Lakers-Pistons Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Mar 05 2012 5:59PM

Playing through a broken nose and a recent concussion, red-hot Kobe Bryant has helped the Los Angeles Lakers open the second half of their season in impressive fashion.

A visit to face the Detroit Pistons seems unlikely to slow them down.

The Lakers kick off a three-game road swing seeking a fourth consecutive victory overall and sixth straight over the Pistons on Tuesday night.

Bryant, who was injured on a hard foul by Miami's Dwyane Wade during the All-Star game Feb. 26, has been nearly unstoppable since. Playing with a mask to prevent the risk of further injury, Bryant has averaged 34.0 points on 54.3 percent shooting in leading the Lakers (23-14) to three wins in a row.

Bryant continued his tremendous play during Sunday's much-anticipated matchup with the Heat. The 14-time All-Star shot a season-best 14 of 23 (60.9 percent) to finish with 33 points as Los Angeles improved to 8-2 over its last 10 games with a 93-83 victory.

"It's just about understanding what your strengths are then playing to that," said Bryant, who is expected to continue wearing the mask on this trip.

"The testament to any championship team is to understand what your weaknesses are and protect those, then understand what your strengths are and playing to those. I feel like we're starting to figure out how to support each other in that department."

While Bryant has been sensational, the Lakers have also thrived on the defensive end of the court. Los Angeles, which limited Miami to 37.5 percent shooting, ranks near the top of the league in opposing field-goal percentage (41.7) and points per game allowed (91.4).

The Lakers have taken five straight from the Pistons (12-26), including three in a row at The Palace of Auburn Hills by an average of 13.3 points.

In his last visit, Bryant scored 33 in a 103-90 victory Nov. 17, 2010, and Pistons coach Lawrence Frank knows his team will likely have its hands full again.

"They don't run the triangle (anymore), but they'll play (Bryant) in the post, they'll play him off the elbow, they'll put him in pick and rolls," Frank told his team's official website. "He's a great player. You could run the octagon and Kobe is going to find a way to be special in it.

"He's a winner. He's got five championship rings. But we're just talking about playing one game. That's all we need to focus on."

The Pistons enter this matchup losers of four of five, with their only win during that stretch coming 109-94 over NBA-worst Charlotte on Wednesday.

Detroit saw its struggles continue Saturday, falling 100-83 at Memphis. The Pistons shot 38.2 percent and committed seven of their 17 turnovers in the fourth quarter, when they were outscored 31-13.

"We just have to take care of the ball," said guard Rodney Stuckey, who scored 20 points on 6-of-22 shooting. "We turned the ball over a lot at the end of the game. I think if we would just take care of the ball and spread the court out a little more, we would have been fine."

Rookie guard Brandon Knight, averaging 16.9 points over his last seven games, scored 15 but missed 11 of 16 shots against the Grizzlies.

"It's frustrating, but it's a building process. We're still getting better," Knight said. "We saw a lot of good signs. We've just got to step it up in the fourth quarter."

Pistons overcome Bryant, beat Lakers 88-85 in OT

By NOAH TRISTER
Posted Mar 06 2012 11:52PM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Kobe Bryant calmly dribbled to his right and made a 19-foot fadeaway at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

It would have been easy for the Detroit Pistons to fold - but the mood at The Palace is finally beginning to feel different.

"Kobe, he's a phenomenal player. He's going to hit those," Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey said. "We didn't hang our heads. We pretty much just dug down deep in overtime."

Stuckey scored six of his 34 points in overtime, and the Pistons recovered from Bryant's tying shot to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 88-85 on Tuesday night.

Bryant and Metta World Peace both had chances to tie it late in overtime but couldn't connect from beyond the arc.

"Everyone played a little tired," Bryant said.

In front of only their third home sellout of the season - with Gladys Knight performing at halftime - the Pistons won despite scoring only nine points in the third quarter. Detroit started 4-20 under new coach Lawrence Frank, but the Pistons have gone 9-6 since.

"When you just have a short amount of time with this lockout and stuff like that - new team, new coach - everything's brand new," Stuckey said. "It's going to take time. It's all a process."

Down 74-71 in the fourth, Stuckey shook free of Bryant with a nifty crossover dribble, stepping back to make a shot from near the free throw line. He then put the Pistons ahead with a driving layup.

World Peace stole the ball near midcourt and went the other way for a layup to put the Lakers ahead 76-75, but Stuckey's 3-pointer with 9.8 seconds left gave the Pistons a two-point lead.

Bryant's shot over Tayshaun Prince forced the extra session, and neither team led by more than three in overtime.

The Pistons won by forcing the Lakers to take bad shots from the perimeter late. With Detroit up 86-85, World Peace forced a 3-pointer with the shot clock running down. After that miss, Stuckey drove hard to the basket and drew a foul, sinking both free throws with 36.8 seconds remaining.

Bryant missed a quick 3-pointer from the top, but the shot clock was still on for the Pistons, who had to settle for a perimeter shot by Jason Maxiell that missed badly. The Lakers rebounded and called a timeout.

The Pistons had a foul to give and used it immediately on Bryant. When the Lakers inbounded again, Bryant - anticipating another foul - tossed up a quick 3-pointer that missed. World Peace came up with the ball and had time to dribble back to 3-point range and toss up a turnaround that missed as well.

"Nothing went well, and we paid for it with a loss," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "I was very disappointed in our team defense. All they did was drive the ball every time and they got layup after layup after layup."

Andrew Bynum had 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers.

Before the game, Brown said in no uncertain terms he thought Bryant should be an MVP candidate, but the star guard shot only 8 of 26 on Tuesday, finishing with 22 points. He started the game with a black mask protecting his injured nose but switched back to a clear one while struggling through the first half.

"The mask we tried tonight didn't work," he said. "It just slid all over the place."

While Bryant struggled to find any rhythm from outside, Bynum was too much for the Pistons to handle around the basket. His alley-oop dunk from Steve Blake gave the Lakers a 37-25 lead, and it looked like Los Angeles might overpower the Pistons. Stuckey helped Detroit rally, hurting the Lakers with his ability to drive to the basket.

"Stuckey did an unbelievable job of attacking the paint," Frank said. "Kobe made a great shot to put the game into overtime and yet our guys kept the resolve."

Stuckey cut the lead to one with a three-point play, and Detroit eventually went ahead. The Pistons led 45-41 at halftime.

Bryant had nine points on 2-of-10 shooting in the first half.

The Lakers outscored Detroit 20-9 in the third quarter, and Bryant had success with more high-percentage shots. His alley-oop from Pau Gasol gave Los Angeles a 59-52 lead, and Bryant added a runner to make it 61-54.

NOTES: Lakers assistant coach John Kuester was the Pistons' head coach for the last two seasons before being fired. He shared a hug with Detroit assistant Brian Hill before the game. ... Bynum was 13 of 18 from the field.

Notebook: Pistons 88, Lakers 85

Posted Tuesday March 6, 2012 11:38PM

By Dana Gauruder, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Guard Rodney Stuckey scored 34 points, including six in overtime, as the Detroit Pistons surprised the Los Angeles Lakers 88-85 Tuesday at The Palace. The Lakers' Kobe Bryant sent the game to overtime with a 19-foot jumper as the regulation buzzer sounded but shot just 8 of 26 from the field while scoring 22 points. Center Andrew Bynum led the Lakers with 30 points and 14 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "The way the Lakers play a lot of times, if you pick up your energy and get a couple of fast-break baskets, you can get back in the game. They're a very patient team on offense, so if you create turnovers and don't let their bigs get offensive rebounds, you can get out on the break and get a flow going."
-- Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince on his team erasing a seven-point, fourth-quarter deficit.

THE STAT: 0-14. The Pistons, who led by four at halftime, missed their first 14 shots in the second half and scored just nine third-quarter points. But they showed some unusual resilience for a 13-26 club, shooting 56 percent in the fourth quarter and overtime while committing just one turnover.

TURNING POINT: With his team trailing 83-80, Stuckey made several clutch plays. He hit an 18-foot jumper, then took a charge against Pau Gasol. Prince, who guarded Bryant a majority of the game, made a 17-foot jumper with 1:22 remaining in overtime off a Stuckey feed to give Detroit the lead for good. Stuckey added two free throws with 36.8 seconds left.

QUOTABLE II: "I'm just reading what the defense is doing. I know when I get the ball off a miss, my mindset is to push it as fast as I can while the defense is not set. That allows me to get to the basket and get fouled or something like that."
-- Stuckey on his big offensive night

HOT: Stuckey's offense has been a critical component in Detroit's last five victories. He has averaged 28 points in those wins, including 29 against Charlotte, 36 against Sacramento and 25 against Boston. He has lifted his season average to 15.5 ppg after a slow start.

NOT: The Lakers' reserves had a poor night, getting outscored 32-7 by Detroit's bench. Matt Barnes, Steve Blake and Troy Murphy were held without a field goal while playing a combined 64 minutes. The Pistons, in contrast, were able to climb back into the game with a 20-4 second-quarter run with their bench's assistance.

GOOD MOVE: Pistons coach Lawrence Frank decided to shadow Bryant with Prince after halftime instead of Stuckey, who picked up two first-quarter fouls. Bryant shot 6 of 16 after the break, including three missed 3-pointers in overtime. The switch also conserved Stuckey's energy for the offensive end.

BAD MOVE: Lakers forward Metta World Peace has to stop hanging around the 3-point line. He missed all five of his attempts, dropping his season average to 24.1 percent.

NOTABLE: Ben Gordon had 15 points off the bench for Detroit. ... The Lakers dropped to 6-13 on the road. ... Detroit is 9-6 after a 4-20 start. ... Gasol had 20 points and 10 rebounds. ... Pistons leading scorer Greg Monroe was held to a season-low two points on 1 of 10 shooting but grabbed 15 rebounds.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Wednesday @ Washington, Friday @ Minnesota, Sunday vs. Boston. For the Pistons, Friday vs. Atlanta, Saturday vs. Toronto, Monday @ Utah.

• Lakers: Ebanks
• Pistons: Villanueva

• Lakers: --
• Pistons: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 22076
• Duration: 2:31