The AP reports: Andrew Bynum scored a career-high 42 points, Kobe Bryant had his second triple-double in three games and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Clippers 108-97 Wednesday night… Bynum became the first Lakers player to reach 40 points other than Bryant since Shaquille O’Neal scored 48 against Boston on March 21, 2003. Bynum shot 17-of-24 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the foul line, and added 15 rebounds and four blocked shots… Lamar Odom had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who have won their last seven games against the Clippers by an average of 24.4 points. 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.
Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog
Lakers blog – Los Angeles Lakers blog
Andrew Bynum scores 42 points
The Los Angeles Times (Lisa Dillman) reports: One absent Marcus Camby meant two eye-opening words for the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum. Career night. Or if you want to continue the political theme: Running unopposed. Bynum had 42 points and 15 rebounds in the Lakers’ 108-97 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night at Staples Center in front of a sellout crowd. Bynum’s previous high was 28 points, and he eclipsed that mark early in the third quarter, pounding home a one-handed dunk. Speaking of pounding . . . were those tire tracks on the backs of poor Brian Skinner and DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers? It was the Lakers’ seventh straight victory over the Clippers to put the Lakers (33-8) in a tie with Orlando for the league’s best record. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson was asked if this was a breakthrough for Bynum. “Offensively, yeah,” he said. “But there’s two ends to the game still. Don’t forget that, right? That was his career high too.” He was speaking about the 23 points by Clippers rookie Jordan.
Phil Jackson to coach West All-Stars
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson will coach the Western Conference All-Stars for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, to be played on Sunday, Feb. 15, at US Airways Center in Phoenix.
With the Lakers’ 108-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers tonight, Jackson and the Lakers (33-8, .805) have at least tied for the best winning percentage in the conference through Feb. 1. In the event that the Spurs and the Lakers have the same winning percentage through Feb. 1, Jackson would earn the spot to coach the West All-Stars since Gregg Popovich has coached an All-Star team most recently (2005). This marks the fourth time Jackson will serve as an All-Star head coach (1992, 1996, 2000).
Head coaches for the East and West All-Star teams are based on teams with the best winning percentage in each conference. Last year’s coaches – Boston’s Doc Rivers and New Orleans’ Byron Scott – are not eligible to coach in the 2009 All-Star Game.
This season marks Jackson’s ninth year at the helm of the Lakers and his 18th season as a head coach. Jackson’s 1,009-426 (.703) record gives him the best winning percentage in NBA history, with his win total ranking him sixth all-time. Jackson became the first coach in NBA history to lead a team to three consecutive championships three different times (Chicago, 1991-93 and 1996-98; Los Angeles, 2000-02), while his 193 postseason wins are the most by any head coach in league history. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, Jackson has led the Lakers to three NBA Championships and five Western Conference Championships. The Lakers’ 15-1 (.938) run in the 2001 NBA Playoffs marked the highest winning percentage by any team in a single postseason. From 1996 to 2003, Jackson led his teams (Chicago and Los Angeles) to an NBA-best 25 consecutive postseason series wins. With nine NBA championships over the last 18 years, Jackson is tied with Red Auerbach (Boston) for most NBA Championships in league history.
Bryant, Gasol lead Lakers past Cavaliers 105-88
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James tussled to a virtual standoff Monday night, but Bryant’s supporting cast was far more effective, and that was the difference as the Lakers beat Cleveland 105-88 to snap a five-game losing streak to the Cavaliers. Bryant had 20 points, six rebounds and 12 assists in 41 minutes despite dislocating the ring finger on his shooting hand less than two minutes into the game… Pau Gasol shot 11-of-13 and led Los Angeles with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Andrew Bynum and Sasha Vujacic scored 14 points each and Derek Fisher added 11 for the Lakers, whose 32-8 record is tops in the Western Conference. 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.
Shaq makes a funny
The Toronto Sun (Terry Koshan) reports: The always quotable Shaquille O’Neal had one of the better post-game lines yesterday. When O’Neal was asked what it was like to hear a louder ovation for another player (Steve Nash), other than himself, O’Neal said: “Never happens.” But a reporter pointed out that Nash had a louder ovation during the warmup than O’Neal did. “They asked my permission,” said O’Neal, who finished with 16 points. O’Neal is getting long in the tooth, but still leaves a lasting impression on opponents.
Nelson, Howard lead Magic past Lakers
The AP reports: With Dwight Howard a power in the middle, Jameer Nelson and his backcourt mates sharpshooting from outside, the Magic showed their multiple talents with a 109-103 victory over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. Howard had 25 points and 20 rebounds, and Nelson scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to help Orlando win its sixth in a row. Bryant had 28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for Los Angeles, but missed two jumpers in the waning moments… All the Orlando starters scored in double figures, with Rashard Lewis getting 15, Hedo Turkoglu 13 and Courtney Lee 12. Lamar Odom had 17 points for Los Angeles, and Vladimir Radmanovic had 15, all coming on his 5-of-8 shooting treys. Andrew Bynum had 14 points and three rebounds, but scored just two points after halftime and again was outplayed by Howard, who also blocked three shots.
Kobe Bryant commits to Team USA
The Orange County Register (Kevin Ding) reports: “The best player on the planet,” as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called Kobe Bryant late Wednesday night, can’t wait to make the Earth move some more in 2010 and ’12. Bryant said Wednesday night he is willing to commit to play for USA Basketball in 2010 at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey in an attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London, where Bryant expects to go for the gold again. “The chance to represent your country, that’s not even a thought-process for me,” Bryant said Wednesday. “If they want me to be on it, I’m all game.” Bryant’s words should stabilize the U.S. ship at a time when many of Bryant’s teammates from the 2008 Olympic gold-medal team are choosing to be future international men of mystery.
Spurs beat Lakers in Western finals rematch
The AP reports: The San Antonio Spurs made it clear to the Los Angeles Lakers that they’re still a major player in the Western Conference. Roger Mason hit a jumper with 10 seconds left and made a free throw after being fouled by Derek Fisher, and the Spurs beat the Lakers 112-111 on Wednesday night in the first meeting between the teams since the Western Conference finals… Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 27 points, and Bryant had 29 for Los Angeles. He added 10 assists. Both teams are 10-2 in their last 12 games. Bryant was double-teamed on the Lakers’ last play, so he swung the ball to Ariza. But Ariza was called for traveling… Tony Parker and Tim Duncan each added 20 points for the Spurs. Duncan also had 10 rebounds and eight assists. Pau Gasol scored 21 points for Los Angeles after hitting eight of this first nine shots.
Von Wafer making name for himself
The Los Angeles Times (Broderick Turner) reports: Von Wafer signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Houston Rockets last September for $797,581 and appears to have found a home. He has been starting while Tracy McGrady heals from a sore left knee, and Ron Artest gets well from a sore right ankle. “I told him during the game how I was proud of the way he’s been playing,” Kobe Bryant said. “He’s doing a fine job.” Wafer was 10 for 14 from the field (three for four from three-point range) in 39 minutes in Houston’s 105-100 loss to the Lakers at the Toyota Center. The athletic Wafer did much of his work against Bryant. “He told me he was proud of me,” Wafer said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Kobe. He told me he was proud of me, that I’ve come a long way and just keep it going.”
Bryant scores 33 to lead Lakers over Rockets
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant sank a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left and scored 33 points, and the Lakers beat the short-handed Houston Rockets 105-100 on Tuesday night. Bryant had 13 points in the fourth quarter, finally getting the better of Wafer, who scored a career-high 23 points in place of the injured Tracy McGrady… Carl Landry had a season-high 21 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who also played without Ron Artest. Artest has missed five of the last six games with a sprained right ankle. An MRI exam also showed a bone bruise that the Rockets say will keep him out 7-10 more days… Yao had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Rockets, who lost for just the second time in their last 11 home games.