The AP reports: Lamar Odom scored a season-high 31 points against a subpar Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant added 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Pacific Division-leading Lakers put a crimp in the Dallas Mavericks’ postseason push with a 112-108 victory on Friday night… Pau Gasol had 25 points and seven assists for Los Angeles, and Odom grabbed 10 rebounds. It was the sixth time this season that the Lakers have had three players with 20 or more points—all victories… Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 27 points, Jason Terry scored 25 and Josh Howard added 23. Jason Kidd had 10 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. This was the Mavericks’ 10th loss that was decided by four points or less.
Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog
Lakers blog – Los Angeles Lakers blog
Apr. 2: Lakers 104, Blazers 91
The AP reports: Pau Gasol had 10 points, six rebounds and seven assists in his first game in nearly three weeks, and the Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 104-91 for their second straight win after a pair of losses to two of the NBA’s weaker teams. Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and also had 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers (51-24), who trail New Orleans by 1 1/2 games and San Antonio by one game in the Western Conference standings… Derek Fisher scored 13 points, Lamar Odom had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Vladimir Radmanovic and Jordan Farmar added 10 points each for the Lakers, who have been without Andrew Bynum since he injured his left knee Jan. 13 against Memphis… Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster scored 23 points each for the Blazers. Steve Blake added 12 points and 10 assists and Aldridge had 11 points and 12 rebounds, but shot just 4-of-15. Brandon Roy, averaging a team-leading 19.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists, missed his third straight game because of a strained right groin.
Mar. 30: Lakers 126, Wizards 120 OT
For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant (just 7-of-24) had 26 points and 13 assists, Sasha Vujacuc (6-of-9, including 6-of-8 three-pointers) had 20, Vladimir Radmanovic (7-of-11, including 4-of-7 threes) had 18, and Derek Fisher (6-of-12, including 3-of-6 threes) scored 17.
For the Wizards, DeShawn Stevenson (9-of-15, including 8-of-12 three-pointers) had 27, Nick Young (10-of-16, including 3-of-4 threes) had 27, Caron Butler (6-of-17) had an awesome 17 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals, and Antawn Jamison (6-of-15) had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. The two teams combined for 31-of-57 from three-point range.
Mar. 28: Grizzlies 114, Lakers 111
The AP reports: Rudy Gay led five players in double figures with 28 points and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Lakers 114-111 despite 53 points by Kobe Bryant against the NBA’s worst road team Friday night… Bryant was limited to six points in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers nearly erased all of a 10-point deficit. He had 10 rebounds and one assist while taking 37 of the Lakers’ 94 shots. They attempted a franchise record 45 3-pointers, making 15. Darko Milicic had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Hakim Warrick 16 points, Kyle Lowry 11 and Mike Miller 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who are 6-30 on the road and 2-20 away from home against Western Conference teams.
Mar. 26: Bobcats 108, Lakers 95
The AP reports: Jason Richardson had 34 points and 10 rebounds, Raymond Felton added 13 points and 10 assists, and the lowly Bobcats stunned the Lakers 108-95 on Wednesday night in a game where Kobe Bryant drew two technical fouls in a span of 29 seconds late in the fourth quarter and was ejected… Matt Carroll added 18 points and Gerald Wallace had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Bobcats (26-56), who won for just the second time in eight games and snapped a six-game road losing streak. Emeka Okafor had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, which outrebounded the Lakers 52-40. Bryant had 27 points and six rebounds before leaving with 3:40 left and the Bobcats in control. Lamar Odom had 18 points and nine rebounds, Ronnie Turiaf scored 12 and Sasha Vujacic and Walton added 11 each for the Lakers.
Mar. 24: Lakers 135, Warriors 127
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 23 of his 30 points after halftime while playing with a gash under his left eye, and Lamar Odom had 23 points and 21 rebounds as the Lakers reclaimed the Western Conference’s top spot and avenged Sunday night’s 115-111 defeat… Los Angeles couldn’t have done it without Sasha Vujacic, who scored 19 points and hit a 3-pointer with 43 seconds left in overtime… “It’s unfortunate, in a situation like that, that we didn’t get an opportunity to get a shot up,” said Baron Davis, who had 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists… Monta Ellis had 18 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Warriors, who have lost four of seven in a critical stretch for their playoff hopes. Stephen Jackson added 29 points, but Golden State’s lead over Denver for the conference’s final playoff berth dwindled to a half-game.
Dirk tells InsideHoops Kobe is MVP
I recently met with current league MVP Dirk Nowitzki and got his MVP opinion:
InsideHoops.com: Other than yourself and any of your teammates, who are the official Dirk Nowitzki candidates for the league MVP?
Dirk Nowitzki: That’s tough. LeBron certainly has a case in the East. On the Celtics, KG has had a great year. And in the West, to me it’s been Kobe, the way he’s been scoring, really setting the tone every night for his team, and to me he’s the best player in the league anyway, scoring-wise and all-around player. I’d probably give it to Kobe. Those three definitely deserve it.
The item is here.
– Jeff
Pau Gasol sprains left ankle
The AP reports: Pau Gasol sprained his left ankle and needed help limping off the court in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.
Gasol was running into the lane looking for a potential offensive rebound when he appeared to step on teammate Vladimir Radmanovic’s foot.
Clippers sign Smush Parker
The Los Angeles Clippers today signed free agent guard William “Smush” Parker. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.
Parker appeared in nine games for the Miami Heat in 2007-08, averaging 4.8 points, 1.7 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game before he was waived by the Heat on March 10. Parker has played in 255 career NBA games and has career averages of 9.2 points, 2.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game.
The former Fordham University star joins the Clippers after appearing in all 82 games for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2005-06 and 2006-07. A four-year NBA veteran, Parker has had stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers (66 games in 2002-03), Detroit Pistons (11 games in 2004-05), Phoenix Suns (5 games in 2004-05) and Lakers (164 games in 2005-2007).
Parker was not drafted in the 2002 NBA Draft after leaving Fordham University following his sophomore year. The Newark, New Jersey native originally signed with Cleveland in 2002-03, and also played with Aris Thessaloniki in the FIBA Europe League before splitting the 2004-05 campaign with Detroit and Phoenix. The Lakers signed Parker prior to 2005-06, and he proceeded to enjoy his finest season, becoming the only Lakers player to start all 82 games while averaging 11.5 points and 3.7 assists, and finishing ninth in the NBA in total steals (140). The next year Parker started 80 of 82 games for the Lakers, averaging 11.1 points and 2.8 assists while ranking eighth in the NBA in steals-to-turnovers ratio (0.78).
Heat waive Smush Parker
The Miami HEAT announced today that they have requested waivers on guard Smush Parker.
No word yet on the exact buyout agreement, but we’ll post it here and on our rumors page when it’s known.
There is no guarantee Parker gets signed by another team. Not after such public disagreements with Pat Riley and Lakers coach Phil Jackson, two of the game’s most respected coaches.
Parker, who was signed as a free agent by the HEAT on July 27, 2007, appeared in nine games for Miami this season, averaging 4.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 20.3 minutes per game.
The HEAT roster currently stands at 14 players.