James’ layup late lifts Lakers past Clippers, 103-101

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers showed some rust.

They knocked it off with time to spare.

Anthony Davis scored 34 points, James had the go-ahead basket with 12.8 seconds left and the Lakers moved closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs by topping the Los Angeles Clippers 103-101 on Thursday night in the second game of the NBA’s re-opening doubleheader.

James had 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to help the Lakers move 6 1/2 games ahead of the Clippers in the West with seven games remaining. Kyle Kuzma added 16 points.

“It felt like a real game to me, two teams battling. ... Can’t complain for the first game,” Davis said.

Paul George had 30 points and Kawhi Leonard scored 28 for the Clippers, who had an 11-point lead midway through the third in a game with deep ebbs and flows. The Clippers got that lead after a 26-5 run; the Lakers immediately rebutted with a 36-14 run to reclaim control.

And it still came down to the final moments.

George’s 3-pointer with 1:50 left cut the Lakers’ lead to 99-98. James muscled his way to a layup on the next possession, and then George hit another 3 to tie the game at 101 with 29 seconds remaining.

James followed his own miss down the lane for the go-ahead basket, then was brilliant on the last defensive possession — forcing the ball out of Leonard’s hands and covering George as his 3-point try at the buzzer misfired.

“We can’t have self-inflicted wounds and I thought we had too many of them,” said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, whose team — which remains short-handed with Lou Williams still in quarantine and Montrezl Harrell tending to a family matter — gave up 29 points off turnovers.

Thursday marked the NBA’s first game action in 141 days, the league getting back to work after the coronavirus pandemic forced a shutdown.

During the pandemic, a renewed discussion about racial injustice happened in this country — the conversation that surrounds this NBA restart. The courts have “Black Lives Matter” on them, and the Lakers and Clippers knelt together during the national anthem in a silent protest to demand equality. New Orleans and Utah did the same in the night’s opener.

James — who is going to win his first assist title — had five in the first quarter to get teammates going, and then his first basket of the restart came on a dunk early in the second quarter to put the Lakers up 37-24.

But for a stretch that basically spanned a full quarter, spanning the second and third periods, the Lakers couldn’t make a shot. They went 1 for 10 to end the half, then 0 for 9 to start the third and the Clippers took advantage.

They turned a 50-40 deficit into a 66-55 edge in the third. And then it was the Lakers’ turn to rally, slicing the Clippers’ lead to 77-76 going into the fourth.

“It was a good game,” Leonard said. “Still had fun out there. It was great to be back on the floor.”

TIP-INS

Clippers: The Clippers had won 11 of their last 12 games in the state of Florida. In both of those losses, Dion Waiters played for the winning side — the first being a game in Miami. ... Leonard was charged with two offensive fouls in the first quarter, the first time in his career that happened.

Lakers: The Lakers got to the 50-win mark for the 33rd time in franchise history, and this is the 12th time that James has helped a team get to that many wins in his 17 seasons. ... James’ 3-pointer with 8:30 left extended his NBA record of consecutive regular-season games with at least 10 points to 989.

CELEB ROW

NBA players are permitted to attend games in the bubble as fans — with their seats 6 feet apart to satisfy social distancing rules. Among those who attended: Portland’s Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozan and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry.

UP NEXT

Clippers: New Orleans on Saturday.

Lakers: Toronto on Saturday.

Associated Press

Kobe among eight 2020 finalists for Basketball Hall of Fame

NEW YORK, United States - Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers legend killed last month in a helicopter crash, was among eight finalists named Friday for 2020 induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star in his first year of eligibility, is considered a certainty to join the ranks of the sport's immortals by being enshrined at the honor shrine in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The announcement of Hall of Fame inductees will be April 4 in Atlanta at the US college "Final Four" with 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee needed to join the select list.

Enshrinement will take place at ceremonies in Springfield from August 28 to 30.

Other first-time finalists include 15-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Tim Duncan, 15-time NBA All-Star and nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection Kevin Garnett and 10-time Women's NBA All-Star and four-time Olympic champion Tamika Catchings.

Prior finalists with another chance include US college coaches Kim Mulkey, Barbara Stevens, Eddie Sutton and two-time NBA champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich.

Bryant's tragic death at age 41, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, has had an impact on the Hall of Fame selections.

"We knew this class had the potential of being one of the most historic of all time," said Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo.

"The untimely passing of Kobe Bryant has left us in a state of reflective mourning and we're proud to honor his legacy while also recognizing seven other individuals who have meant so much to our game.

"We congratulate our finalists and those who have supported them on their journeys and we look forward to revealing the Class of 2020 at the Final Four in Atlanta."

While an international committee selection will also be enshrined this year, other direct election categories involving pioneers and contributors have been suspended for 2020.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'We'll be champions before you know it': Bryant confident of Lakers recovery

LOS ANGELES - Kobe Bryant is confident the Los Angeles Lakers are on the road to recovery and will soon be "laughing" at fans of the all-conquering Golden State Warriors.

Lakers legend Bryant said the iconic NBA franchise would soon be challenging for honours once more after failing to make the play-offs for the past five seasons.

The Lakers, who signed LeBron James in the close season in a bid to transform their fortunes, are currently 14-9 in the Western Conference.

Asked if he believed his former team would win another NBA title soon, Bryant replied: "Of course they will. Of course they will."

"They have determination to figure it out. They will figure it out," said Bryant, who was speaking at a Lakers event held at the Staples Center late on Monday.

"They have talented players. So enjoy the journey because we'll be champions before you know it. Then we'll just be laughing at all the Warrior fans," he added, referring to the reigning NBA champions.

However while Bryant expressed confidence about the Lakers' renewal, he warned that James could not be expected to shoulder the burden of the team's recovery alone.

"He's always had the spotlight, right? He's been able to deal with that gracefully," Bryant said. "I think the difference here is that you have a collection of players with a lot of talent all young. And so the challenge is, can they figure out what their games are individually, sooner rather than later?

"It's a test of Bron's patience, and also doing what he needs to do to keep the team's head above water. So it's a balancing act."

rcw/iwd

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Lakers blow out Suns, win third straight

Kyle Kuzma had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past the visiting Phoenix Suns 120-96 on Sunday.

LeBron James had 22 points, six rebounds and eight assists; Brandon Ingram had 15 points; and Michael Beasley scored a season-high 14 off the bench for the Lakers, who have won three in a row and climbed a season-high five games above .500.

JaVale McGee also scored 14 for Los Angeles.

Richaun Holmes scored a season-high 15 points off the bench, Trevor Ariza and Josh Jackson scored 13 apiece, and Deandre Ayton finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who have lost five in a row.

Phoenix leading scorer Devin Booker, who came in 12th in the league in scoring (24.5 ppg), left late in the first half after straining his hamstring while chasing down a loose ball. Booker missed three games at the end of October with a hamstring injury and sat out a 99-85 loss to the visiting Orlando Magic on Friday night because of a sore foot.

The Lakers turned the game around by outscoring the Suns 40-15 in the second quarter.

Phoenix got off to a strong start with Booker on the floor, surging to a 25-8 lead with 5:27 left in the first quarter.

The Suns still maintained a 10-point advantage entering the second quarter, but Los Angeles scored the first 10 points and tied the score at 31-31 on a 3-pointer by Ingram 2:15 into the period. The Lakers used another 9-0 run later in the quarter to take the lead for good, 48-40, with 3:54 left in the first half.

Mikal Bridges ended that run with a 3-pointer, but Los Angeles would score the next five points to take its first double-digit lead at 53-43. During that run, Booker left with the hamstring injury.

The Lakers closed the first half by scoring the final eight points, capped by a 3-pointer by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 0.7 seconds left, giving them their biggest lead at 61-46.

Phoenix could only pull as close as nine with just over eight minutes left in the third quarter. Kuzma scored five points in an 8-0 surge late in the quarter to move Los Angeles ahead 92-69.

--Field Level Media

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: LeBron scores 28, as Lakers down Mavs for 2nd straight win

LeBron James scored 28 points and Brandon Ingram added 19 as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half and pulled away for a 114-103 victory Friday over the visiting Dallas Mavericks.

Kyle Kuzma scored 15 points with 12 rebounds as the Lakers answered consecutive defeats earlier in the week with victories on back-to-back days after they built a big lead and held on against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.

The Lakers outscored the Mavericks 61-45 in the second half and held Dallas to just 17 points in the third quarter.

Harrison Barnes scored 29 points and Dwight Powell added 17 off the bench for the Mavericks, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. Dallas entered with seven victories in their previous eight games.

The Mavericks got off to a fast start, taking a 17-6 lead four minutes into the game as the Lakers started just 2 of 9 from the field. Dallas led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter before the Lakers finally started to chip away at the deficit.

The Lakers trailed 58-53 at halftime, then opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 61-60 lead and held a 78-75 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The Lakers were 5 of 8 from 3-point range in the third quarter after going 1 of 11 from distance in the first half.

Tyson Chandler added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won five of their last seven games and nine of their last 12.

Dennis Smith Jr. scored 13 points and Wesley Matthews added 11 for the Mavericks, who moved back to .500 at 10-10. They had been over .500 for the past two days, the first time in three years they had been above .500 outside of the first week of the season.

DeAndre Jordan had 12 rebounds for the Mavericks, the 18th time in 20 games he has reached double digits this season. He was coming off a season-low seven-rebound game at Houston

The Lakers improved to 5-1 against the Mavericks since the start of last season.

Mavericks guard J.J. Barea was ejected with 4:08 to play for receiving his second technical foul.

Lakers center JaVale McGee fouled out with 11:28 remaining in the game, while guard Lonzo Ball fouled out with two minutes remaining after scoring 10 points.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: James scores 38 as Lakers top Pacers

LeBron James scored a game-high 38 points as the Los Angeles Lakers started big and finished strong while outlasting the visiting Indiana Pacers for a 104-96 victory Thursday.

The Lakers opened with a 13-0 lead and had a 38-15 advantage after one quarter before the Pacers started to rally. Indiana held a brief lead in the third quarter, erasing a 24-point deficit, but the Lakers turned it on again to finish off the win.

Domantas Sabonis scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds off the bench for the Pacers, while Bojan Bogdanovic added 14 points. Indiana shot just 5 of 25 (20 percent) from the field in the first quarter, missing both of its 3-point shots in the opening 12 minutes.

Brandon Ingram scored 14 points and Josh Hart had 13 for the Lakers, who closed out the third quarter on a 17-6 run after Indiana took a 69-66 lead on a Tyreke Evans 3-pointer. James contributed nine rebounds and seven assists.

The Pacers pulled within a point at 89-88 with just under five minutes remaining on a jump shot from Sabonis. However, James subsequently scored six consecutive points -- a 3-pointer and a three-point play -- and the Lakers were never threatened again.

Thaddeus Young had 11 points for the Pacers, while Cory Joseph and Doug McDermott had 10 each. McDermott was coming off consecutive games of 21 points as the Pacers saw their brief two-game win streak come to an end.

The Pacers were nearly as dominating in the second quarter as the Lakers were in the first, outscoring Los Angeles 35-18 while going 6 of 10 from 3-point range, while the Lakers were 0 of 6 from long distance in the quarter.

The Lakers were aggressive from the outset two days after they were dominated at Denver in a 117-85 defeat to the Nuggets. The Thursday victory ended a brief two-game slide for the Lakers, which came after they had won 9 of 11 games.

James has scored at least 35 points four times this season, and he topped 30 points for the third time in the past six games.

Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11 points each for the Lakers.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Reports: Lakers sign F Beasley to 1-year deal

The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to sign free agent forward Michael Beasley to a one-year, $3.5 million deal, according to multiple reports Friday.

Beasley, 29, spent last year with the New York Knicks, averaging 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Those were his highest marks since the 2010-11 campaign, and he managed them in 22.3 minutes per game while appearing in 74 contests (30 starts). Beasley also shot 39.5 percent from 3-point range last season.

The second overall pick in 2008, Beasley will be joining his seventh NBA team, including two stints with the Miami Heat. During the second stint, he played the 2013-14 season with new Lakers teammate LeBron James, as the Heat went on to lose the NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurs.

ESPN reports Beasley also drew interest from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He joins James, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Rajon Rondo as the Lakers' free agent acquisitions this summer.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Lakers stop Spurs for 3rd win in row

Brandon Ingram scored 26 points, and Lonzo Ball contributed 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Los Angeles Lakers knocked off the San Antonio Spurs 93-81 on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Larry Nance Jr. added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who won their season-best third consecutive game. Los Angeles forced 20 turnovers and halted a seven-game home losing streak versus San Antonio.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points for the Spurs, who were without standout small forward Kawhi Leonard (shoulder) for the third straight game. Bryn Forbes added 18 points for San Antonio.

Ingram made 11 of 21 shots while scoring 20 or more points for the third time in the past four games.

"My teammates give me confidence to be in the right spot and make plays," Ingram said in a postgame interview on TNT. "It feels pretty good."

The Lakers racked up 15 steals, including five by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and four by Ball.

Nance delivered a dunk to give the Lakers a 72-62 lead early in the fourth quarter before San Antonio controlled the next four-plus minutes and pulled within 77-75 on a 21-footer by Forbes with 6:23 remaining.

Los Angeles answered by putting the game away. Caldwell-Pope and Nance slammed home back-to-back dunks and Ingram scored consecutive baskets as part of a 13-0 surge to push the Los Angeles advantage to 90-75 with 3:11 to play.

San Antonio recovered from an 11-point halftime lead to take a 53-52 lead on a 3-pointer by Forbes with 6:42 left in the third quarter.

Los Angeles followed with a 16-4 burst with Caldwell-Pope scoring eight of the points, including a 3-pointer to cap the spurt to give the Lakers a 68-57 lead. The Spurs tallied the final five points of the stanza to move within six.

Ingram scored 18 first-half points and Ball added 11 as the Lakers took a 49-38 advantage into halftime.

Los Angeles used a 25-3 spurt to turn a three-point deficit with 3:01 left in the first quarter into a 37-18 lead with 7:16 left in the half. A dunk by Nance ended a run of 17 straight Lakers points to make it 29-15 early in the second quarter, and Ball knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a 19-point margin.

San Antonio answered with a 13-3 push to cut its deficit to nine and later got within 42-36 after a 3-pointer by Pau Gasol with 2:01 left before the break.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Wall, Beal power Wizards past Lakers

LOS ANGELES - John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 45 points as the Washington Wizards gained some revenge and hopefully some needed confidence with a 111-95 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Otto Porter contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds on Thursday for the Wizards, who had lost five of seven starting with a 102-99 road loss against the Lakers on October 25.

Washington, who improved to 6-5 on the season, also stopped a three-game home losing streak during which they allowed an average of 122 points per game.

Brook Lopez and Jordan Crawford each had 15 points as seven Lakers scored in double figures. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma each scored 13, and Julius Randle had 11 for the struggling Lakers.

Lakers rookie guard Lonzo Ball had another poor shooting night while running the offense. Ball, who entered shooting 29 percent from the floor, finished three of 12 overall and one of seven on three-point tries.

Ball wasn't alone as Los Angeles shot 36 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers in its second road game in as many nights.

By comparison the Wizards drained 51.8 percent of their field-goal attempts, scored 50 points in the paint and led by as many as 21 points.

Washington shot 60 percent from the field and scored its most points in any first half this season for a 69-56 halftime lea

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Warriors beat Lakers, set NBA record with 16-0 start

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 111-77, to set the NBA record for the best start to a season.

The defending champions have won their first 16 games, surpassing the previous record of 15-0 set by Washington in 1948-49 and by the Houston Rockets in 1993-94.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 24 points while Draymond Green chipped in 18 points and 7 rebounds.

The Warriors are looking to extend the winning streak to 17 against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday (Manila time).

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Once-proud Lakers fall on lean times with dismal 0-4 start

LOS ANGELES - "How the mighty have fallen" would be a massive understatement for frustrated Los Angeles Lakers fans after their team's worst start to a National Basketball Association season in nearly 60 years.

A once-proud franchise which can boast 16 NBA championship banners hanging from the rafters at its home venue in downtown Los Angeles lost their first four games to remain rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

Not since 1957 has the team launched a season so poorly, and that was when they were based in Minneapolis, Minnesota where their former standout center George Mikan was head coach. The Lakers began that 1957-58 season 0-7.

"No, it doesn't bother me," five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant said with heavy sarcasm after he and his team mates were pounded 127-104 by the Golden State Warriors on Saturday to slip to 0-4 for the season. "Festive and jovial about it."

Bryant, who piled up a team-high 28 points on 12-for-28 shooting, later conceded: "I'm not happy about it. Also nothing you can do about it. Gotta move on to the next one.

"Just stay the course. We still have a lot of room for improvement, but we're moving in the right direction."

The Lakers were always likely to struggle this season after assembling a roster that many viewed as inferior to the one that ended 2013-14 well under .500 with a 27-55 record, having never before lost so many games in a single campaign.

Though they acquired Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer, plus Julius Randle, the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, they lost four-time All-Star Pau Gasol, who opted to leave for the Chicago Bulls.

INJURY PROBLEMS

Injuries, which posed all sorts of problems for the Lakers last season, have once again rocked the team.

Twice NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash, who has battled a bad back for years, was last month ruled out for the entire season after re-injuring his back while carrying his bags.

Rookie Randle broke his right leg in his first game, the Lakers' 108-90 loss to the Houston Rockets last week, and is expected to miss the rest of the season after having surgery.

The struggling Lakers, who began the season with the most difficult schedule in the league (four games in five days), have also been without Nick Young (right thumb) and Ryan Kelly (sore right hamstring).

Among very few bright spots for the team over those four games have been the sizzling form, in bursts, by guard Bryant, surprising consistency and sharp shooting from forward Jordan Hill and much needed offense off the bench from Ed Davis.

Apart from the early proliferation of injuries, the biggest headaches so far for Lakers head coach Byron Scott, who was appointed in July, have been the poor form shown by point guard Lin and forward Boozer, along with a woeful defense.

Lin has struggled with his shooting and committed far too many turnovers while Boozer has failed to hit double digits in three of the first four games.

The Lakers rank 30th among the 30 teams in the league in both points allowed (118 per game) and fast-break points allowed (21.2).

"Defensively, we've just got to get tougher and we've got to get a little bit grittier," said Scott. "Sometimes we lose focus after we score and all of a sudden we relax. Our bigs got to do a better job."

(Editing by Frank Pingue)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Healthy Bryant seeks to silence critics

LOS ANGELES - All eyes will be on Kobe Bryant as he enters his 19th NBA campaign after injuries kept the league's highest paid player sidelined for all but six contests last season.

But even a healthy Bryant -- and his iron will to win -- might not be enough to rescue the once proud Los Angeles Lakers franchise that has fallen on hard times.

Bryant is eager to prove he can once again be a dominant force, but unlike previous seasons when he had fellow stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Pau Gasol at his side, he no longer has a supporting cast that translates into winning championships.

"It's a mixture of things," Bryant said. "It's a mixture of excitement, it's a mixture of a little nervousness, it's a mixture of rage.

"I'm trying to see if I can prove to myself that I can be myself. All those words and the doubts add fuel to that."

Bryant signed a two-year extension with the Lakers last year worth $48.5 million.

He played just a half dozen games last season because of an Achilles tear he suffered in April 2013. His return from that injury was cut short after he fractured his knee cap early in the 2013-14 season.

Bryant, who is arguably the greatest Laker player in history, says he is finally back to full health.

"I am past progressions," he said. "I don't know how to best say that. I'm me."

New Lakers head coach Byron Scott agrees.

"His wind is good, the rust is starting to come off," said Scott.

"He has been in the league for 18 years, is a veteran and will be a Hall of Famer. He dissects defences and knows what to do."

Others say that Father Time is catching up with the 36-year-old American, who has played all 18 seasons with the Lakers.

Bryant has come under criticism from fans and NBA observers who blame him for the Lakers' steady decline.

Owner Jeanie Buss defended Bryant this week, saying people that refuse to play with him are "losers" and not welcome in the Lakers' dressing room.

"Any free agent that would be afraid to play with Kobe Bryant is probably a loser, and I'm glad they wouldn't come to the team," Buss told ESPN.

Buss' comments come in the wake of an ESPN's magazine article in which several NBA figures and Lakers employees were critical of Bryant.

The article claimed that the Lakers have had trouble attracting free agent players because of Bryant's reputation as being hard to get along with.

"If there is somebody that's on our payroll who is saying things like that, I'll soon get to the bottom of it, and they won't be working for us anymore," Buss said.

Bryant has had a brilliant career and trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Michael Jordan on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

But he also owns the league record for most combined career field goal misses in regular season and playoffs.

The Lakers have won five championships with Bryant, though they haven't made a trip to the finals since 2010 and missed the playoffs entirely last season for the just the third time in their 38-year history after finishing with a 27-55 record.

They hired a new coach in Scott and brought in Carlos Boozer and backup guard Jeremy Lin but most don't believe that will be enough to offset the loss of free agents Gasol, Jordan Farmar and Jodie Meeks.

"We are all guys that put our hard hats on," said Bryant.

Scott, who is the fifth Laker coach in the past four years, has discussed with Bryant about reducing his minutes this season.

"I expect him to play 82 games and to play well," Scott said. "He's a guy who's still going to average 23, 24 points per game. The biggest thing is for him to stay healthy and keeping his minutes to a minimum where he can play those 82 games."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Bryant ready for regular NBA season

Kobe Bryant is ready for the regular season according to Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott, who shut down Bryant for the last two games of the preseason to rest him for the games that count.

Bryant sat out Wednesday as the Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 94-86 in Ontario, Calif., and he won't play Friday when the Lakers oppose the Sacramento Kings in Las Vegas.

--

The Philadelphia 76ers and point guard Michael Carter-Williams established Nov. 13 as the target date for Carter-Williams' return, ESPN.com reported Thursday.

Carter-Williams, last season's Rookie of the Year, had shoulder surgery in May.

- -

The Orlando Magic signed center Nikola Vucevic to a contract extension, the team announced.

The team did not provide details of the signing, but multiple media outlets reported earlier that it was a four-year extension.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Lakers guard Steve Nash to sit out season

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash may have played his last game in the NBA after being ruled out of the upcoming season on Thursday because of a recurring back problem.

The Lakers said Nash, 40, who has been strongly tipped to retire after the 2014-15 campaign, had been sidelined after meeting with team doctors who advised him to sit out the season.

"As disappointed as we are for ourselves and our fans, we're even more disappointed for Steve," said Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.

"We know how hard he's worked the last two years to try to get his body right for the rigours of the NBA, and how badly he wants to play, but unfortunately he simply hasn't been able to get there up to this point in time. Steve has been a consummate professional, and we greatly appreciate his efforts."

The Canadian has said previously he expects this to be the final season of his brilliant career but he has not formally announced his retirement. This would be his 19th NBA season.

"Being on the court this season has been my top priority and it is disappointing to not be able to do that right now," said Nash.

"I've worked very hard to stay healthy and unfortunately my recent setback makes performing at full capacity difficult.

"I will continue to support my team during this period of rest, and will focus on my long-term health."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Kobe, Lakers beat Hawks to reach .500

MANILA, Philippines – Kobe Bryant scored 34 points, including the game-winning lay-up with nine seconds left, as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the visiting Atlanta Hawks, 99-98, Sunday at the Staples Center (Monday morning in Manila).

The win allowed the Lakers to post a .500 record (30-30) for the first time since December 2012, and puts them 2.5 games behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Lakers made over 68% of their field goal attempts in the first quarter as they got off to a quick start, but Atlanta guards Devin Harris and Kyle Korver waxed hot in the third quarter as the Hawks erased a 16-point deficit.

Bryant came up big for the Lakers in the final quarter, scoring 11 points – including a tomahawk dunk past Hawks forward Josh Smith that left the Staples Center buzzing.

"I just wanted to attack. Take the game right to them. Be aggressive, be physical," Bryant said, as quoted by NBA.com.

"I don't know where he's getting his young legs from, but obviously, the last three or four possessions he went right to the rim and made some incredible shots," said Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni.

A slam dunk by Al Horford gave the Hawks their last lead of the game at 98-97, before Bryant put the Lakers ahead for good with a difficult, contested lay-up over Smith.

Steve Nash had a double-double for Los Angeles with 15 points and 10 assists, while Dwight Howard finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds.

Horford finished with 24 points for the Hawks, while Smith had 19 points, seven assists and seven rebounds but missed all six of his free throw attempts and committed a crucial turnover in their final possession.

The Hawks dropped to 33-25 this season, still good for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Lakers' Howard thinks D'Antoni good fit

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Lakers big man Dwight Howard said he was "excited" by the prospect of working with Mike D'Antoni, who was named as the club's new head coach in a surprise announcement Monday morning.

The move came after widespread reports that Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson -- who guided the Lakers to five NBA titles before retiring in 2011, was front-runner for the job.

Howard said he knew Lakers fans were keen to see Jackson return. It would have been hard not to after the chants of "We want Phil" that rang out at two Lakers games since head coach Mike Brown was sacked on Friday.

"I really didn't know what was going to happen, besides what I heard at the game, 'We want Phil,'" Howard said Monday, after D'Antoni's hiring was announced.

"I'm excited for D'Antoni," he added. "I think it will be good for us."

But the decision didn't come without drama.

Jackson himself said in a statement quoted by the Los Angeles Times that after preliminary talks with Lakers executives on Saturday he thought he had until Monday to render his decision.

Instead, he said, general manager Mitch Kupchak phoned him around midnight on Sunday night to tell him D'Antoni had been hired.

"The decision is of course theirs to make," Jackson said. "I am gratified by the groundswell of support from the Laker fans who encouraged my return and it is the principal reason why I considered the possibility."

D'Antoni, who recently underwent knee surgery, was expected to be formally introduced as coach this week.

Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash have both supported the appointment, according to the Lakers' website on Monday, and other players around the league who have played for D'Antoni praised the coach.

Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin, whose breakthrough came last season in New York before the Knicks parted ways with D'Antoni, told reporters in Houston that D'Antoni made his career.

"He gave me confidence in running the offense," Lin said. "He gives his players the confidence and freedom to go out and play to the best of their abilities. That's what he did for me last year."

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Howard shines in Lakers pre-season debut

LOS ANGELES - Dwight Howard saw his first action in a Los Angeles Lakers jersey Sunday, flashing signs of potential dominance to come during a pre-season loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Howard, who the Lakers acquired from Orlando in a blockbuster off-season trade, registered 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in his first court time since he underwent back surgery in April.


Los Angeles fell 99-92 to the Kings but the result was less important to the Lakers than Howard's display. The new big man showed few signs of limitation as he ran the floor and dunked aggressively during 33 minutes of play.

The Lakers were able to unveil their new high profile lineup of Howard, Kobe Bryant, newly acquired Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace.

Bryant led all scorers with 21 points as he prepared for his quest for a sixth NBA championship.

The Lakers open the regular season against the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 30. (Writing by Jahmal Corner, editing by Nick Mulvenney)

article source: abs-cbnnews.com

Blame game begins after the Lakers' deflating loss to the Thunder

After spending a season fighting age, battling immaturity, struggling with old habits and jabbing with a new coach, the Lakers have ended up where we pretty much thought they would.

Out of breath and on the ropes.







Their veteran star is exhausted and annoyed. Their kid center is angry and distant. Their power forward is uncertain and embattled. And their season is officially on the brink after they blew a 13-point lead in a 103-100 loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday in the fourth and perhaps deciding game of their first-round playoff series.

"This," said bleary-eyed Andrew Bynum, "is just a terrible loss."

Two games after they blew a seven-point lead in the final two minutes in a Game 2 loss, this time they were outscored by 10 in the final six minutes in front of a Staples Center crowd that was stunned into a collective gasp. The Lakers now fall behind the Thunder three games to one while falling into the trap of many failing teams.

Fingers are now officially being pointed.

"Let me see how I can answer your question without giving you a good quote," said Metta World Peace when asked to assess blame.

Start with Pau Gasol. Everyone is mad at Pau Gasol. His 10-point, three-turnover night was capped Saturday when he threw away a pass on what could have been the game-winning possession.

With 1:04 left and the score tied at 98-98, the Thunder's Russell Westbrook slipped and lost the ball, setting up the Lakers for the key possession. But moments later, Gasol's bad pass across the middle -- a silly throw by arguably the team's smartest player -- was picked off by Kevin Durant, who then calmly sunk a three-pointer over World Peace with 13.7 seconds left to give the Thunder the lead for good.

It's perhaps not fair, but when Gasol is probably traded this summer, folks will talk about that pass.

It was a bit unseemly, but Kobe Bryant was ripping it right away.

"It was a bad read," said Bryant. "It was a bad read on Pau's part."

Bryant, who went two-for-10 in the fourth quarter after rescuing the team during that same the period in Friday night's victory, nonetheless continued to publicly scold his teammate.

"Pau has got to be more assertive; he's got to be more aggressive," Bryant said. "He's looking to swing the ball too much. He just has to shoot it."

Gasol took full blame for the pass: "I could have shot it at that point, and if I could go back, I would have."

But Gasol refused to take blame for the loss. "It was one play, one mistake," he said, "but there were a lot of mistakes in the quarter, a lot of mistakes in the game.''

Bryant needs to shoulder some of the blame for the fourth quarter, as some of those shots were early in the shot clock and completely unnecessary, balls that flew to the rim while Andrew Bynum stood helplessly watching.

Bynum, who took just two shots in the fourth quarter and made only two baskets in the second half, is also mad at teammates. He didn't name names, but you can probably guess that he's not thrilled with Bryant, who took 10 of the Lakers' 22 fourth-quarter shots.

"I couldn't get the ball. I wasn't part of the game," Bynum said. "We need to slow down the game, go side to side. We can cut them to pieces. You can't keep running the same plays.''

When asked if the Lakers practice getting him the ball, he shrugged: "Yeah, but once the game starts, everything changes. It should be simple. I don't know why it's hard for us."

If it was hard for them Saturday, it's going to get a lot harder soon.

source: latimes.com

Lakers put away Denver with Kobe deferring to his posts

Kobe Bryant is best known for his on-court heroics.

But his words after a critical loss made the difference for the Lakers in a 96-87 win in Game 7 over the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center that set up a Western Conference semifinals meeting with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Bryant’s jabs to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum after a Game 6 loss, coupled with the return of Metta World Peace, touched a nerve with the big men.

Both answered the call on Saturday. Gasol had 23 points, 17 rebounds and six assists, and Bynum collected 16 points and 18 rebounds. In typical Kobe fashion, Bryant chimed in with two of his 17 points in the final moments and dished eight assists.

“Their presence in my opinion makes us different, if we can continue to have a presence around the rim on both ends of the floor like we did tonight,” Lakers coach Mike Brown said of Gasol and Bynum. “For those guys to have high double-doubles like they did, it was a heck of a night for those guys.”

With the win, the Lakers avoided becoming the ninth team to allow an opponent to come back to win after being down 3-1 in a series. The Lakers also pushed their franchise record to 12-1 in Game 7s.

Much of Los Angeles’ improvement on that record was predicated on patience, something with which Bryant has seldom been associated. But on Saturday, he didn't force the action and allowed teammates to step up at big moments. Bryant didn't lead the Lakers in scoring for the first time in the series, and Steve Blake and World Peace rewarded his trust with 19 points and 15, respectively.

The takeaway from World Peace’s return came on the defensive end, which spilled over and led to the Lakers playing a tougher brand of basketball.

“I didn’t realize that Andre Miller and (Danilo) Gallinari were a combined 2-for-19,” Brown said. “Yeah, that’s our team defense, but Metta had a lot to do with that.”

Both teams shot 39 percent from the field. The 3-point disparity was the difference. Denver was 7-of-26 on 3-point attempts, while Los Angeles finished 11-for-24. The Lakers also shot nine more free throws.

Ty Lawson was dominant at points in the game and finished with 24 points, six assists and five rebounds. Reserve Al Harrington emerged from a funk brought on by his broken nose to score 24 points.

Their performances couldn’t overcome the fact that no Nugget had ever played in a Game 7, and that the team’s veteran, Miller, was 0-8 in playoff series before facing off with the Lakers.

Los Angeles used its experience to dictate pace and grind the Nuggets into a slower game that better suited Gasol, who played with a fire he lacked in previous contests.

At no point was he more active than on a third-quarter possession where he tapped the ball endlessly and finished the play with his 17th point. He followed up a Bynum miss shortly afterward.

“I came out really aggressive trying to pound the boards, just forget about the shots that I could miss or if I don’t get enough touches,” Gasol said. “I just got to be aggressive and I gotta get ... in the paint.”

Sounds like something Kobe would say.

source: aol.sportingnews.com

Kobe suffers broken nose after foul by Wade

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant moved past Michael Jordan to become the leading NBA all-star game scorer but the milestone proved costly as the Los Angeles Lakers superstar suffered a broken nose.

The 33-year-old American Bryant fractured his nose in the third quarter after being hit in the face by Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade, on Sunday.

Wade was assessed a foul for reaching in and slapping Bryant on the face and shoulder with just under nine minutes to go in the quarter.

Bryant finished with 27 points and had 271 career all-star game points by the end of the 61st NBA All-Star Game which was won by the Western Conference 152-149.

A bloodied Bryant stepped up to the free-throw line and sank both shots. He remained in the game, playing eight minutes in the fourth quarter and helping the West hold off a late charge by Team East.

“An initial CT scan revealed a nasal fracture and he will be re-evaluated on Tuesday,” Lakers spokesman John Black said Monday.

The Lakers said they would not know until doctors examined the nose Tuesday whether the four-time all-star game MVP Bryant would be able to play in the Lakers next game on Wednesday against Minnesota.

The Lakers host Miami on Sunday at Staples Center arena.

Wade made no attempt to apologize for slapping Bryant, painting himself as the victim of two earlier fouls from Bryant.

“I obviously didn’t try to draw no blood, but I took a foul,” Wade said. “Kobe fouled me two times in a row, so he’s still got one up on me.”

About four minutes after the Wade elbow, Bryant surpassed Michael Jordan’s previous record of 262 points when he took a pass from Kevin Durant for a dunk in the third quarter.

The injury comes a week after Bryant blasted the Lakers’ management in an expletive-laden outburst as he described his frustration with the way the NBA club was handling the Pau Gasol trade rumours.

Speaking after the Lakers loss to Phoenix February 19, Bryant said he was upset with the constant rumours circulating around Spain’s Gasol and the team since the start of the season. The NBA trading deadline is March 15.

Bryant was making his 14th straight all-star appearance which tied him with Jerry West, Karl Malone, and former Laker teammate Shaquille O’Neal for the most consecutive all-star berths in league history.

In last year’s all-star contest in Los Angeles, hometown hero Bryant scored 37 points in the West’s 148-143 win over the East at Staples Center.

source: interaksyon.com