The AP reports: Pau Gasol had 22 points, leading MVP candidate Kobe Bryant added 20, and the Lakers beat the short-handed Sacramento Kings 124-101 Tuesday night to clinch the No. 1 seed in the West and home-court advantage throughout the conference playoffs… Lamar Odom added 15 points and 12 rebounds, Vladimir Radmanovic scored 14, Jordan Farmar added 13 points, and Ronny Turiaf had 10 points and six assists for the Lakers, who went strictly with reserves in the fourth quarter. Quincy Douby led the Kings (38-44) with a career-high 32 points. Beno Udrih scored 22 points, Francisco Garcia added 15 and Sheldon Williams had 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds… The Kings played their final game of the season without their top three scorers: Kevin Martin, Ron Artest and Brad Miller.
Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog
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Apr. 13: Lakers 106, Spurs 85
The AP reports: MVP candidate Kobe Bryant had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Lakers routed the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 106-85 for their seventh win in eight games… Lamar Odom, the only Los Angeles starter to play in the final period, added 17 points and 14 rebounds before coming out for good with 4:26 remaining. Pau Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Derek Fisher also scored 14, Jordan Farmar added 11 points and Ronny Turiaf scored 10 for the Lakers, who outscored the Spurs 53-32 in the second half… Tony Parker had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but was held to two points after halftime. Tim Duncan added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Ime Udoka scored 14 for the Spurs (54-26), who lost for just the third time in 13 games.
Apr. 10: Lakers 106, Clippers 78
The AP reports: Luke Walton scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the short-handed Clippers 106-78 Thursday night for their fifth win in six games… Kobe Bryant scored 16 points, Lamar Odom had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Pau Gasol added 13 points for the Lakers, who blew the game open by outscoring the Clippers 32-11 to finish the third quarter and start the fourth for a 94-67 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left… Elton Brand, playing his fifth game after missing the season’s first 74 while recovering from surgery on his torn left Achilles’ tendon, led the Clippers (23-56) with 23 points and seven rebounds. Rookie Al Thornton added 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Andrew Bynum not returning yet
Lakers center Andrew Bynum was examined yesterday in New York by knee specialist Dr. David Altchek and has not been cleared to progress to full practices or contact drills, it was announced today.
“This should not be seen as a setback in any way,” said Altchek. “Andrew will continue with his therapy program and workouts with the Lakers’ training staff and will continue to be monitored until he can return to playing status.”
There is no target date for Bynum’s return.
Kobe likes idea of altering playoff format
The Los Angeles Daily News (Elliot Teaford) reports: Kobe Bryant then suggested it might be time to alter the playoff format in order to reward the Western Conference, which has proved again this season to be deeper and more competitive than the Eastern Conference. Bryant likes the idea of taking the top 16 teams regardless of their conference affiliation, although he admitted the travel might be difficult if the Lakers had to face the Atlanta Hawks or the New Jersey Nets in the first round. “It would make for a more exciting playoff matchup,” he said. “I just think there’s been such a power shift to the Western Conference, with these great teams. The Eastern Conference has a lot of catching up to do.”
Apr. 8: Blazers 112, Lakers 103
The AP reports: Brandon Roy scored 23 points and matched his career high with 12 assists for Portland, which snapped a five-game losing streak. LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points and 11 rebounds. Channing Frye, starting in place of injured center Joel Przybilla, had a season-high 22 points and 11 rebounds… Kobe Bryant finished with 34 points, while Pau Gasol had 21 points and 13 rebounds. It was the Lakers’ sixth straight loss at the Rose Garden.
Boozer says Kobe is MVP favorite
The Deseret Morning News (Tim Buckley) reports: Carlos Boozer was asked Monday about the NBA MVP candidacy of New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul, whom the Jazz will see tonight. The Jazz’s All-Star power forward opted instead to endorse another Western Conference guard, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant. “For what (Paul) does for that team, and the way he affects it, I think (he’s a deserving candidate),” Boozer said. “I think Kobe’s the favorite. If I had to give it to somebody I’d give it to Kobe, or Kevin Garnett because of what he did for Boston. “But I’m not taking anything away from Chris Paul,” he added. “Those are my two. Maybe even (Cleveland’s) LeBron (James) may be ahead of (Paul) a little bit, even though (James’) team has lost a little (too much) for me. Great player, though.”
Player of week are Kobe Bryant and Joe Johnson
The Atlanta Hawks’ Joe Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 31, through Sunday, April 6.
Johnson led the Hawks to a 3-1 week, which included wins over two playoff-bound Eastern Conference foes, Philadelphia and Toronto. Johnson averaged 25.3 points on .556 shooting from the field, 8.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds. Johnson also shot .455 from distance. For the season, Johnson is Atlanta’s leader in scoring, assists, free-throw percentage, three-point percentage and three-point field goals made.
Bryant helped the Lakers to a 3-0 week, which included wins over the Trail Blazers, Mavericks and Kings. For the week, Bryant averaged 30.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists while shooting a scorching .688 from three-point range (11-of-17). The Lakers are tied with San Antonio for the second best record in the Western Conference (53-24).
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey, New Orleans’ Chris Paul, Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala, Sacramento’s Kevin Martin, Toronto’s Rasho Nesterovic and Utah’s Deron Williams.
Apr. 6: Lakers 114, Kings 92
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 29 points, Vladimir Radmanovic matched his season high with 21 and the Lakers stayed on track for the Pacific Division title with a 114-92 victory over the Kings on Sunday night. Radmanovic hit five 3-pointers and tied his career high with 14 rebounds after a pleading pregame pep talk from coach Phil Jackson, while Pau Gasol added 20 points and nine rebounds as the Lakers won their fourth straight… Lamar Odom, who’s 19-of-22 in his last two games, had 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers snapped their longtime rivals’ four-game winning streak with an outstanding second half, with Bryant scoring 14 points and hitting three 3-pointers in the first 6:02 after halftime… Kevin Martin scored 22 points for the Kings, who simply seemed exhausted after winning at Denver one night earlier.
Lakers assign Coby Karl to D-League
The Los Angeles Lakers have re-assigned guard Coby Karl to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
Karl, who became the 11th NBA player assigned to a D-League affiliate earlier this season on November 28, was re-assigned to the D-Fenders February 14.
During his first assignment, Karl played in 10 games with the D-Fenders from November 29 – December 22, averaging 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 38.4 minutes while shooting .435 from three-point range and .492 from the field.
In three games during his second stint with the D-Fenders from February 14 – February 19, Karl averaged 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 37.2 minutes.
In 13 total games with the D-Fenders this season, Karl is averaging 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 38.1 minutes.
Earlier this season on February 19, Karl joined Lakers’ second-year guard Jordan Famar as the only other player in league history to see action in same-day D-League and NBA games, recording 15 points, five rebounds and six assists in 37 minutes during the D-Fenders’ 2:30 pm contest versus Tulsa. In the Lakers’ 7:30 pm game versus Atlanta, Karl posted five points and an assist in six minutes of action, marking the fourth D-League/NBA individual double-header in league history behind Farmar’s three during the 2006-07 season (April 1st, 3rd and 12th).
Signed by the Lakers as an undrafted rookie free agent on July 30, 2007, Karl has appeared in 17 games this season, averaging 1.8 points and 0.8 rebounds in 4.2 minutes.
Last season, the 6’5” guard averaged 14.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a senior at Boise State and was named First Team All-WAC. Karl, who left Boise State as the all-time leader in games played (127) and three-point field goals made (266), ranks third on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,698 career points.