The AP reports: Kobe Bryant showed no lingering effects from the flu, scoring 34 points and becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 23,000 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 105-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. Pau Gasol had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 12 points and a season-high 18 boards for the Lakers, just back from a 6-0 trip they concluded with wins against Boston and Cleveland… Kevin Durant finished with 31 points, his fifth 30-point game in a row, and 10 rebounds in the loss. Russell Westbrook had 17 points and nine rebounds.
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Shaq says Kobe is better than LeBron
The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Jodie Valade) reports: If Sunday’s Cavaliers-Lakers game wasn’t enough evidence, take Shaquille O’Neal’s word for it. Kobe Bryant is better. LeBron James? He’s pretty good, too. But Kobe is the best the Big Diesel has ever played with. “Kobe’s probably a 10,” O’Neal said Tuesday night. “LeBron’s a 9.7, 9.8. He’s a fabulous player who does it the right way and gets everybody involved. Those guys [Cavaliers] are playing at a very, very high level right now because of him.”
Kobe Bryant hits 23,000 points
The Los Angeles Daily News (Elliot Teaford) reports (via blog): When Kobe Bryant made a free throw with 3:21 remaining in the first half, he reached 23,000 points for his career. He hit the milestone faster than any other player in NBA history at 30 years, 171 days. Wilt Chamberlain did it in 30 years, 176 days.
InsideHoops.com editor says: I’m a better player than both guys mentioned above. It just doesn’t show on the stat-sheet.
Jim O’Brien: LeBron better than Kobe
LeBron James enters tonight’s game averaging 28.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists, the third season he has topped 25-7-7. He had his 20th career triple-double taken away last week when he was incorrectly given a rebound in his 52-point, 11-assist, nine-rebound performance against the New York Knicks. “He’s the best player in the league,” Pacers head coach Jim O’Brien said. “I don’t even know if it’s close right now. Certainly, Kobe Bryant is a great player and there are other great players in the league. But he is so big, so strong, so quick, so good off the dribble and so powerful, when he’s hitting 3-point shots, he’s unguardable.”
Adam Morrison to wear no.6
The Press-Enterprise (Jeff Eisenberg) reports: Newly acquired Adam Morrison will switch from No. 35 to No. 6, symbolic of his quest for a fresh start with the Lakers. “Some people have forgotten about his skill as a basketball player, but this is an opportunity to start over,” Jackson said. “It’s the Western Conference, he’s a Western kid. It’s a much more hospitable environment for him.”
Lakers stop Cavaliers home winning streak
The AP reports: With Kobe Bryant suffering from the flu, Lamar Odom scored a season-high 28 points—15 in the third quarter— and Paul Gasol scored 18 as the streak-busting Los Angeles Lakers dominated the second half and handed Cleveland its first home loss this season, 101-91 on Sunday to complete a 6-0 road trip… Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 22 to lead Cleveland, which shot just 28 percent (11-of-39) in the second half and didn’t play its customary shutdown defense. Williams, whose All-Star snub had infuriated the Cavs, scored 19 and James finished with 12 assists and eight rebounds. Odom, who added a season-best 17 rebounds, was unstoppable in the third, when the Lakers outscored the Cavaliers 31-16 and turned a 10-point deficit into a 82-77 lead entering the fourth.
Celtics set moving picks, says Jackson
Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson is fun sometimes. Here’s an example. The Los Angeles Daily News (Elliot Teaford) reports:
Asked about the difference between having Kobe Bryant guard Boston’s Ray Allen and having him check Cleveland’s LeBron James, Jackson said.”Chasing Ray Allen off multiple picks, especially ones that move as often as Boston’s do, it’s just not feasible to wear him out and get run into by (Kendrick) Perkins and (Kevin) Garnett.”
That’s gold.
Lakers trade Vladimir Radmanovic to Bobcats for Adam Morrison, Shannon Brown
Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has acquired forward Vladimir Radmanovic from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for forward Adam Morrison and guard Shannon Brown.
“Vladimir is a versatile forward who has the ability to play multiple positions in this league,” Higgins said. “We saw this as an opportunity to add another experienced player whose skill set is interchangeable with a variety of different lineups.”
The 6-10, 235-pound Radmanovic has appeared in 516 career NBA games spread between Seattle, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Lakers. He has career averages of 9.2 points and 4.1 rebounds, while shooting .420 from the field and .386 from the three-point line. In 46 games (28 starts) with the Lakers this season he averaged 5.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.8 minutes. He currently ranks ninth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.411), connecting on 60-136 attempts.
Originally drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft, Radmanovic had three consecutive seasons with the Sonics where he averaged double-figure scoring. His best statistical season in the NBA came during the 2003-04 season when he appeared in 77 games (38 starts) with averages of 12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 30.1 minutes. During that season, he scored 20-plus points 13 times and recorded six double-doubles. He has also appeared in 44 career playoff games with averages of 7.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 21.9 minutes.
Morrison was selected by Charlotte with the third overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft after declaring early following his junior season at Gonzaga. He has career averages of 9.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.5 minutes in 122 games (28 starts). Morrison missed the entire 2007-08 season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee in an Oct. 20 preseason game against the Lakers. As a rookie in 2006-07, he appeared in 78 games with 23 starts and averaged 11.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 29.8 minutes. He was also named to the All-Rookie Second Team that year after finishing second among all NBA Rookies in scoring and minutes played. This season, he appeared in 44 games (five starts) with averages of 4.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 15.2 minutes.
Brown is in his third NBA season and averaged 4.8 points and 1.0 assist in 30 games played for Charlotte this season. In 74 career games, Brown has averaged 4.4 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 10.5 minutes split between Cleveland, Chicago and Charlotte. Brown was originally drafted by the Cavaliers with the 25th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.
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Lakers show pride, beat Celtics in OT 110-109
The AP reports: “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… Kobe Bryant scored 26 points with 10 rebounds to help the Lakers take a five-game winning streak into Sunday’s game against Cleveland. L.A. also snapped Boston’s 19-game winning streak on Christmas Day and sent the Celtics into a 2-7 skid that is the worst stretch of the New Big Three era… Paul Pierce scored 21, and Allen had 22, but they both missed off-balance shots in the final seconds. Allen was knocked to the court at the buzzer while Boston fans clamored for a foul call, but none came. Rajon Rondo scored 16 with 12 assists.
Kobe scores 36, Lakers beat Raptors 115-107
The AP reports: 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… Toronto lost its fourth straight, but didn’t go quietly. Joey Graham had a career-high 24 points, and Jermaine O’Neal added 22 points and nine blocks. Andrea Bargnani scored 21 points, and Anthony Parker had 18 for the Raptors, 5-21 overall against the Lakers.