3-Pointer Goes the Other Way in San Antontio

The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant scored a three-pointer to beat Houston Tuesday but last night it was the San Antonio Spurs whose three-pointer led them to victory. Derek Fisher was called for a foul with just 10.5 seconds to play, thus allowing Roger Mason to complete a three-point play that ended the game 112-111. Wednesday’s game at A&T was like many others for L.A., in which they make up early-game sloppiness with a fourth quarter comeback, except the comeback didn’t happen this time.

Kobe Bryant told the L.A. Times, “That’s the least we can do to return the favor after Fish ‘0.4′ed them. Hopefully [the Spurs] got it out of their system so when the playoffs come around, they don’t have any more bullets left,” referring to when Fisher’s “0.4″ shot ricocheted around Texas years ago. The last time the Lakers were in San Antonio they beat the Spurs 93-91 in Game 4 of last season’s Western Conference finals.

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Permalink - Posted in General on January 15, 2009 - Post a comment

Bryant’s Late 3-Pointer Leads Lakers to Victory Over Houston

Last night’s game against the Houston Rockets wasn’t smooth sailing for the Lakers, but thanks to Kobe Bryant’s memorable fourth quarter, in which he scored a long three-pointer right at the end, the Lakers triumphed 105-100 at Toyota Center. Byrant scored 33 points Tuesday night, but the final three were what mattered, as it signaled the first win of back-to-back games in Texas (the Lakers play in San Antonio tonight).

Bryant, who wore a white bandage over his right eye after colliding with Dwayne Wade Sunday and sustained four stitches, completed an ending that the Lakers know well by now. The team never led by more than two and trailed by as many as nine points going into the fourth quarter, but Bryant saved the day. Bryant made only eight of 23 shots through three quarters and told the L.A. Times, “I got some pretty good looks and I knew what the defense was doing. It was just my responsibility to put the ball in the whole. When the fourth quarter came around, I had to focus even more to put the ball in.” His 32 shots were a season high but Bryant was surprised that he made the final three-pointer, saying “That last shot felt like it was off left, and it went in. Go figure.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on January 14, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Injury List Expands to Add Sasha Vujacic

Lakers’ backup point guard Sasha Vujacic’s back spasms may render the Lakers minus another player for games in Houston and San Antonio, although Lamar Odom may be able to return to the court. The Lakers play in Houston tonight and in San Antonio Wednesday with a hurting (health-wise) lineup, as Vujacic is the latest Laker to join the others in the trainer’s room. Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar didn’t make the trip to Texas and although Vujacic may travel to meet up with the team if his back improves in the next few days, he didn’t board the charter flight Monday afternoon with the rest of the players.

Lamar Odom sat out the last three games due to a bone bruise in his right knee, but he took part in a half-court three-on-three on Monday and may play tonight if he is feeling fine after Monday’s scrimmage. Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson told the L.A. Times, “We’ll see how he feels. He looked OK, but it wasn’t a lot of running full court.” Derek Fisher may be a solo ballhandling guard if Odom and Vujacic are out, but Jackson addressed the problem at practice: “I did say that Vlade [Vladimir Radmanovic] may jave to play guard. At that point, everybody kind of rolled their eyes.” At that point Jackson (who was quite possibly joking) was rescued by Odom, who volunteered to play.

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Permalink - Posted in General on January 13, 2009 - Post a comment

Should the Lakers Be Worried at 30-6?

Sunday night the Lakers barely escaped a close game against a team below them in the league, with a 108-105 victory over Miami Heat. The Lakers used to get free tacos when they held their opposing team under 100 points, but that has yet to happen after L.A. beat the Boston Celtics over two weeks ago on Christmas Day. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson has insisted that the Lakers’ defense isn’t a problem because if they give up points they make it up in scoring, but that hasn’t stopped people from wondering what’s up with their defensive strategy.

On Sunday Kobe Bryant and the Heat’s Dwyane Wade faced off, with Wade scoring 27 points (two under his average). Wade told the L.A. Times, “That’s what it’s all about. Kobe got up for the challenge and I did, as well. Overall, it was just what you play for.” Bryant’s playing was similar to the way he played for the U.S. Olympic team last summer, but it was evident that Kobe isn’t in Beijing anymore. Bryant told the Times, “Tonight was a special case because we had to do something about him [Wade].” The Lakers will travel to Houston and San Antonio this week.

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Permalink - Posted in General on January 12, 2009 - Post a comment

Kobe Bryant Keeping Lakers Afloat

Kobe Bryant has had to pick up the pace as the Lakers add three teammates to the injured list. Ever since Bryant scored 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists against the Boston Celtics Christmas Day he has been on the rise, scoring 40 points against Utah and 39 against New Orleans. Bryant continued his productivity, with 26 points in 33 minutes against Portland, 31 in 32 minutes against Golden State and 21 points, five rebounds and five assists against the Warriors in a rematch Wednesday.

Bryant’s shooting percentage has increased to 48.3%, after an early-season slump, and he stays at his current level he will set a personal best for shooting percentage, beating 2001-02’s 46.9%. Currently in his 13th season, Bryant told the L.A. Times, “I’ve always approached the season like the Tour de France. I’ve approached it in stages. I’m not going to sprint the hill every time. I’m going to let my teammates pull me up, and then I’m going to wait for a certain part of the race and start kind of picking it up. That’s how I approach the season. I kind of pace it.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on January 9, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Come Back Against Warriors

After Monday night’s loss to the New Orleans Hornets at Staples Center, the Lakers bounced back last night, beating the Golden State Warriors 114-106 at Oracle Arena. The Lakers were without Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton, who are all out with injuries, but Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant led L.A. to victory. After playing one of his worst games of the season (he scored only 10 points against the Hornets), Gasol had 33 points Wednesday night and tied a career-high with 18 rebounds (14 points and eight rebounds were in the fourth quarter alone). Byrant has 21 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Gasol told the L.A. Times that the Lakers need to move past their injured players: “The league is not going to stop because we’re without some players and we have some injuries. We’ve got to step up, the guys that are healthy, and get it done.” Andrew Bynum had a good game, however, with 18 points and 11 rebounds after struggling the past few weeks. It was Gasol who emerged the shining star; Bryant told the Times, “He’s an All-Star. He’s one of the best players in the world.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on January 8, 2009 - Post a comment

Loss for Lakers Ends Reign Atop League

The Lakers six-game winning streak and stint atop the other 29 teams in the NBA is over after the New Orleans Hornets beat L.A. 116-105 last night at Staples Center. The game wasn’t the only thing the Lakers lost, key player Lamar Odom went down with a hyper-extended knee and now joins fellow injured players Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar. David West (40 points and 11 rebounds) and Chris Paul (32 points and 15 assists) scored a combined 72 points to end the Lakers’ two-day run with the league’s best record; the Lakers now share the top spot with Cleveland (27-2).

Lakers coach Phil Jackson expressed his unhappiness about Odom’s injury to the L.A. Times saying, “We’ll have to have some other guys help us.” Odom will undergo an MRI exam today and it remains undecided if he will play in tonight’s game against Golden State. Walton will be out at least two more weeks due to a sore foot and Farmar won’t be back for at least another six weeks after undergoing knee surgery. The Lakers previously beat New Orleans (21-10) twice this season, both time on the road, but couldn’t keep it together on their home court. Hornets Coach Byron Scott was eager to beat the Lakers after L.A. led by 21 points in each of the games in New Orleans and told the Times, “Our character has been tested the last two times we played them. I thought over there they probably felt that we couldn’t beat them, and I thought we had to try to prove a point to not only them but to ourselves.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on January 7, 2009 - Post a comment

Luke Walton Health Update

Lakers’ forward Luke Walton was sidelined when the Lakers played Portland Sunday due to a sore right foot, but was scheduled to see a foot specialist on Monday. The specialist, Keneth Jung, was expected to determine the extent of Walton’s injury. It is expected that he is experiencing sesamoiditis, a condition in which there is irritation in the sesamoids (small bones bundled with tendons that run to the big toe); the condition usually requires a to-be-determined rest period but luckily Walton will most likely not have to go under the knife.

Walton was averaging 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists since moving into the starting lineup, where he has started 11 consecutive games at small forward.  Walton’s foot first began hurting before Friday’s game against Utah and his conditioned worsened after Saturday’s practice, rendering him unable to play Sunday. Walton told the L.A. Times, “Every time I step on it, it hurts. Every time I extend my foot, it hurts. It’s something I tried to push through, but the more I ran on it, the worse it felt. It’s like there’s a burning rod being stuck in it.” Walton was replaced by Trevor Ariza on Sunday.

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Permalink - Posted in General on January 6, 2009 - Post a comment

No. 1 Record for the Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers, 27-5, are the best in the NBA after beating Portland and losses by the Celtics and the Cavaliers earlier Sunday. At Staples Center Sunday the Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 100-86; Kobe Bryant had 26 points and Pau Gasol had 19, pushing the Lakers ahead of Boston for the first time since Dec. 2. When Boston (29-6) lost to New York and Washington beat Cleveland (27-6) earlier on Sunday the Lakers were conscious of the fact that there are still over five months until mid-June.

Kobe Bryant told the L.A. Times that the Lakers have their work cut out for them: “It’s just a challenge. That’s how we look at it. It’s obviously important to have home-court advantage [in the playoffs], but you’ve got to win on the road anyway. We’ve obviously got a long way to go.” The Lakers improved 18-1 in home games (their only loss being to Detroit in mid-November) and New Orleans (20-10) comes to Staples Center Tuesday.

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Permalink - Posted in General on January 5, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers are Back After Break

Break time is over for the Lakers, who are preparing for an upcoming stretch of 14 games in 26 days. The Lakers play Utah tonight and it will be only their second game in eight days after their Christmas Day victory over the Boston Celtics. Upcoming home games against New Orleans, Cleveland and Orlando will test the Lakers and a mid-month trip to Houston and San Antonio will be trying as well.

Derek Fisher has been filling in for Jordan Farmar, who has begun his rehabilitation from knee surgery but isn’t expected to be back on the court until after the Feb. 15 All-Star game. During Sunday’s game against Golden State Fisher scored 19 points in only 25 minutes and he has been averaging 39 points in four games without Farmar. Sasha Vujacic also had a good game Sunday, with 17 points and six assists in 31 minutes.

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Permalink - Posted in General on January 2, 2009 - Post a comment


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