Los Angeles Lakers Blog – Page 75 – NBA Blog

Dwight Howard faces the Magic in Orlando tonight

The number 12 is no longer sacred in Orlando.

The man who used to wear it, Los Angeles Lakers’ center Dwight Howard, also once shouldered the Magic’s hopes of attaining an elusive first NBA championship.

But after eight years of chasing it, and taking Orlando through one of the most turbulent seasons in its history last year, the man who called himself Superman is now the city’s biggest villain.

He returns for the first time Tuesday since his offseason trade to the Lakers to face the jilted fans, front office members and handful of teammates that he left behind.

”I’m not sure,” Magic point guard Jameer Nelson said when asked about his expectations for Tuesday. ”Obviously the atmosphere is gonna be probably a little turned up, a littler crazier than we’ve had so far this year.”

Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and Glen Davis are the only players on the Magic’s roster that have previously played with Howard. With Davis out with a broken foot and Turkoglu serving a suspension for violating the NBA’s drug policy, only Nelson will play in the rematch.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Dwight Howard grabs 21 rebounds, Lakers beat Bulls 90-81

Dwight Howard scored 16 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, Kobe Bryant chipped in with 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 90-81 Sunday.

The Lakers improved to 33-31, the first time this season they have been two games over .500. They also moved one-half game of the Utah Jazz and into sole possession of the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Lakers led almost throughout, only briefly falling behind by two points in the second quarter, and led by as many as 18 in the third period.

Steve Nash had 16 points for the Lakers.

Nate Robinson led the Bulls with 19 points, and Joakim Noah had 18 points and 17 rebounds…

After a sluggish first half by both teams, the Lakers came out hot to start the third quarter. Led by 10 points from Nash, Los Angeles went on a 21-7 run to begin the quarter, capped by a 3-pointer by Jodie Meeks that gave the Lakers a 65-47 lead. But the Bulls responded with an 8-0 spurt to narrow their deficit to 65-55…

Bryant took only three shots in the first quarter, going scoreless in the opening 12 minutes. Metta World Peace was cold as well, missing four open 3-pointers, but the Lakers held an early lead thanks to Howard’s efforts down low. Though he missed all three free throws he took in the quarter, Howard was 3 of 3 from the field for six points and grabbed seven rebounds.

— Reported by Joe Haakenson of the Associated Press

Stan Van Gundy sticks up for Dwight Howard

In the war of words between Dwight Howard and his former Orlando Magic teammates, one significant voice weighed in on the side of the Los Angeles Lakers center.

Howard said that his former Magic coach, Stan Van Gundy, reached out to him Thursday to offer support.

“He knows I would never disrespect my teammates,” said Howard after Lakers’ shootaround Friday in advance of their game against the Toronto Raptors. “He understood exactly what I was saying and that’s what he expressed.”

Howard expanded on the topic after the Lakers’ 118-116 overtime victory over the Raptors, saying, “Both of us, we know how great we were together. I’ve always told him, if we had a second run together, that would be great.

“I would always tell him what my goal was, I want to be one of the greatest to play and he would always push me to get there. So, I respect him.”

Van Gundy believes Howard wasn’t trying to bad-mouth any of his former teammates.

— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles

Steve Nash mostly a shooting guard for Lakers

Steve Nash went to get the ball because, well, Nash has always had the ball in his hands.

Midway through the first quarter Friday night, as Earl Clark picked up the ball to inbound it, Nash held up his hands as Clark looked at him and Kobe Bryant, who was holding up his hands as well. Clark ended up passing it to Nash, who immediately gave the ball to Bryant and ran down the court toward the right arc.

This is Nash’s new role with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is no longer one of the league’s best point guards, but rather its newest shooting guard.

Sure there are still moments when Nash will bring up the ball depending on defensive adjustments by the opposition, but more often than not, Nash is patrolling the perimeter and waiting for Bryant to get him the ball.

“It’s a big adjustment for me and I am trying to embrace it,” Nash said. “I’m trying to do what I can to help the team. It’s not something I’m accustomed. It’s been a difficult transition in some ways, but at the same time I love being here and I really want to help the team the best I can.”

— Reported by Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles

Kobe Bryant doing what he can to salvage season for Lakers

It was Kobe Bryant’s 1,443rd game as a Los Angeles Laker. And there he was on Wednesday night, soaking his 34-year-old feet in ice water, feet that helped carry the Lakers to a 108-102 victory over the New Orleans Hornets at the New Orleans Arena, one that left the 31-31 Lakers 2½ games out the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Because the Lakers remain in danger of missing the playoffs for only the second time during Kobe’s 17th season in Los Angeles, Kobe’s drive to get them into the postseason has become one of the NBA’s most interesting sidebars.

To say the least, it has been a wild ride. The Lakers are playing for their second head coach this season. And their legendary owner Jerry Buss died of cancer at a time he felt he had put together a team, with the acquisition of guys like Dwight Howard and Steve Nash joining folks like Kobe and Pau Gasol, good enough to win a 17th NBA championship.

Let’s say this much. Bryant is doing his best in what seems to be a lost cause.

— Reported by Peter Finney of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Lakers assign Darius Morris and Robert Sacre to D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers today assigned Darius Morris and Robert Sacre to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers’ NBA Development League affiliate. The assignments are the record 143rd and 144th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons. Morris becomes the record 55th NBA player to have been assigned to the NBA D-League this season, while Sacre is on his third assignment of the season.

Morris (6-4, 190, Michigan) has played in 42 games this season for Los Angeles, averaging 4.4 points, 1.7 assists and 1.2 rebounds. On Dec. 16, he tallied 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field in a 111-98 win over the 76ers. He appeared in one game on assignment last season for the D-Fenders and scored 21 points in a 99-98 win over the Dakota Wizards.

Sacre (7-0, 260, Gonzaga) has appeared in 27 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 1.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 7.2 minutes. He has played in four games on assignment with the D-Fenders, averaging 11.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 31.0 minutes. He returned to the Lakers following a 22-point performance vs. Sioux Falls at the 2013 NBA D-League Showcase in Reno, Nev.

Both players are expected to join the D-Fenders and be available when the team hosts the Austin Toros on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Pau Gasol hopes to get clearance for running drills soon

Assuming he doesn’t experience any setbacks, Pau Gasol plans to seek medical clearance to participate in running drills once the Lakers returns Thursday from a two-day trip that includes stops in Oklahoma City (tonight) and New Orleans (Wednesday).

When the Lakers (30-30) play the Oklahoma City Thunder (43-16) tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena, Gasol will have missed 12 games in the past month since tearing the plantar fascia of his right foot. Gasol traveled with the Lakers and spent time at the end of the team’s morning shootaround today with strength and conditioning coach Tim DiFrancesco performing various exercises that test his gluteal and neuro muscles.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Kobe Bryant discusses eating a proper diet

“Diet is always the hardest thing,” Bryant said. “We’re accustomed to eating what we want to eat whenever we want to eat it. You become comfortable with that. A change in that is a change in your lifestyle. That’s been the most difficult.”

Bryant maintained he never lost focus with his diet, workout regiment or sacrificing time with family for the sake of maximizing his play.

“After so many years, it becomes easy to lose focus,” Bryant said. “Some guys lose focus from game to game. I take it as a challenge to try to be challenged for many many years.”

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Kobe scores 33, Lakers beat Wolves 116-94

Starting with Kobe Bryant’s soaring dunk over Nikola Pekovic on their second possession, the Los Angeles Lakers jumped to a big lead against a woeful opponent and never fumbled it away while moving to the brink of a .500 record.

After the Lakers’ tumultuous season, such simple achievements qualify as serious progress toward a playoff spot.

Bryant scored 33 points and Antawn Jamison added 17 in the Lakers’ 21st consecutive victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 116-94 on Thursday night.

The Lakers (29-30) have won 12 of 17 and five of seven while moving within two games of Houston for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with their longest stretch of solid play this year. They’re getting steady leadership from Bryant, who has reasserted himself as a scorer after working as a setup man for several weeks.

”I’ve been in attack mode since the break. It’s go time,” Bryant said. ”We’re getting a little closer, and we’re starting to get in more of a striking distance where you start watching (the playoff race).”

Bryant and Jodie Meeks each hit four of Los Angeles’ 16 3-pointers, and Meeks finished with 16 points. Bryant had 22 points in a strong first half for the Lakers, focused on scoring while the Timberwolves overcompensated defensively for the low-post absence of Andrei Kirilenko, who has a strained right calf, and Pekovic, who left early with an abdominal strain…

J.J. Barea scored 20 points and Luke Ridnour added 19 for the short-handed Timberwolves, who have lost four straight and 20 of 24. Ricky Rubio had 13 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, but thanks to its latest injury woes, Minnesota never threated to get its first road win over the Lakers since Dec. 2, 2005.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

The Lakers moved within two games of Houston for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. … Bryant had two steals to become the 15th NBA player with at least 18,000 for his career. … Bryant is 8-for-14 from 3-point range in the last three games after shooting 9-for-49 in his previous 18. … Dante Cunningham started in place of Kirilenko and finished with five points and three rebounds in 33 minutes.

— Reported by NBA.com

Metta World Peace retroactively given flagrant foul

The NBA has retroactively given Metta World Peace a flagrant foul for a play in Denver against the Nuggets on Monday.

In the final seconds of the third quarter, World Peace connected with an elbow to what looks like the face of Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried. No foul was called live by the officials (which would have meant an ejection), but the league upgraded the call on review.

World Peace now leads the league in flagrant foul points with five, tied with teammate Dwight Howard.

— Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)