Jackson becomes Lakers all-time winningest coach in victory

By Bryan Chu, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday February 4, 2010 2:52AM

LOS ANGELES (NBA.com exclusive) -- In back-to-back games, a pair of Lakers made history.

On Monday against the Grizzlies it was Kobe Bryant, who became the Lakers' all-time leading scorer.

Then following the Lakers' 99-97 win over the Bobcats, Phil Jackson surpassed Pat Riley as the winningest coach in Lakers franchise history with 534 regular season victories.

"It's been a really good run," said Jackson, who has also won 545 regular season games while with the Bulls (1989-98). "Having this opportunity, to coach this team, is always special...it's not an individual record in my mind, it's a team."

Despite fighting health issues and having left the Lakers after coaching them from 1999-2004, Jackson returned in 2005 and went on to win a record 10 NBA titles.

"There wasn't any hint in my mind that I'd ever be back coaching this team again," said Jackson, who is in his 19th season. "That's miraculous in itself. I think that's all the administration, kudos go to Jeanie Buss in that regard."

Key figures for the Lakers' during Jackson's time have been Bryant and Derek Fisher.

Said Bryant of Jackson's feat: "It's just an unbelievable accomplishment for him to have so much dominance with two teams, two franchises."

"It's still a travesty that people don't regard him as a coach," Fisher said. "People regard him as kind of a Zen Master and other things outside of coaching. Nobody has done what he has done. You can call it talent if you want to, I know a lot of coaches and teams that have a lot of talent that haven't won 10 championships and at the percentage he's won.

"The fun part of it all is that we're not done."

Bobcats coach Larry Brown, who was passed by Jackson for fifth on the NBA's all-time coaching win list with 1079 regular season wins, praised Jackson after the game.

"This guy has done a remarkable job with this franchise and Chicago," he said. "We all have a lot of respect for him and to be in this building when Jerry [West] gives Kobe a ball and then Phil gets this milestone...it's pretty impressive."

This game wasn't easy for Jackson and the Lakers (38-12), who snapped a three-game losing streak to the Bobcats (24-24) and now have won eight straight at Staples Center en route to an NBA-best 24-3 home record.

There were 20 ties and 10 lead changes. The Lakers' biggest lead was eight points, 92-84, with 5:27 left in the game.

Charlotte answered back with an 8-1 run of its own to get the game to within 93-92 with 1:33 left to play. Key buckets by Pau Gasol, who had 14 points, and Odom put the Lakers up 97-94 with 9.7 seconds left. With the Bobcats inbounding the ball, Jordan Farmar managed to poke the ball loose and coasted to an easy dunk.

For the Lakers, Lamar Odom had a team-high 19 points. Andrew Bynum finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

In a losing effort, Stephen Jackson finished with a game-high 30 points and Nazr Mohammed tallied season-highs with 23 points and 17 rebounds.

Before the game Bryant was all smiles as he received a standing ovation from the home crowd and received a game ball from Jerry West after Bryant surpassed West's record (25,192) for most career points as a Laker on Monday.

Bryant, however, struggled in this game after re-aggravating his left ankle sprain.

"It was just stiff," said Bryant who finished with a season-low five points on 2-for-12 shooting. "Lamar [Odom] stepped on my foot as I was changing directions at the end of the first half. (That) made it worse."

The Bobcats managed to keep the game close despite playing without All-Star forward Gerald Wallace.

Wallace missed Wednesday's game with a pulled left hamstring, an injury he suffered at the end of the Portland game Monday. Wallace said he doesn't believe the injury is serious.

"No, I don't think it'll linger," said Wallace pregame. "I think it's from muscle fatigue."

No Bobcat stepped up in Wallace's place. At the same time, the Lakers couldn't take advantage.

Neither team led by more than five points in what was a stagnant first half for both squads.

Part of the reason may have been the Bobcats finishing their sixth game on the road in the last 10 days, and the Lakers coming back home after a grueling eight-game road trip, which spanned 15 days.

Bryant didn't score his first point until he sank a 3-pointer with 2:05 before halftime. He was 1-for-7 in the first half. Despite that, the Lakers held a slim 49-47 lead at the break.

There doesn't seem to be much rest in store for the Lakers, who following Wednesday's game will play four games in a six-day span before the All-Star break.

"Denver and Portland, those are tough matchups," Jackson said. "To have a home and away, two very good teams we have very competitive games against."

NOTES: Fisher sank a 3-pointer in the first quarter giving him 1,000 triples, making him just the 56th player in NBA history to accomplish that feat.

• Bobcats: Ajinca, Chandler
• Lakers: Mbenga

• Bobcats: --
• Lakers: --

• Lead Changes: 10
• Times Tied: 20

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #64 Eli Roe, #58 Zach Zarba
• Attendance: 18997
• Duration: 2:19