Pacers-Lakers Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Nov 26 2012 11:03PM

The Los Angeles Lakers finally may be getting the hang of coach Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo offense, which may be in for one of its toughest tests against the defensive-minded Indiana Pacers.

Los Angeles begins a three-game homestand Tuesday night versus the Pacers, who will be kicking off a four-game road trip with the first of three straight games in California.

The Lakers (7-7) ended a two-game skid with a 115-89 rout of Dallas on Saturday, as Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace and Antawn Jamison led six players in double figures with 19 points apiece.

Los Angeles, which improved to 2-2 under D'Antoni, hit 12 3-pointers, including five from World Peace, for the third straight game. It hit 10 or more only four times all of last season - with 12 being the high once - and has already equaled that total.

Bryant is averaging 26.9 points while shooting 51.0 percent from the field this year. His highest field goal percentage in a season is 46.9 in 2001-02.

"I think the system has a lot to do with it," Bryant said of his efficiency. "We're spaced out a little bit more, I can penetrate and get to the free-throw line a lot more. I have more lanes to the basket. We don't have people on the block or in the post all the time, so it enables me to drive to the rim, draw fouls and get to the free-throw line a lot."

Dwight Howard finished with 15 points and Pau Gasol added 13 on Saturday. They each combined for 14 points in the previous two games, and neither sees the ball much in the post in D'Antoni's system.

"Me and Pau want to get as many touches as we can on the block, but we have to dictate that by running the floor and being active," Howard said. "If we don't get the ball, make up for it on the defensive end and get stops."

That's something Indiana (6-8) hopes to do after having three days off, giving coach Frank Vogel extra practice time with his team that ranks third in the NBA allowing 92.2 points per game.

The Pacers, though, are coming off a 104-97 loss to San Antonio on Friday after a 115-107 overtime win over New Orleans two days earlier. David West scored a team-high 22 points for Indiana, which is in the midst of playing 12 of its first 18 on the road.

It faces Sacramento on Friday and Golden State on Saturday before finishing this trip at Chicago on Dec. 4.

"I encourage our guys to keep any frustrations in perspective and understanding that we play 41 at home and 41 on the road," Vogel said. "We're weathering the storm of an early, tough part of our schedule. Manage it, stay in the hunt and we'll have our run."

It won't get any easier against a Lakers team that Vogel said creates plenty of matchup problems, especially given the up-tempo style of offense.

"Probably Howard and Kobe on anybody that we have," Vogel said of the most difficult matchups. "They are guys that warrant double teams and we have to be ready for everything."

Indiana beat Los Angeles 98-96 in the most recent meeting Jan. 22 despite 33 points from Bryant, who is averaging 35.0 points in his last three versus the Pacers.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Hill's clutch shot pushes Pacers past Lakers 79-77

By GREG BEACHAM
Posted Nov 28 2012 2:37AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Kobe Bryant is often at his most dangerous when he's fighting the flu, and the ailing superstar carried the Los Angeles Lakers to the brink of yet another under-the-weather win.

One dramatic shot by George Hill left the Indiana Pacers feeling a whole lot healthier.

Hill's high-arching shot banked in over Dwight Howard with 0.1 seconds left, and the Pacers withstood Bryant's 40-point performance and the Lakers' last-minute rally for a 79-77 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Hill scored 19 points for the Pacers, who benefited enormously from the Lakers' 23-for-43 performance at the free throw line. Indiana led for most of the night, but couldn't put it away until Hill took charge on a pick-and-roll play with David West, dribbling past Pau Gasol and delicately lofting the ball over the shot-blocking Howard.

"It's something you always dream about, to hit game-winners," Hill said. "So to do that and help this team win a game just makes it that much better."

Coughing and wheezing on the court and in the locker room, Bryant still hit a tying 3-pointer with 24.5 seconds left and produced the 114th 40-point game of his career.

"It was just a tough game for us, because we didn't make shots," Bryant said. "On top of that, we didn't make free throws. I've got to minimize my mistakes. Ten turnovers is way too many for me, so I have to work on perfecting that and bringing that down. I just felt like I played to the crowd too much."

The Lakers dropped to 2-3 under new coach Mike D'Antoni. They mostly played the way Bryant felt, flirting with the lowest-scoring game and worst shooting percentage in franchise history before finishing with 31.6 percent shooting and surpassing the club low of 70 points in a game with eight consecutive points in the waning minutes.

Los Angeles tied it at 74 on Howard's dunk with 1:56 to play. After West made one free throw, Howard and Metta World Peace combined to miss four straight free throws. After Hill made a running shot, Bryant hit a 3-pointer in front of the Lakers' bench to tie it - but Hill dribbled down the clock and won it for Indiana.

"I'm a little bit proud of the guys, the way they fought and had a chance to win, which defies statistical logic," D'Antoni said. "That was not nice. That was tough."

The Pacers' sturdy defense stifled the Lakers' up-tempo offense for most of the night, turning the game into an ugly grind before the thrilling finish. Indiana won its third straight road game over the Lakers after losing its first 11 regular-season meetings after Staples Center opened in 1999.

West scored 16 points and Paul George had 12 in the opener of a four-game road trip for the Pacers, who had lost six of eight away from home to start the season.

"We need road wins to build our togetherness, our belief in ourselves and our new identity, and to build confidence," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "This is a big one, and one that we were looking for."

Before outscoring the rest of his team combined, Bryant missed the Lakers' morning shootaround when he fell ill. He spent the day in bed, drinking fluids and listening to Bob Marley, before giving another high-scoring performance, albeit with 10 turnovers and 12-for-28 shooting.

Howard blocked four shots and scored 17 points despite 3-of-12 shooting at the free throw line.

"It shouldn't have got to that point," Howard said. "It's been a tough stretch for us early in the season. We can't lose our faith. We'll find a rhythm and we'll get in a groove, but we can't let what we're going through get us down right now."

The Lakers returned from a three-game trip for a three-game homestand, their final multigame stretch at home before Christmas. After playing six games in a nine-day stretch earlier this month, the Lakers are clearly running near empty - and they had little to give in the first half against Indiana.

The Pacers jumped to an early lead and hung onto it despite falling into a 1-for-23 shooting slump in the first half, playing more than 12 minutes with just one field goal. The Lakers couldn't take advantage, missing 14 of their 18 shots in the second quarter and repeatedly failing to move the ball at D'Antoni's preferred pace.

Bryant made five of his first six shots, but fell into a 1-for-10 slump before getting rolling again late in the third quarter while Los Angeles made a 13-2 run. Bryant had nine turnovers in the first three quarters, but also had 29 points - more than his teammates' combined 28.

NOTES: The Pacers stay in California to face Sacramento and Golden State before stopping in Chicago on the way home from their trip. ... The Lakers handed out bobblehead dolls in the likeness of the late Chick Hearn, their beloved broadcaster who would have turned 96 on Tuesday. ... Ashton Kutcher, David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Kaley Cuoco, Gene Simmons, Shannon Tweed and Tenacious D band members Jack Black and Kyle Gass watched from courtside.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Pacers 79, Lakers 77

Dan Arritt, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2012 2:15 AM - Updated Wed Nov 28, 2012 2:15 AM

THE FACTS: Pacers guard George Hill ended a painful night for the Lakers with one final kick in the ribs, scoring on a last-second layup to give Indiana a 79-77 victory Tuesday night at Staples Center.

QUOTABLE: "It's a play, where if they help, [Hill] has to throw it back to [David West]. If they don't, then he's trying to turn the corner. It's a slip play to bait them into help and have George try to turn a corner and get a shot."

-- Indiana coach Frank Vogel

THE STAT: The Lakers, hoping to improve their offense with the firing of coach Mike Brown on Nov. 9 and the hiring of Mike D'Antoni two days later, took a big step backwards against Indiana. They shot 31.6 percent from the floor (24-for-76), 53.5 percent from the free-throw line (23-for-43) and committed 21 turnovers. Just as surprising was their six fast-break points. D'Antoni's up-tempo style is supposed to lead to easier baskets in transition. Instead, the Lakers appear to be getting beat by the same medicine.

TURNING POINT: The Lakers never would have faced down Hill with the game on the line on the final possession if they made their free throws. The final blow was back-to-back misses by both Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace on the same trip down the floor with just under a minute remaining and L.A. trailing by a point. Kobe Bryant, who scored 40 points, drained a 3-pointer to tie the score with 24.5 seconds remaining, but that just gave Hill enough time to drive on World Peace and lay the ball high off the glass and through the rim with 0.1 seconds remaining on the game clock. HOT: Hill emerged as a full-time starter in Indiana after the Pacers traded Darren Collison to Dallas in the offseason. He continues to show much poise as the floor leader, finishing with a team-high 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. He managed to shoot 7-for-12 from the field on a night when Indiana shot 29-for-79 (36.7 percent).

NOT: Besides their shooting woes from nearly every spot on the court, the Lakers had some miserable individual performances as well. Darius Morris, holding down the starting point guard duties while Steve Nash and Steve Blake recover from injuries, took a step back, finishing 0-for-6 from the floor, 1-for-4 from the free-throw line and he did not record an assist in 23 minutes. The starting forward combo of Pau Gasol and World Peace combined to shoot 3-for-17 from the floor and L.A.'s bench was 2-for-15.

GOOD MOVE: The Pacers didn't dare give Bryant another chance to shoot the ball in the final seconds, allowing Hill to hold the ball at the top of the 3-point line and let the shot clock run inside five seconds before driving toward the basket.

BAD MOVE: Veteran referee Joe Crawford is known for calling technical fouls without hesitation, but he probably should have waited another couple seconds to call one on Bryant with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter. The Pacers were well on their way to a fast break when Crawford stopped play to give Bryant the technical. The Pacers made the free throw to push their led to five but then turned the ball over on the ensuing possession. That extra point nearly made a difference in the game.

QUOTABLE II: "It was just awful, just bad shooting."

-- D'Antoni

NOTABLE: Bryant, who missed the morning shootaround with flu-like symptoms, played a season-high 44 minutes. He scored at least 40 points for the 114th time in his career but needed 28 shots to get there. He grabbed 10 rebounds but also committed 10 turnovers. ... World Peace finished with a team-high 12 rebounds, the first time he finished in double digits in that category since taking 12 in March 2008. ... The Pacers, who came in leading the NBA in rebounding at 48.4 a game, finished with 62 boards. The Lakers had 70.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Friday vs. Denver, Sunday vs. Orlando, Tuesday @ Houston. For the Pacers, Friday @ Sacramento, Saturday @ Golden State, Tuesday @ Chicago.