Lakers fall to Celtics in second season match up
The Lakers fell 110-91 to their guests the Boston Celtics at the Staples Center Sunday, Dec. 30, despite a valiant effort from none other than Lakers’ team star Kobe Bryant, who had 22 points and shot 6-of-25 on the floor, according to an Associated Press article published Monday, Dec. 31 at Topix.net.
The Lakers, which ended its four game winning streak with the loss to Boston, have now won 10 of the last 14 games played and have been steadily improving with communication skills, work on defense and have even worked Sasha Vujacic and Andrew Bynum into play a bit more often. Ironically, the Celtics prevented Coach Phil Jackson from moving ahead of Hall of Famer and former Boston coach Ray Auberbach for the most careerwins. Jackson is tied for seventh with Auberback with 938 wins and hopes to move to the sixth place position in the upcoming weeks, according to the Associated Press article.
“Well, that was a rather long, laborious night for us . . .” Coach Phil Jackson said in an article published Dec. 31 on the Los Angeles Lakers official Web site. “They have a good defensive team. Obviously, I haven’t seen Kobe have a shooting night like that. After playing two really stellar games and shooting well, this is not a game we could put down next to those.”
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Lakers’ coach administers effective prep session for second Jazz match up of season
Lakers coach Phil Jackson rounded up the troops Thursday, Dec. 27, to watch the 48-minutes known to team members as the game from hell - the November match up against the Phoenix Suns in which Los Angeles fell 120-96, despite the fact that two of the Sun’s leading players were benched with injuries, according to an article published Dec. 27 by the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
That pep talk must of had a lasting effect on the team, because the Lakers faced off against the Suns that evening at the Staples Center and brought home a 122-115 victory, with major help from Kobe Bryant, who had 38 points, and Andrew Bynum, who scored a record high of 28 points, according to a Reuters article published Friday, Dec. 28, on the Washington Post official Web site. Bryant, who became the youngest player in the NBA to score 20,000 points, gave way to 26 of his game points in the second half of play, according to Reuters. The Lakers, who have won three consecutive games and nine of its past eleven played, are one game off from being ranked at the top of their Pacific conference. But Jackson, always level-headed and calculating, is not getting his hopes up just yet, he told Reuters.
“We are aware of the standings, but we also know that last year we were 10 games over .500 and moving along — then injuries slayed the dragon, so to speak,” Jackson said, according to the Washington Post article. “We just have to play every game and not think about anything else, just what’s ahead of us.”
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Bynum and Bryant come to the rescue, propel Lakers to 122-115 win over Suns
The Lakers are ringing in the holiday and New Year with much success. Winning 122-115 against the Phoenix Suns in an exciting match up Wednesday, Dec. 26, as Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum yet again turned in outstanding performances on the court, according to an article published Wednesday, Dec. 26 by the Associated Press.
Now at a season-record high for consecutive wins, the Lakers are at 18-10 and are one game behind becoming the leading team in the Pacific Division, falling directly behind the Suns - a team which has lost its last five games, accoridng to the Associated Press.
After Wednesday’s performance, which left Andrew Bynum walking away with a career-high 28 points and Kobe Bryant with a whopping 26 points in the second half alone, the Lakers were as content as children on Christmas.
“I feel like I could play another game right now,” Bynum said after Wednesday’s win. “I put in all the hard work just for this. It’s paying off. This definitely was one of my better games. Made a pretty big impact, teammates looking for me, wide open a lot of the times and they found me today. So far, perfect Christmas.”
After all the hype over the holidays, the Lakers can rest easy that their fans got the best gift of all. But even though the team is steadily improving its record, that doesn’t mean the Lakers are about to stop trying now, so be sure to book a pair of Lakers tickets at Stubhub.com right here and now and bring your whole family out for a night of NBA fun.
Lakers reserves can’t pull through at Thursday’s game against Cavaliers
The Lakers were unable to pull through against major rival the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday in a game where Los Angeles’ usually stellar reserves only scored a total of seven points - none of which came in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers needed help the most, according to an article published Thursday, Dec. 20 by the LA Daily News.
“The bench has been phenomenal for us all year,” guard Derek Fisher said. “There are going to be some nights when they won’t be able to get it going. We just have to live with that. There have been nights when, as starters, we weren’t playing well and they came in and got us back in the game.”
Falling 94-90 to the Cavaliers came as a low blow to Kobe Bryant, who was in direct competition with Cleveland’s LeBron James - Bryant and James currently stand as the two highest scorers in the league. The Lakers, who had the lead during a portion of the game by more than elven points, have cut their winning streak down to six out of the last eight games it has played. Bryant, who has been scoring an average of 26.8 points per game, was recovering from a mild groin injury and still managed to power through the last game against the Chicago Bulls with 18 points during 36 minutes of play. The NBA star was looking for his best performance last night against big-time rival James, who challenges Bryant for top scorer in the league with an average of 29.6 points per game.
With the close competition between Bryant and James, plus the new motivation the Lakers have walking away from Thursday’s near win and grueling loss, it’s no wonder fans are rushing to get their tickets for upcoming games in the New Year, including match ups against New York, Phoenix, Utah and Boston. And don’t forget about tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Coach Phil Jackson, who is one game away from tying Dick Motta for eighth place with 935 wins in his entire career, said he could only hope to live up to the legend of Motta.
“Oh, my goodness,” Jackson said of approaching Motta’s mark. “Just memories of Dick and what a coach he was. It seemed like he coached forever.”
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Bryant and the Lakers vs. James and the Cavaliers
As Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers get ready to face off against big-time rivals LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, fans are holding their breath. Tonight’s game will be the eighth time Bryant and James - the NBA’s two top scorers -have gone head to head in the span of their careers, according to an article published on the Lakers’ official Web site.
The Lakers, who are coming off a two-game winning streak against the LA Clippers and the Chicago Bulls, hope to make tonight’s game the third in their quest to steadily improve and grow their consistency, according to the organization’s site. The match up, which will take place at the Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, should prove to be an exciting one, especially because the two teams are so close in their talents and scoring abilities. In the last ten games between the Lakers and the Cavaliers, the Lakers are 5-5 and still hold a 55-36 advantage over the Cavaliers, according to the Lakers’ Web site.
As far as scoring goes, the two powerhouses are a pretty close match when playing their respective opponent’s - Bryant averaging 24.7 in seven games against the Cavaliers when James was on the court, and the Cavalier point guard with 26.8. With the close rivalry, fans will be watching to see who pushes through barriers tonight to emerge on top. The Lakers may have the most momentum, with Tuesday night’s win against Chicago under the team’s belt, and with the Cavaliers’ most recent loss - an ugly 108-90 to the New York Knicks.
If you still haven’t been to an NBA game yet this season, then why wait? Get a pair of Lakers tickets for tonight’s match up or for the coming month, when Los Angeles will take on the Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and the Phoenix Suns. Don’t miss out on a second of the action - be sure to secure your seats at Stubhub.com!
Lakers give Bulls a run for their money Tuesday
The Lakers pulled off a 103-91 victory against the Chicago Bulls Tuesday, Dec. 18, with help from Sasha Vujacic with 19 points, Lamar Odom with 17 points and Kobe Bryant - who powered through the game with a minor groin injury - with 18 points, according to an article published on the Lakers official Web site. The game was framed around the recent defeat of Chicago fans’ hopes that Kobe Bryant would be traded to the Bulls. Although several Bulls fans showed up wearing Chicago jerseys with the number “24″ taped over the back, and the team had to endure their fans chanting “Kobe, Kobe!” during the last seconds of a recent loss to Philadelphia, the rumors of a trade have come to a halt.
But none of the drama has phased Bryant, who has still managed to bring his best game to the court despite minor injuries, according to the article. It did, however, come as a surprise for him.
A couple of my friends played against the Bulls when that took place,” Bryant said in the article. “They called me after they played them and said they heard something that was just hte craziest thing they had ever seen. I was shocked by it.”
Despite being completely taken aback by Bulls’ fans behavior, Bryant is pleased with the overall performance of his team and said he hopes they can continue their winning streak of six out of their last eight games played. Their next match up, against the Cleveland Cavaliers, will be Friday, Dec. 21, on their opponents home court.
“We’re playing extremely well,” Bryant said. “When everybody’s contributing and playing well, it makes the game extremely fun.”
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Bulls psych themselves up to play Lakers tonight
In the face of now subsided Kobe Bryant trade talks with the Bulls, Chicago prepares to take on the Lakers tonight and try to reclaim some of its energy, which has been lacking during the past few games and was certainly not at an all time high in mid-November, when the Bulls last faced off against the Lakers and fell by a 28-point deficit.
Coming off a haphazard victory over the Knicks - in which the Bulls let their 16-point lead dwindle to three points in the fourth quarter - Chicago is trying to get amped up but their stats aren’t promising, according to an article published Monday, Dec. 17 at ChicagoSports.com. Although once ranked as fifth amongst its opponents, the Bulls have dropped to the middle of the road when it comes to field-goal percentage, according to the article.
“We definitely have played better,” coach Scott Skiles said. “I don’t know that any pro coach could commit to turning any corners 20 games into a season. But we need to continue to be consistent at both ends and try to string wins together. We’re obviously nowhere close to where we want to be. But we’re better than we were on that trip.”
In response to what the Bulls can expect out of the Lakers during tonight’s game and for the rest of the season, Skiles was quick to admit that the organization has a good chance for success - especially with Bryant on their side, who is now only 78 points away from becoming the 31st person in NBA history to score 20,000 points in regular season play, according to the Lakers official Web site.
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Bryant and Walton lead Lakers to victory Sunday over Clippers
With 32 and 15 points respectively, Kobe Bryant and Luke Walton lead the Lakers to a 113-92 victory over the LA Clippers Sunday at the Staples Center - a facility the two organizations share - and helped command the same type of team spirit that has compelled the Lakers to win the last five of six games played. Although the Lakers fell to rivals the Golden State Warriors on Friday, that didn’t seem to get them down - in contrast, many team members who had been in a slump point-wise emerged in full force for Sunday’s game. Lakers Sasha Vujacic had 14 points in the fourth quarter and Andrew Bynum came through with 14 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots, according to an Associated Press article published on the Lakers official Web site.
The Lakers faced a bit of competition from Clippers point guard Corey Maggette, with his 27-point game and his mid-court buzzer shot that topped him off at 21 points at the end of the third quarter and diminished the Lakers lead to 82-76. The Lakers are at an advantage against the Clippers, being 4-6 in their last ten games against their close competitor and have only lost two series games in franchise history to the Clippers (1974-75 and 1992-93). The teams are scheduled to meet again in late February.
Until then, however, those in Los Angeles can still enjoy a ton of NBA action. Make sure to book a pair of Lakers tickets right here and right now at Stubhub.com.
Bryant powers through Spurs defense, scores 30 points in Lakers victory
Kobe Bryant came through once against Thursday when the Lakers faced off against the San Antonio Spurs, coming out on top with a 102-97 victory, according to an Associated Press article published Friday, Dec. 14 on the Lakers’ official Web site.
Bryant, with the help of Lamar Odom who had 15 points and Andrew Bynum with six points and 11 rebounds, contributed greatly to the Lakers lead during the first half of more than ten points, ending at half time with a 51-43 lead. The Spurs were supported by Bruce Bowen, who had 22 points, as well bas Brent Barry with 17 points, Manu Ginobili with 14 points and Fabricio Oberto with 16 rebounds.
“You have to find a way to win a game like this,” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said in an article published by the LA Times. “They can get ugly, it can get scrappy. We just had to find a combination of guys to go out there and play ball.”
The Lakers will play the next five of six games on the road starting today with another match up against the Golden State Warriors. Winning nine consecutive games and 14 of the past 15 games they’ve played against the Warriors, the Lakers have the upper hand at Golden State’s Oracle Arena. Lakers fans should get ready to travel and check out Lakers tickets at Stubhub.com today!
Lakers move towards imporving turnover rates; amp things up before Spurs match up
While the Lakers may rank in top five in the NBA with scoring, rebounds and steals, but they are still only 29th in turnovers - a fact that is making many fans and the team itself question how they can turn things around this season and make a big come back, according to an article published Saturday, Dec. 8, in the Orange County Register.
“Sometimes we look great and other times we look terrible,” Luke Walton said. “But I think we’re all aware that if we get on the same page and play as a team that we can play with anybody in the league. A lot of the guys feel that our record should be better than 11-8. We’ve let a couple of games get away from us that we felt like we should have won. We’ll take 11-8 as long as we’re getting better.”
Now, as the Lakers prepare to continue their three-game winning steak as they take on the San Antonio Spurs, it is the perfect time to score a pair of tickets and check out at the game at the Staples Center. If you still haven’t been to a game this season, be sure to book a pair of Lakers tickets right here and right now before it’s too late. Check out Stubhub.com today and secure your seats.