Bobcats-Lakers Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jan 31 2012 12:18AM

The Los Angeles Lakers will play only one game at Staples Center over the next two weeks. A matchup with the NBA's worst team could make that appearance a winning one.

After earning a rare road win, the Lakers will try to extend the woeful Charlotte Bobcats' losing streak to nine games Tuesday night.

Los Angeles (12-9) will play a season-high six consecutive road games beginning Friday and won't return home until Valentine's Day.

The Lakers are coming off only their second win in nine road games this season, but it wasn't easy. They blew an 18-point lead against Minnesota on Sunday before pulling out a 106-101 victory.

"We have to still learn, try to be a little more consistent and be smarter when we have big leads and allow teams back in the ball game. Other than that, we're happy with a win," said forward Pau Gasol, who had a season-high 28 points while shooting 11 of 15 from the field.

Kobe Bryant had 35 points and a season-high 14 rebounds Sunday, while Andrew Bynum added 21 points to help the Lakers reach 100 for the first time in 14 games.

The Lakers now will seek their first back-to-back victories since their season-high five-game winning streak ended in mid-January. A visit from the Bobcats (3-18) would seem to provide a prime opportunity.

Charlotte enters this game seeking to avoid its longest skid since a club-record 13 consecutive defeats Jan. 11-Feb. 1, 2006.

The Bobcats have averaged 85.4 points during their current eight-game slide. They've also dropped their last eight road games.

Despite missing five players due to injury, Charlotte nearly scored in triple figures for the fourth time this season Saturday with help from Kemba Walker's first career triple-double. The Bobcats, though, fell 102-99 to visiting Washington as they missed their final three shots including a pair of potential tying 3-pointers.

Leading scorers Gerald Henderson and D.J. Augustin were among the players who missed Saturday's loss. Augustin has missed the last four games with a toe injury, and Henderson re-injured his back during an 89-72 loss at Philadelphia on Friday.

"We had guys that made shots. We just couldn't make free throws. That was our downfall," coach Paul Silas said after Saturday's defeat. "We battled and fought. I was very proud of the guys being as short-handed as we are and taking that team to the brink."

Augustin is expected to sit out again Tuesday, but Henderson, D.J. White and Reggie Williams could be back on the court.

Henderson scored 18 points in a 109-89 rout of the Lakers in Charlotte on Feb. 14, but finished with seven in a 92-84 loss at Staples Center on March 4.

Los Angeles is seeking its third consecutive home win over the Bobcats.

Lakers dominate Bobcats in 106-73 win

By BETH HARRIS
Posted Feb 01 2012 2:15AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Having polished off their second subpar opponent in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers are turning their attention to a sore spot - the road.

Kobe Bryant scored 24 points, Andrew Bynum added 20, and the Lakers beat slumping Charlotte 106-73 on Tuesday night in their final home game before beginning their annual Grammy trip on Friday at Denver.

The Lakers have been a dominant 11-2 at home, but are just 2-7 away from Staples Center.

"We just got to do our job, that's all. Go out, play hard, play physical and rebound the ball," Bryant said. "These road losses that we've had, the consistent factor has been teams getting on the offensive boards against us and we have to do a much better job of that."

Bynum had 11 rebounds, while Pau Gasol had 10 points and Andrew Goudelock keyed a big night for the bench with 12 points as the Lakers' reserves outscored the Bobcats' bench 48-30. Bryant, Fisher and Metta World Peace sat out the entire fourth quarter, when Bynum and Gasol each played less than five minutes.

"They played extremely well," Bryant said of the bench. "It's on them to make the most of it and if they don't, I have to come back in there, Pau has to come back in there, Andrew has to come back in there, and we have to play the whole second half or whatever the case is."

It was the Lakers' biggest victory against the Bobcats, who had beaten Los Angeles in eight of their previous 11 meetings. The Lakers have now topped the 100-point mark in each of their last two wins after failing to do so in 13 consecutive games.

Gerald Henderson scored 14 points in his return after a two-game absence because of a lower back contusion for the Bobcats, who fell to 1-11 on the road and 3-19 overall with their ninth consecutive loss. Derrick Brown added 12 points and Kemba Walker 12 coming off his triple-double against Washington on Saturday. Boris Diaw added 11.

"We've got a horrible record and we're trying to make our way back up," Henderson said. "We're starting to get guys back healthy. In fact, it seems like every game we get a new guy back. So hopefully, as we get more acclimated to each other, things will start improving."

The Bobcats were well-rested, not having played since that three-point loss, but that didn't help the league's worst team.

"It's been hard, but we're a very young club and we're in a rebuilding mode, so there's basically nothing you can do," coach Paul Silas said. "When I took over last year in December, we had about five or six of the players we have on the team right now. So it's been tough. My thing is, I love winning. And it's been hard on me, very difficult."

The rout was well under way in the first quarter, when Bryant racked up 18 points in 10 1/2 minutes and the Lakers led 30-18. He had six more points in the second quarter and the Lakers went into halftime ahead, 60-36.

Bryant helped turn a five-point lead into 20 points in a 26-11 spurt over the end of the first quarter and start of the second with eight points, while Goudelock added seven and Bynum six. The Bobcats actually outscored Los Angeles in the third, 22-13, as Bryant went scoreless, but they still trailed 73-58.

"I didn't like the third quarter and how we allowed them to come back in the game," Gasol said. "But I really liked the fourth quarter where our bench really got going, made simple plays, moved the ball, found the open shooters and it got a lot better for us."

With Bryant on the bench the entire fourth, soon joined by Bynum, the Lakers' reserves put on a 3-point shooting clinic. They reeled off seven consecutive treys to push their lead to 98-70. Troy Murphy had hit three 3s, Jason Kapono chipped in two, and Goudelock and Barnes had one each. Murphy finished with 12 points and Barnes 10.

"We got a lot of shooters on this team, with our second group especially," Goudelock said. "They can stretch out the floor with Troy Murphy and Kapono obviously, and we got Bynum down low, so they can't really double team because if they do, they really have to pick their poison."

Bryant has bestowed the nickname "Mini Mamba" on Goudelock.

"It's a very big compliment, especially coming from the real Mamba," the rookie said.

World Peace got his second straight start in place of Barnes, but he wasn't a factor with two points, two rebounds, two assists and four fouls in 23 minutes.

Notes: Lakers coach Mike Brown said the team has inquired about Orlando G Gilbert Arenas, a free agent. "We've called to see what his status is. That's it," he said. Brown said there's no plans to bring Arenas in for a workout. "I have not talked to him, I have not watched any tape on him. It's really just conversation," he said. ... The Lakers' previous biggest win against Charlotte was 11 points in January 2005. ... Reserve Lakers G Steve Blake, out with broken cartilage in his ribs, has been cleared to run on a treadmill, but there's no timetable for his return. ... Asked about Blake Griffin's dunk for the Clippers a night earlier, Brown said: "It was fantastic."

Notebook: Lakers 103, Bobcats 76

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday February 1, 2012 1:58AM

THE FACTS: Playing their final home game until Valentine's Day, the Lakers gave their fans a fond farewell Tuesday night, running away from the struggling Bobcats early in the game and maintaining their double-digit lead in the 106-73 victory at Staples Center.

QUOTABLE: "I don't know if anything has arrived yet, but we are getting better."
--Lakers coach Mike Brown

THE STAT: Tied for last in the league in 3-point shooting efficiency coming into the game (28.1 percent), the Lakers shot 12-for-26 from beyond the arc. In their three victories in the last four games, a common denominator has been their success from 3-point range, converting 28-for-61 (45.9 percent).

TURNING POINT: The Bobcats and Lakers traded baskets early but the tide turned in L.A.'s favor after Charlotte starting center DeSagana Diop committed two fouls and a turnover 14 seconds apart midway through the quarter. The 7-foot Diop went to the bench and the Lakers responded with a 16-4 run over the next 5 1/2 minutes. The Bobcats never got back within 11 the remainder of the game.

HOT: If it wasn't for Kobe Bryant's 2-for-11 night from 3-point territory, the Lakers' percentage would have been sensational. The bench did all the damage, shooting 10-for-15 from beyond the arc, led by a 4-for-4 night from backup forward Troy Murphy, who scored a season-high 12 points. It's the most 3-pointers the 11-year veteran has made in a game in nearly two years.

NOT: Bryant scored 18 points in the opening quarter but it all went downhill from there. He had 24 points at the half, then missed all five of his field-goal attempts in the third quarter, opening the door for Charlotte to trim a 24-point halftime deficit to 11. Bryant also committed three of his four turnovers in the third quarter before taking a seat with about a minute remaining and staying there the rest of the game. After hitting his first two 3-pointers of the game, Bryant missed his next nine.

GOOD MOVE: Charlotte small forward Reggie Williams made his season debut with the Bobcats with 10:27 remaining in the second quarter and immediately made his presence known, scoring on an offensive rebound. Williams, who underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery shortly after Charlotte signed him to a two-year $5-million deal in mid-December, was extremely limited against the Lakers, scoring six points in 14 minutes, but the third-year sharp shooter should be a valuable addition to the lineup in the months to come.

BAD MOVE: Lakers coach Mike Brown continues to play key players deep into one-sided victories. Up by 22 points with a little more than seven minutes left, he reinserted starting forward Pau Gasol in place of starting center Andrew Bynum, even though back-up big man Josh McRoberts was still on the bench, having yet to appear in the game. He finally lifted Gasol in favor of McRoberts with just under five minutes remaining and the Lakers still leading by 22 points.

NOTABLE: Charlotte had won five of the previous seven games against the Lakers ... Charlotte rookie point guard Kemba Walker, coming off his first career triple-double Saturday night against visiting Washington, finished with 12 points, six rebounds and six assists ... Charlotte used 12 players in the first half ... Bryant picked up his fifth technical foul of the season in the third quarter.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Friday @ Utah, Saturday @ Denver, Monday @ Philadelphia. For the Bobcats, Wednesday @ Portland, Saturday @ Phoenix, Tuesday @ Boston.

• Bobcats: Augustin, Maggette
• Lakers: Blake, Caracter

• Bobcats: Henderson
• Lakers: Bryant

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #6 Tony Brown, #45 Brian Forte
• Attendance: 18997
• Duration: 2:00