James finished with 12 assists and eight rebounds. It was James' first game since his apparent historic triple-double at Madison Square Garden was downgraded when the league took away one of his 10 rebounds.

Odom, who added a season-best 17 rebounds, scored 15 in the third quarter, when the Lakers outscored the Cavaliers 31-16 to turn a 10-point deficit into a 82-77 lead entering the fourth.

Odom scored 13 of Los Angeles' last 16 points to close the quarter, capping his one-man scorefest with a two-handed dunk off a miss in the final second as the Lakers became just the fourth team this season to lead Cleveland at home after three.

The Lakers pushed their lead to 10 before the Cavaliers rallied and closed to 93-89 on two free throws by Ilgauskas with 3:06 left. But Bryant, who was battling flulike symptoms, hit a high-arching fadeaway, and Gasol dropped one of two free throws to make it 96-89 when the jumbo scoreboard above midcourt inside Quicken Loans Arena went dark, a symbolic moment for Cleveland's players and fans.

James was stripped on the Cavs' next possession, and Gasol made two more free throws and scored on a putback as the Lakers put an exclamation point on one of their biggest wins this season.

Cleveland's crowd was at a playoff pitch from the outset for one of the most anticipated games of the season, a matchup of the league's top stars, both leading MVP candidates, and two of the NBA's best teams.

But the game never materialized into a Bryant vs. James affair as Odom stole the spotlight.

Earlier this week, Lakers coach Phil Jackson attributed some of Cleveland's dominance at home to a raucous crowd that may influence the officials.

"They all wear No. 23 and help him throw that (expletive) up in the air when he's at the scorer's desk," Jackson said. "He gets away with murder, on top of it, on his home court."

Jackson slightly backed off from those remarks before the game.

"I'm just saying, it's home court," he said. "There are going to be more fans who will be involved in every bump and grind and whatever happens individually to him. Those things will affect the decisions of referees."

James hadn't heard Jackson's remarks.

"Me get calls?" he said in a disbelieving tone. "You guys know Phil. He always makes a comment before a big game or rivalry game. He always says something to throw people's focus off. But you guys know that I don't get as many calls as I should get. We're not going to go there."

James was careful not to complain about losing his triple-double in New York, but he was clearly miffed by the league's decision.

"Um. Should I say something?" he wondered before opting to keep his opinion a secret. "We won the basketball game and that's all that matters."

Lakers Beat Celtics Again

BOSTON (By Jimmy Golen, AP) - Ray Allen was still on the floor, knocked on his back, when the Los Angeles Lakers began hugging and chest-bumping under the 2008 NBA Championship banner that was earned at their expense.

"I wish we would have come here last year with this kind of attitude,'' said Pau Gasol, who scored 24 points with 14 rebounds Thursday night to lead the Lakers to a 110-109 overtime victory over Boston.

"Nobody backed down,'' he added. "We were as physical as anybody.''

In a rematch of an NBA finals in which the Celtics outmuscled the Lakers to the title, Lamar Odom made a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left in overtime and Los Angeles held on with physical defense against Paul Pierce and Allen that prevented either All-Star from getting off a clean shot.

The loss snapped the Celtics' 12-game winning streak and dropped them to 0-2 against the best in the West. Boston trails the Lakers by percentage points for the best overall record in the NBA, and would lose a tiebreaker for home court advantage in the finals - if they both make it back.

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Kobe Bryant Leads Lakers Past Raptors

TORONTO (AP) - Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers warmed up for their showdown in Boston with a victory over Toronto.

Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, Pau Gasol added 31 points and 15 rebounds and the Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 115-107 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory and eighth in nine games.

"We got it going a little bit more," said Bryant, who scored 10 points in the fourth to help the Lakers outscore Toronto 30-20 in the final frame. "We obviously picked up our energy a little bit. It felt like the first three quarters, we didn't have the pop we needed to. In the fourth quarter it seemed to be there for us.

Lamar Odom had 13 points, and Derek Fisher added 12 for the Lakers, set to play the Celtics on Thursday night in their first trip to Boston since losing the NBA finals.

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Kobe broke record with 61 points in victory vs. Knicks

By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP)—Kobe Bryant knew Andrew Bynum was out, and potential taunts from Spike Lee and Mike D’Antoni could be ahead.

That gave him plenty of incentive to deliver a special night at Madison Square Garden—and he unleashed the biggest game the present building has seen.

Bryant broke the current arena record with 61 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers looked plenty potent without Bynum in a 126-117 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.

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Bynum Injured But Lakers Still Beat Grizzlies 115-98

Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum left the game against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first quarter Saturday night with a sprained right knee. Despite that, the Lakers still beat the Grizzlies 115-98 extending Memphis losing streak to 12 games.

Kobe Bryant scored 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting, dished out seven assists, and had three steals. Pau Gasol had 24 points and eight rebounds. Derek Fisher had a very efficient shooting night making 6-of-7 including 2-of-3 beyond the 3-point line for 14 points.

Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively off-the-bench.

Bynum's injury occurred at about the 7-minute mark of the first quarter under the Lakers’ basket. Kobe Bryant drove to the basket, missed the shot and crashed into Bynum’s right leg. Bynum immediately grabbed his knee.

The two were on the ground under their basket as the Grizzlies went to the other end. After Los Angeles gained possession, they called time out. Bynum, who scored 7 points and blocked a shot, was helped to the locker room with Los Angeles leading 13-11.

Last season, Bynum sustained a brief dislocation of his left kneecap in mid-January. He sat out the rest of the season, eventually undergoing surgery in May. Bynum was on a roll coming into Saturday, averaging 26.2 points, 14 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots over his last five games.

The Lakers trailed the Grizzlies at halftime, 61-55, but unleashed a 36-point third quarter and never trailed again after taking a 91-82 lead into the fourth. Lakers reserves, led by Odom, played excellent defense to start the fourth quarter making a 9-0 run in the first six minutes of the quarter.

The Lakers held Memphis to 37 second-half points in pulling out the victory.

Rudy Gay had 23 points, while O.J. Mayo scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field for the Grizzlies. Mike Conley and Pau Gasol's younger brother, Marc, both had 13 points for Memphis.

Lakers Routed Timberwolves 132-119

Andrew Bynum bulled his way inside for his fifth straight double-double performance with 27 points and 15 rebounds, providing the perfect complement to Kobe Bryant's 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and the Lakers started a six-game road trip with a 132-119 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Minnesota was recently one of the hottest teams in the league having won 10 of their last 13 games for the second-best record in January. But they are no match for the Lakers.

Pau Gasol rebounded from a bad game against Charlotte where he scored only 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting. This time, Gasol had 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting and nine rebounds. Luke Walton played efficiently scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 18 minutes. Derek Fisher added 10 points.

Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar contributed 10 points each off-the-bench. Trevor Ariza was cleared to play after a CT scan and MRI test came back. Ariza left Tuesday's game against Charlotte with a concussion. He scored eight points in 23 minutes in this game.

Bynum is a big reason why the Los Angeles Lakers have the best record in the Western Conference.

"He looks very confident in there right now," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "I think this is a stepping-out point for him. He's a better player now than he was when he got hurt last year, but it's taken him this month, January, to get back and feel like, 'OK, I'm over my injury, it was a year ago, and I'm prepared to go forth and put this effort into it,' and he's done a great job."

Bynum, the reigning Western Conference player of the week, helped the Lakers make up for a frustrating double-overtime loss at home to Charlotte on Tuesday.

"We're starting to expect it from him because he's being aggressive. He's being assertive," Bryant said. "He's finding his niche and where he can operate in the offense. I like it. I like it a lot."

"Some teams don't have one guy that can post up and play the center position," Bynum said. "We actually have two that can do it pretty well. I think the game plan should always be to go inside. We know what Kobe can do. Offensively I think we've kind of figured it out and we know what's going to happen."

Al Jefferson led the way for the Timberwolves, scoring 34 points and pulling down 13 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season. Randy Foye scored 27 points on 8-of-20 shooting. Ryan Gomes and Sebastian Telfair contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Lakers Lost to Bobcats in Double Overtime

The Charlotte Bobcats continued their surprising recent domination of the Lakers by beating them in double-overtime 117-110 on Tuesday night. The Lakers lost for the fifth time in the last seven and fell to 4-5 all-time against the Bobcats. They also suffered their fourth loss at home this season.

Kobe Bryant had 38 points, eight rebounds and five assists before fouling out for the first time this season in the final minute of the first overtime. It was the first time Bryant has fouled out of a game since doing so in a loss at New Orleans on March 14, 2008, and just the 21st time he has fouled out in 1,061 career games.

Andrew Bynum had 24 points and 14 rebounds and Derek Fisher scored 14 for the Lakers. Sasha Vujajic contributed 10 points off-the-bench.

Pau Gasol scored just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds. "Pau probably had the worst night he's had as a Laker," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Boris Diaw had 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Raymond Felton played for 53 minutes and had 21 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Emeka Okafor had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Raja Bell contributed 17 points while reserve Shannon Brown scored five of his 14 points in the second overtime.

"That was a heck of a win, it was a heck of a performance," Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. "Shannon had to play when Gerald [Wallace] got hurt, and he played great."

Wallace, who scored 15 points before leaving with 2:08 left in the fourth quarter after a flagrant foul by Bynum knocked him to the floor. He suffered a broken rib and partially collapsed left-lung and was taken to the hospital.

"I just think it was a terrific performance against a great team," Brown said. "I really don't know how to explain it because they are playing at such a high level."

"It's always stops," Bryant said regarding the late-game difference. "We've just got to learn from our mistakes and not let it happen again."

"It was one of those games where Kobe had kind of taken over for them," Bell said. "So when you lose that engine, I think it was more of the fact that they just didn't have that go-to guy down the stretch. It definitely didn't hurt that Kobe wasn't around. But more than anything, we continued to do what we did."

"We didn't get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. We just kept plugging away. We gave it away for a while and them we were really resilient at times. So we just stayed the course."

The game was the Lakers' first overtime contest of the season, leaving New Orleans as the only team that hasn't gone into overtime

Spurs Are No Match to the Lakers

Kobe Bryant scored 22 points in 32 minutes, Pau Gasol added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, and the Lakers beat the Spurs 99-85, avenging their one-point loss in their previous game on Jan. 14 in San Antonio.

This game is supposed to be a matchup of the Western Conference's best teams but it turned out to be a mismatch. The Lakers defense proved to be too much for the Spurs to overcome, holding San Antonio to 37.5 percent shooting from the field.

After a month of playing short-handed, the Los Angeles Lakers are back to full strength. Backup point guard Jordan Farmar returned after missing 18 games because of an injured left knee, and scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting including 2-of-3 from the 3-point range.

Luke Walton played in his third game after missing nine with an injured foot, and Lamar Odom (knee) and Sasha Vujacic (back spasms) were also sidelined for brief periods.

"We missed him a lot. He makes our second unit go, he's the motor," Bryant said of Farmar. "Now that he's back, everybody falls into their natural positions and we are back clicking on all cylinders."

"It [Jordan's return] helps us a lot. Jordan obviously has attributes -- the speed and the quickness. Those are things that we missed, that tempo change in our game, " Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Farmar entered the game late in the first quarter and played almost seven minutes in his first action since Dec. 19. He returned late in the third period and played another 10 1/2 minutes.

Andrew Bynum had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and four block shots. Reserve Trevor Ariza scored 17 points to match his season high. Odom contributed 6 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes.

Tony Parker had 19 points and six assists and Tim Duncan added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs (29-14), who lost for just the fourth time in 18 games. Neither played in the fourth quarter.

Lakers Beat Clippers Behind Bynum's 42 Points

Andrew Bynum scored a career-high 42 points, Kobe Bryant had his second triple-double in their last three games and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Clippers 108-97 Wednesday night.

Bryant, playing in pain two days after dislocating his right ring finger, scored 18 points, dished out 12 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds for his 16th career triple-double while Bynum had 15 rebounds and three block shots in helping the Lakers secure their 7th straight win against the Clippers and 14 of their last 15 overall.

Pau Gasol scored 10 points and Luke Walton, who returned to action after missing nine games because of an injured right foot, added 11 points. Lamar Odom contributed 19 points, nine rebounds, three block shots, off-the-bench.

Since the 1986-87 season, Bynum is the first Laker other than Shaquille O'Neal, to have a 40-point, 15-rebound game. Shaq did it seven times with Los Angeles. Bynum also became the first Lakers player to reach 40 points other than Bryant since Shaq scored 48 against Boston on March 21, 2003.

"If feels very good, to go out there and play the way I did," the 21-year-old center said. "I was able to get a lot of easy buckets. Kobe was Kobe Nash out there tonight. The ball was coming my way a lot. I was able to just get a lot of touches and get comfortable."

"I didn't know how many [points] I had, and that's just the truth," he said. "The fans were yelling for me to get 40. And then once I got the dunk, everybody was on their feet cheering."

The Lakers raised their record to a Western Conference-best 33-8 record at the halfway point of the season and earned Phil Jackson an All-Star coaching spot. He'll lead the West All-Stars on Feb. 15 in Phoenix.

The Clippers played without their four best players -- guard Baron Davis (bruised tailbone) and big men Chris Kaman (strained left arch), Zach Randolph (sore left knee) and Marcus Camby (sprained left ankle).

Rookie DeAndre Jordan, making his second career start, had career-high totals of 23 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-ravaged Clippers (9-32), who have lost 14 of 15. Al Thornton added 20 points and rookie Eric Gordon had 16 points and six assists.

Kobe Got Injured But Still Beat James And Cavaliers

Kobe Bryant, dedicated to pressuring LeBron James on defense, dislocated his right ring finger early in the game, trying to knock the ball out of LeBron's hands. Despite of that, Bryant had 20 points, six rebounds and 12 assists in 41 minutes and the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-88 in their game at the Staples Center.

Pau Gasol led Los Angeles with 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting and 12 rebounds. Andrew Bynum and Sasha Vujacic scored 14 points each, Derek Fisher added 11 fot the Lakers and Trevor Ariza contributed 10 points and 11 steals to help snap a five-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.

"I just dove for the ball, and the finger just popped out," Bryant recalled afterward . "I was scared, I thought I was done. It felt like I had two fingers on one, it was just disgusting." Bryant, who was obviously bothered by the injury in his shooting hand, shot 9-of-22. He spoke to reporters just minutes after X-rays showed no fracture.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, "for a while, we thought he was just going to be a playmaker tonight, but the second half, he started feeling like he could shoot it." Bryant scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime.

"It was a huge deal," Gasol said. "We didn't want to come out of this game with another loss on our home court. It was important for us to bounce back tonight. This is a significant victory for us. The defensive effort was outstanding."

James had 23 points and nine rebounds, but shot just 9-of-25. Mo Williams added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists and Sasha Pavlovic scored 12 for the Cavaliers (31-8), who absorbed their most one-sided loss of the season.

"You've got to give the Lakers credit, they played a very good basketball game," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "I thought they were the aggressors tonight. I thought they got up in us and made us play quick. You have to give Kobe Bryant credit, I thought he played a whale of a game."

Lakers Midseason Awards: Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom Deserves Recognition

With the NBA season near its halfway mark, and the Lakers having the best record in the Western Conference, it's about time we handout some midseason awards for the LA Lakers' strong 2008-'09 season.

For this round, I'd be giving four awards—MVP, sixth man, most-improved, and their Mythical Five. Feel free to comment and suggest other awards.

Most Valuable Player: Kobe Bryant

Even without looking at the stat sheets, I think nobody will argue that Kobe is still, and would continue to be in the next few years, the Lakers' best player. The Lakers still don't have a One-Two Punch, or a Big Three, or the Strong Five. They only have one MVP and that's Kobe Bryant! No more, no less.

But let's be objective and look at his numbers.

His stats are a bit off this season (27.2 points, 4.7 assists, 1.32 steals) compared to his last year's performance (28.3 points, 5.4 assists, 1.84 steals) that made him the league MVP. But this is attributed more to the improved performance of his teammates rather than his diminishing contributions.

He's playing less minutes this season (36.2 vs. 38.9 last season) but his performance efficiency rating (PER) improved from 24.09 to 25.06, the second best this year behind Miami's Dwayne Wade. Wait...let me check that again.

Oh, sorry. The Lakers lost in their last two games and Bryant's PER dropped to 24.97, just good for number three behind Portland's Brandon Roy.

Bryant also increased his contributions to the team this January when the level of competition increases as we approach the middle of the season and the trading deadline. He averaged 30.1 points on 49.2 percent shooting (45.9 percent from beyond the arc), 7.1 assists, and 6.0 rebounds in nine games this January.

And for those who think that Kobe shoots too much and misses a lot: Well, he has the best field goal percentage (47.8 percent) for shooting guards with PER of 20 or more (Roy is second, Wade third).

Sixth Man Award: Lamar Odom

Just by watching their games, it's not easy to see Odom's contributions to the team. He's coming off-the-bench; he plays shorter minutes; he usually doesn't score much; his rebounding is off; etc. etc.

Moreover, his stats are all off from last season. Last year, he averaged 14.2 points on 52.5 percent shooting, 3.5 assists, 10.7 rebounds in 37.9 minutes of playing time. This season, his averages dipped to 9.1 points on 47.3 percent shooting, 2.4 assists, 6.1 rebounds in 26.4 minutes of playing time.

So why am I giving this sixth man award to Lamar in spite of his seemingly diminished performance? Well, this award should go to the player who contributes the most to his team by doing the other things that bench players are supposed to be doing when they are on the court.

The little things that current statistics don't track like setting screens, taking charges, drawing double teams, etc.

And that's what Odom keeps on doing.

By looking at his on-court/off-court statistics, which measures a player's contribution to the team when he's on-the-court and how the team performs when the player is on-the-bench, it's easy to realize how the Lakers could dominate their opponents when Odom is on-the-floor.

Odom's net on-court/off-court stat of +15.4 is the highest on the team. It's even better than Bryant's +8.7 and Fisher's +4.8 stats. This doesn't suggest that Lamar is more important than Kobe for the team.

It's just that Odom is very good playing in his position (power forward) that he's either outscoring his counterparts or limiting their productions by his active defense.

Odom is No. 5 in the league on the net on-court/off-court performance per 100 possessions, behind New Orleans' dynamic duo, Chris Paul and David West, Miami's Dwayne Wade, and Cleveland's LeBron James.

All the top 16 players in this category are regular starters on their team except for Odom and Utah's Andrei Kirilenko (No. 10).

With this stats, you'd wonder why Phil Jackson continues to have Lamar come off-the-bench. I also do. In fact, I wrote an article last month regarding the need to have Odom return to their starting lineup.

Most Improved Player: Trevor Ariza

Trevor Ariza really improved a lot this season. Last year, he averaged 6.5 points, 1.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 24 games he played for the Lakers. Those stats are already a marked improvement over his performance in Orlando (3.3 points, 0.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.5 steals)

This season, he raised his averages to 9.2 points, 2.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. His PER has improved from 15.83 to 17.66 and now ranks 10th among small forwards in pure point rating.

Ariza ranks second among small forwards in free-throw rate, eighth in rebound rate, and fourth in field-goal percentage.

So you wonder again why Jackson keeps Trevor coming off the bench? More on this later.

Mythical Five: Fisher-Bryant-Ariza-Odom-Gasol

This combination should be the Lakers starting lineup. It is their strongest unit producing +70 and 72.7 percent winning percentage in the 82games.com rating vs. the +57 and 48.0 percent winning percentage for their current starting lineup.

But why Jackson in not putting this combination on floor to start the games? Because he feels this unit is just a minor upgrade from the lineup that was routed by the Celtics in the NBA Finals last season. Admittedly, Ariza in place of Radmanovic is a minor upgrade.

So he's really is trying to get Gasol and Bynum play together. He's very strategic-minded. If he succeed, the Twin Tower of Gasol and Bynum would be very formidable, indeed.

Jackson is trying to develop Bynum to be a defensive-minded center while Gasol, an unstoppable offensive power forward. But the problem is, the two are not getting it yet. They are taking away scoring opportunities from each other.

Pau Gasol's scoring dipped from 18.8 points per game on 58.9 percent shooting last season as a Laker to 17.6 points at 54.8 percent shooting this season. Andrew Bynum's 13.1 points on 63.6 percent shooting last year also went south with 12.6 points on 53.7 percent shooting this season.

In fairness to Gasol and Bynum, they are very good at center position. They combined to make the Lakers the third-best in that position in terms of PER difference. The best in that category is Dwight Howard's Magic. No wonder they couldn't beat Orlando.

The second-best in that category is Cleveland. And they would be playing them tonight. Watch their performance.

Gasol ranked sixth among power forwards in the league in efficiency rating at 21.77 PER. But he only plays around 50 percent of the time at that position, the other half being played by Odom. Half of the time, Gasol is playing center, which is where he's more effective.

He produces +162 net points in the 82games.com rating with net48 of 12.7 with 75 win% as a center. As a power forward, he's only +76 with net48 of just 5.5 and 50 win percentage.

In contrast, Odom, playing at power forward, is +303 with net48 of 16.5 and 85 win percentage. Andrew Bynum is +183 with net48 of 8.2 and 66 win percentage.

These stats are quite complicated but it clearly shows that Odom and Gasol should be given more playing time at their natural position—that is at power forward and at center, respectively.

I'm not suggesting that Gasol and Bynum split the 48 minutes available playing time for one position. They are both too good to be playing just 24 minutes each. Sure, play Pau some minutes at forward but reduce it a bit to give more time for Lamar to be more effective.

So please Mr. Jackson, put Odom back to the Lakers starting lineup.

Lakers Can't Beat Orlando

Inspite of a spectacular night from Kobe Bryant, the LA Lakers lost to the Orlando Magic 109-103 Friday night. Bryant had a triple-double performance -- the 15th of his career and first since April 2005 -- scoring 28 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing 11 assists in 41 minutes.

With the Magic leading by three, Bryant missed a 27-foot three-pointer from the right wing that could have tied the game with 8.9 seconds left in the game. Jameer Nelson, who got the offensive rebound, was quickly fouled by Pau Gasol. He made both free throws to increase the lead to five.

Bryant again tried and missed a three-point shot with 4.9 seconds to go but no effort could have saved the game with only few seconds remaining in the game and the Lakers suffered its second consecutive losses this season.

But the Lakers didn't lose the game on that last two shots of Bryant. They lost it in the third quarter where they were outscored by Orlando 30-21.

The Lakers entered the third period leading by eight points. Andrew Bynum scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half helping lift the Lakers to a 52-44 lead over the Magic at halftime. But he went 1-of-4 in the second half and finished with 14 points with just 3 rebounds.

In the Lakers' loss in Orlando last December, Bynum scored just three points on 1-of-4 shooting and had just a single rebound. He's a non-factor again in the second-half this time.

Pau Gasol, who scored just 11 points and seven rebounds in their previous game in Orlando, only scored 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting with 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. Their two 7-footers combined for just 27 points and 12 rebounds, 7 on the offensive end.

In contrast, Orlando's Dwight Howard scored 25 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, 8 on the offensive end, and blocked three shots. Howard had his fourth 20-20 game this season in a game against the Lakers' Twin Tower! If you're the Lakers' GM, would you trade 7-footers Gasol and Bynum for 6'11" Howard? I would...

Also, for the first time in Orlando's franchise history, the Magic sweep their season series with the Lakers. The Magic wasn't able to do that when the Lakers had a 6'11" Kwame Brown as their starting center going against Howard.

Maybe the Lakers should hire Brown as special consultant to teach the Lakers big men how to play "defense" against the likes of Howard. Too bad he's still warming the bench in Detroit!

Derek Fisher also struggled with his shots missing eight of his 11 attempts for just 9 points. In their last game, he scored 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

Sasha Vujacic returned after missing two games with back spasms, but he didn't score in his 13 minutes on the court. Trevor Ariza added just 7 points off-the-bench.

On the positive note, Lamar Odom had a decent game this time. He had 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbed 9 boards. In their last meeting, Odom was also a non-factor on offense with only four points on 1-of-7 shooting, although he matched the total rebounding contributions of their Twin Tower with 8 boards.

Vladimir Radmanovic added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Jameer Nelson top-scored for Orlando with 28 points with 8 assists. Rashard Lewis scored 16 points with 4 steals and Hedo Turgoklu contributed 13 points. Courtney Lee added 12 points with 7 rebounds.

Spurs beat Lakers 112-111 on Mason's 3-point play

The first meeting between the Western Conference finalists last season was almost a repeat of the Lakers' win the other night in Houston. The Lakers rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter, taking a two-point lead when Kobe Bryant hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.

But Roger Mason hit a jumper with 10 seconds left and made a free throw after being fouled by Derek Fisher. The Lakers had a chance to win the game, with the Spurs just leading by a point, but Trevor Ariza was called for traveling on their last possession with 0.8 seconds left in the game, and the Spurs beat the Lakers 112-111 on Wednesday night.

Kobe Bryant had a very efficient game with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting with 10 rebounds and seven assists in 42 minutes. Pau Gasol, rebounding from two previous ineffective games, played well offensively in this game, scoring 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting but had only five rebounds and an assist in 32 minutes.

Andrew Bynum had 18 points and just three rebounds in 35 minutes. Derek Fisher added 16 points in 36 minutes.

Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom and Josh Powell contributed 10, 9, and 6 points, respectively, off-the-bench.

Manu Ginobilli topscored for the Spurs with 27 points. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker both contributed 20 points. Roger Mason scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Already playing without their backup point guard, Jordan Farmar, the Lakers had a brief scare when Derek Fisher left with longtime trainer Garry Vitti to the locker room after a collision with San Antonio's George Hill on a drive. He missed almost 4 1/2 minutes of actual game time but emerge back with 3:37 left in the fourth quarter.

With Sasha Vujacic day-to-day because of back spasms, the Lakers were forced to use Kobe Bryant at point guard until Fisher returned.

The Spurs and Lakers have been rivals over the last 10 years. The Spurs have won four NBA championships during that span while the Lakers have won three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002.

The two teams have met in the playoffs six times in the last 10 years, with the Lakers having won the series four times, including a 4-1 series win over the Spurs in last season's Western Conference finals.

Lakers beat Rockets on Kobe's clutch 3-point

Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 27 seconds left in the game to give the Lakers a road victory against a short-handed Houston Rockets 105-100 on Tuesday night.

Bryant was struggling with his shots early, making only eight of 23 shots through three quarters. But he sank five of his nine shots in the fourth quarter, including the final three-pointer that sealed the win. His 32 shot attempts is a season-high.

Vladimir Radmanovic made five of his six shots, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. Trevor Ariza scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Lamar Odom added 10 points off-the-bench. Josh Powell connected on three of his four shots for six points in 12 minutes.

Pau Gasol continues to struggle offensively, taking only nine shots and making just three for 11 points with just seven rebounds in 42 minutes. Andrew Bynum only played for 27 minutes and scored 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting with just a single rebound and five fouls.

This is the Lakers' fourth straight and 14th in the last 17 games overall. The Rockets have lost four of seven games since the start of the New Year.

Von Wafer, the Lakers' second-round pick in 2005 but waived in October 2006, scored a career-high 23 points. Carl Landry contributed 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting off-the-bench. Yao Ming scored 19 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Rafer Alston added 11 points.

Both teams have three players out of their line up due to various injuries. Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest and reserve guard Luther Head didn't suit up for the Rockets in this game while Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic are in the Lakers' injury list.

Kobe takes over down stretch to beat Indiana 121-119

Kobe Bryant's turnaround jumpshot with 3 seconds remaining gave the Lakers a 121-119 victory over the stubborn Indiana Pacers. It also game them their 21st win in 23 home game this season and avenged their one-point loss last Dec. 2 in Indianapolis.

Bryant finished with 36 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds and made 15 of his 17 free-throw attempts, marking just the second time he's had at least 30 points and 13 assists in his career.

For a second straight game after their lackluster performance in the Lakers loss against New Orleans, both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum both had notable performances.

Gasol scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. Bynum made 8 of his 10 field goal attempts for 20 points in just 31 minutes of playing time. But their contributions might not have been enough to score a win if not for Bryant taking over late in the game.

Gasol had not made a field goal in the fourth quarter, scoring just a single point on a free-throw. Bynum only only made one field-goal attempt and another free-throw for three points.

Even Bryant's shooting was off early in the final quarter, missing his first three shot attempts, but he kept putting the ball up. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Bryant remained patient and determined down the stretch. Even when he struggled a bit on his shots early in the fourth quarter, "He stayed with it and made some plays for us down the stretch," Jackson said.

Troy Murphy had 24 points for Indiana and Danny Granger finished with 28. Mike Dunleavy added 22 points off-the-bench.

The Pacers have lost 11 straight games in Staples Center against the Lakers.

Lakers' Twin Tower Is No Match To Hornets' David And Paul

The New Orleans Hornets made the improbable. They pulled an upset and won over the Lakers 116-105 in their Jan. 6 game at the Staples Center behind double-double performance from David West (40 points, 11 rebounds) and Chris Paul (32 points, 15 assists).

Kobe Bryant scored 39 points on 14-of-22 field goal shooting with 7 assists in 42 minutes. Derek Fisher had 19 points and 6 assists.

Lamar Odom would have had a spectacular game, scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 field goal shooting and dishing 3 assists despite playing for only 13 minutes, but he was injured late in the second quarter with a hyper-extended right knee.

The Lakers' Twin Towers were ineffective in this game with Pau Gasol scoring only 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting in 42 minutes with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 fouls. Andrew Bynum missed 5 of his 7 field goal attempts for a seven-point eight-rebound effort.

The Lakers' loss was the first in three games against the Hornets this season. They won their first meeting in New Orleans on Nov. 12 behind a very balanced scoring from their best players.

Bryant had 20 points and 6 assists in that game. Fisher also scored 20 points on 7-of-11 field goal shooting (4-of-6 from 3-point area) while Gasol and Bynum contributed 14 points each.

The Lakers also won their last game in New Orleans on Dec. 23, two days before their Christmas day match-up with the Celtics. Bryant, Gasol, and Bynum combined for 59 points on 49% field goal shooting with 20 total rebounds. They scored 26, 20, 13 respectively.

In their game at the Staples last night, the three combined for 56 points on 51% on the field--slightly better than their performance in their last game.

But that's just because of Bryant shooting 64% from the field. Only Bryant and Odom shot better than 50% from the field in this game. The team shot 42% from the field overall but only 32% if you take out Bryant's and Odom's numbers.

Too bad Odom was injured in the first half. They could have won the game had he stayed on the floor a little longer.

But was it really Odom not playing in the second half that cost them the game?

Well, Odom's scoring was also a non-factor in their two wins in New Orleans--just 2 points on 1-of-7 shooting in the first game and 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting in the second game.

Was it Bryant "trying to do too much?"

Nope! If fact, this game was Bryant's most efficient game against the Hornets this season although he scored only two in the fourth quarter, shooting 1-of-6 after going 13-of-16, including 6-of-6 from 3-point range in the first three quarters.

New Orleans really turned on their defense, especially on Bryant, in the last quarter and relied on dominating plays by West, who had 15 of his 40 points in the final period and outscored the whole Lakers team by himself.

The whole team was 5-of-21 from the field, including 3-of-11 from 3-point range while being outscored 27-13 in the fourth quarter.

Not to take anything away from the Hornets, who played a very good game especially in the last quarter, but the Lakers lost this game because their Twin Towers played like Two of the Seven Dwarfs!

C'mon Pau and Andrew! You made the 6'9" David West looked like 9'6" the way he dominated your 7-feet ceilings inside and outside! What happened to your vaunted wing spans that made the Lakers one of the best shot blocking teams in the league?

If you two play like this in your game tonight against the Golden State Warriors, expect another upset in Oakland! The Warriors are bigger, or at least they play bigger, than the one that blown your team out in your home court.

Good luck!

Lakers beat Celtics on Christmas day

The Los Angeles Lakers gave us "love this Christmas day" by beating Boston, 92-83, and snap the Celtics 19-game winning streak.

I knew it! There's no way the Lakers would lose this game I even made a bet that I'd stop posting in this blog if the Celtics win the game. Thank you Phil. Thank you Kobe. Thank you Pau. Thank you Lakers for keeping this blog alive!

Phil was right in sticking to his starting lineup featuring "The Twin Towers" with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, even though it's not their most efficient unit, and they sometimes struggled on road games against smaller and quicker teams like Miami, Sacramento, Orlando, and Indiana. They almost lost in New York with a short-handed Knicks lineup. Jackson really prepared his players well for a game like this--against the best and hottest team in the league.

Bynum had 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and just 2 personal fouls in 36 minutes. Luke Walton had a solid game in 28 minutes scoring 8 points, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 4 rebounds. He was also 2-3 in the 3-point line. Now we know why Phil inserted him in the starting lineup replacing Vladimir Radmanovic, who seemed to have found his offensive game before the switch. Luke is a better defender and passer, having mastered the triangle offense in his 5 years of playing for the Lakers. He's also more consistent against championship caliber opponents.

Kobe Bryant had his usual game that made him MVP last season with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Pau Gasol scored 7 of his 20 points in the final three minutes. He also had 5 assists and blocked 3 shots, one of which was on Ray Allen's 3-point attempt that would have put the Celtics within two points with 1:16 minutes left in the game.

Derek Fisher helped limit Rajon Rondo to 6 points on 3-of-11 shooting although he also struggled offensively, shooting 2-of-10 in the field scoring 6 points but he made 7 assists. Lamar Odom came off the bench and contributed 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. He also made two of his three 3-point attempts. Sasha Vujacic also contributed 10 points.

Kevin Garnett topscored for the Celtics with 22 points with 9 rebounds. Paul Pierce had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Ray Allen scored 14 points on 5-of-14 field goal shooting.

The Lakers played excellent defense in the fourth quarter, limiting the Celtics to 16 points. Boston missed all seven of their 3-point attempts in the final period. They surely missed James Posey's clutch 3-point shooting.

Gasol, who, before this game, usually defers to Bryant in the last quarter, was more aggressive at both ends of the floor. He made all three of his shots and all three of his free throws in the fourth quarter for nine of his team's 21 points.

The Lakers' frontcourt players blocked nine of their opponents shots to Boston's three. The Lakers also had more trips to the free-throw line making 12-of-15 to 6-of-8 for the Celtics. They also made 8-of-20 3-point shots while Boston was only 5-of-22 for 22.7%. The team's swarming defense also forced 17 Celtics turnovers.

Who's the best defensive team in the league right now? They say it's the Boston Celtics. Well, maybe they were last year. But this season, the Lakers proved they can play defense to the team that beat them in the NBA Finals just six months ago.

Lakers defeat Hornets 100-87 in New Orleans

The Los Angeles Lakers used a balanced offense and swarming defense to beat their Western Conference rivals, New Orleans Hornets, 100-87 for the second time this season. Kobe Bryant played 37 minutes and had 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Pau Gasol scored 20 points on 8-10 shooting and collected 8 rebounds.

Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher scored 13 and 11 points respectively. Trevor Ariza contributed 10 points with 2 steals and Lamar Odom had 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench.

Chris Paul played 46 minutes and had 17 points, 10 assists, and 6 steals. Rasual Butler also scored 17 points. David West continues to struggle against the Lakers scoring only 13 points on 5-15 shooting. Morris Peterson added 16 points off the bench.

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Lakers defeat Memphis on the road

On Pau Gasol's first game against his former team--also the first against his brother Mark, who was part of the trade that sent him to the Lakers--he helped his new team defeat the Grizzlies, 105-96. Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, making 14 of 23 field goal attemps, 3-6 from the 3-point line and keyed a late rally to help the team snap a two-game losing streak. Gasol had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Andrew Bynum scored 13 points in 21 minutes while Derek Fisher, playing more than 40 minutes due to the absence of injured backup point guard, Jordan Farmar, scored 11 points. Lamar Odom added 12 points off the bench.

Rudy Gay topscored for the Grizzlies with 23 points. Rookie O.J. Mayo hit five 3-point field goals in nine tries and scored 22 points while Darko Milicic had 11 points and 8 rebounds. Hakim Warric and Mike Conley contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench.

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Lakers lost to the Magic, 103-106

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered its first 2-game losing streak of the season. After losing to the Miami Heat the night before, the Lakers lost to the surging Orlando Magic 103-106--both losses on the road. Sasha Vujacic, who was 0-5 in the field and scored just 1 point, had a chance to win the game but his 3-point shot attempt bounced out of the basket leaving the Lakers behind 104-103, with three seconds left. Dwight Howard got the rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws for the final margin. Kobe Bryant missed a three-pointer as the clock wound down, sending the Lakers to their second consecutive defeat on this four-game trip.

Bryant had a spectacular night scoring 41 points with 8 rebounds and just 1 turnover in the losing effort. Derek Fisher added 27 points. Pau Gasol, who attempted only 9 field goals, contributed just 11 points. For two nights straight, Andrew Bynum played limited minutes and scored just 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, and 5 personal fouls.

Jameer Nelson topscored for the Magic with 27 points. Rashard Lewis scored 22 points. Dwight Howard added 18 points with 12 rebounds.

It should be obvious by now that the Twin Tower Experiment of Phil Jackson is not working. It worked in November because their opponents haven't figured out yet how to score with two 7-footers patrolling the paint. But after their first loss against Detroit, their weakness have been exposed and teams are exploiting that--just move your Bigs outside and have your best slasher drive to the basket. Phil should really consider having Bynum come off the bench and move back Odom to the starting lineup. You may want to read my previous post for what I thought would be the "keys to this game."

Bynum doesn't have the versatility of Odom. Not yet, anyway. Sure he's able to provide some defense against big body post players like Howard but their opposing guards are killing them--in this case, Rashard Lewis--by his inability to provide help defense without committing fouls.

Moreover, Gasol's scoring opportunities are being limited by Bynum's presence. The night after taking only 10 shots in their loss in Miami, Pau attempted one fewer shots today. Was he worried about his shooting percentage or he's just not getting enough touches? Bynum-Gasol teamup is not like the old Twin Tower of the Spurs, Robinson-Duncan. Bynum passing ability is still a work in progress. How many assists he had this game? Let me check...zero? Oh, how I miss Shaq!

And how about Odom? He seems to be very confused on offense although he's still decent on defense. He made only 1 field goal in 7 attempts with 2 free throws for 4 points. Well, at least he matched Bryant's 8 rebounds and had 3 steals in 36 minutes on the floor. I think his inability to be a factor on offense is not because of his waning talent. He was an All-Star material just last year and he's on his contract year so he should be very serious about being a very effective contributor on his team.

Watching the team play, it's pretty obvious that they are not running a lot of Odom-Gasol sets that was so effective last year. I could still remember how unstoppable they were during the first half of Game 4 Finals against the Celtics. Of course, they lost that game when the "unstoppable Pau and Lamar" disappeared in the second half of the game. That game cost them the Finals, right? But at least they run unbelievable highlight plays for one quarter.

And look at how effective Lamar was in their game against the Knicks--the only time he started the game in place of Gasol who was sick. He elevated his game because he knew he had to. He didn't have Pau Gasol to defer to. He's like a Manu Ginobilli on the Spurs team with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. He's perfect when he's the third best player in his team--one of the three options. You make him the 4th option and he'd be the worst performer on the Lakers team.

So, what should the Lakers do? I hate to keep on repeating myself but I'll do it anyway. Put Odom back to the starting lineup!

Please...