Heat-Lakers Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 17 2013 2:47AM

After watching the Miami Heat ride their trio of superstars to last season's NBA championship, many believed the Los Angeles Lakers' pairing of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash with Kobe Bryant would put them on the same level.

While things haven't exactly gone as planned, it appears the Lakers may finally be headed down the right path.

Pau Gasol's expected return from a concussion should give Los Angeles a boost as it tries to win three straight for the first time in over three weeks Thursday night in a much-anticipated showdown against LeBron James and visiting Miami.

Sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference, much has been made about the Lakers' early season woes. After dropping its first six games of 2013, though, Los Angeles (17-21) has picked up the pace.

Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds in his first game back since missing three due to a torn labrum as the Lakers beat Cleveland 113-93 on Sunday, then posted 31 and 16 two nights later in a 104-88 win over Milwaukee. Bryant also came up big with 31 points against the Bucks.

Los Angeles, which has won six of its last seven matchups against East foes, is 7-0 at home when Howard scores at least 22.

"When we play the way we played these last two games, I don't see anybody beating us," Howard said. "The problem is we have to do it on a consistent basis and not have any lapses during the game. We're learning, but stuff like that takes time. ... When we stay focused and we stay together, we'll be great."

Hoping to have put their recent struggles behind them, the Lakers are now eager to see how they stack up against the Heat (25-12) - especially with Gasol expected to return following a five-game absence.

Los Angeles had dropped four straight in this series before pulling out a 93-83 home victory March 4 behind 33 points from Bryant. Miami has lost six of seven at Staples Center, with its lone win coming 96-80 on Dec. 25, 2010, thanks to James' 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

"It's a good measuring stick for us to see how much we've improved since last week, when we played against several top teams and they all beat us," Bryant said. "This is a big test with the defending champs coming to town."

Miami entered Wednesday having lost three of four on its six-game road trip before blowing out Golden State 92-75 on what was a historic night for James.

The three-time league MVP - at 28 years, 17 days - became the youngest player in NBA history to score 20,000 points, and also surpassed 5,000 assists, compiling 25 and 10 to go along with seven boards. Bryant held the previous record, reaching 20,000 points at 29 years, 122 days.

"It means everything," said James, averaging 30.0 points over his last six road games against the Lakers. "It means a lot. First of all, like I continue to say, it means I've been able to be healthy. To be out on the floor and do what I love to do, I love the game of basketball and I try to give everything to the game. And hopefully it continues to give back to me."

James is just the 38th player to reach the 20,000-point mark.

"He's a special guy," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He's a special player. He's a once-in-a-generational type of player."

Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers both chipped in 15 points Wednesday while Chris Bosh added 11 for Miami, which outscored the Warriors 22-5 in transition to improve to 9-9 on the road. The Heat are 15-2 when Chalmers scores at least eight.

James, Wade and Bosh all figure to be well rested Thursday after sitting out the entire fourth quarter against Golden State. The Heat are 4-1 in the second of back-to-backs.

LeBron's Heat hold off Kobe's Lakers 99-90

By GREG BEACHAM
Posted Jan 18 2013 2:42AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) For a few exciting minutes in the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers resembled the championship-caliber dynamo everybody expected this season, making a big run and surging past the Miami Heat.

And then LeBron James calmly demonstrated why the Heat are the defending NBA champions and the Lakers are in 11th place in the Western Conference.

James had 39 points and eight assists, Dwyane Wade added 27 points on his 31st birthday and the Heat held off the Lakers 99-90 Thursday night, scoring the final nine points to finish their six-game road trip in style.

"We closed out the trip the right way, and we want to build from it," James said. "We wanted to do much better, of course, after the way we started, losing to Indiana and Portland."

They finished up just fine at Staples Center, getting their second win in their last eight games here against the Lakers.

Ray Allen scored seven of his nine points in the final 5 minutes as the Heat repelled a late charge by the Lakers, who lost for the seventh time in nine games. The Lakers challenged the champs, but James closed out the Heat's sixth road game in 10 days with a flurry of clutch baskets and solid defensive play, often against Bryant.

"I thought we played well enough to beat them," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "That's a championship team. They turned on all the juices, so it's a good measuring stick. That's what they do, and we have to get better. We've got to get smoother."

Bryant scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for Los Angeles, but later lamented his lack of aggression in the first three quarters. Dwight Howard had 13 points and 16 rebounds, but missed two key free throws with 1:51 left while Miami pulled away, capping the All-Star starting center's 5-for-13 effort at the line.

Miami held a narrow lead for most of the first three quarters until Bryant hit two 3-pointers and two jumpers during a 14-3 Lakers run to an 84-81 lead in the fourth quarter.

Allen put the Heat back ahead with a 3-pointer with 4:55 to play, but Bryant tied it with his third 3-pointer of the quarter with 2:33 left. After Wade hit a jumper, Howard missed two free throws - airballing the first - and Allen hit a high-arching jumper in the paint before James iced it with a short bank shot with 49 seconds left.

"On the road, when things don't always go your way, you don't have your momentum and you don't have the confidence of your home crowd, you have to just find different ways to grind," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "This is a perfect example of that. We never really got into a great flow offensively until late in the fourth quarter."

Metta World Peace scored 16 points for the Lakers, who committed 20 turnovers and didn't score in the final 2 1/2 minutes. Yet they largely saw a solid effort against the mighty Heat is cause for optimism in Hollywood.

"It's not much of a setback," Bryant said. "They played very well. They obviously have a familiarity, been playing together, and they know where they want to be in their spots. They executed down the stretch. LeBron made some tough shots."

Pau Gasol had 12 points and four rebounds in his return from a five-game absence with a concussion for the Lakers, who had hoped to build on consecutive victories following a six-game losing streak that knocked them well out of the West playoff picture.

James and Wade got little help until Allen's late flurry, but they didn't need it. Chris Bosh had just seven points and six rebounds in 35 minutes for Miami.

"LeBron is going to get his points, but if we control Dwyane and Chris Bosh, we have a better chance of winning," Howard said. "Tonight, D-Wade, he had it going on the offensive end."

Bryant scored at least 20 points in his 23rd consecutive game, but the NBA's leading scorer missed 14 of his first 17 shots.

The game featured four of the 10 starters in next month's All-Star game, with Bryant edging James by roughly 7,800 votes as the top vote-getter in the final results announced earlier in the day. Wade and Howard also will start in Houston.

Bryant is headed to his 15th All-Star game in 17 NBA seasons, starting a record 15 consecutive times, while Howard will be a seven-time All-Star.

Earl Clark stayed in the Lakers' starting lineup on his 25th birthday, but Gasol played well off the bench in his first game since Denver's JaVale McGee elbowed him in the face Jan. 6.

NOTES: The Lakers visit Miami on Feb. 10 in the final stop of their seven-game road trip while the Grammy Awards take over Staples Center. Los Angeles hasn't won at American Airlines Arena since Feb. 10, 2008. ... Bryant scored at least 20 points in 62 straight games from December 2005 to April 2006. ... Mark Wahlberg, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Queen Latifah, Ellen Pompeo, director Ron Howard and Los Angeles Kings players Dustin Penner, Drew Doughty and Trevor Lewis watched from courtside.

Notebook: Heat 99, Lakers 90

Dan Arritt, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Jan 18, 2013 2:16 AM - Updated Fri Jan 18, 2013 2:16 AM

THE FACTS: Not much separated the Heat and Lakers when they met Thursday night at Staples Center. Not until the final two minutes, anyway. Behind a season-best 39 points from LeBron James, the Heat toyed with L.A. for the first 46 minutes before yanking the win from the hosts grasp down the stretch, scoring the game's final nine points in the 99-90 victory.

QUOTABLE: "He's one of the best we've ever seen."
-- Lakers guard Kobe Bryant on James.

THE STAT: The Heat scored 68 points in the paint, 12 more than their previous season high. The Lakers, meanwhile, were held to 28 points in the paint, six off their season low.

TURNING POINT: Bryant was 3-for-18 from the floor with 10 minutes remaining in the game, then finally got hot and made four straight baskets to give the Lakers an 83-81 lead with 6:33 on the game clock. Bryant sank his final basket of the game, a 3-pointer with James on his hip, to tie the score at 90 with 2:32 remaining. That would be the final points for the Lakers, however, as Dwyane Wade came right back with a pull-up 13-footer, Ray Allen scored from nine feet away and James from six feet, giving Miami a 96-90 lead with 49 seconds remaining. James capped the final spree with a three-point play with five seconds remaining, giving him a new season-high point total.

HOT: Wade had been fairly quiet of late, averaging 12.3 points in the previous three games, but Thursday was his 31st birthday and he obviously didn't want to fly back to Miami a loser. Wade scored 27 points on 11-for-20 shooting and did a masterful job guarding Bryant until James assumed that assignment down the stretch.

NOT: The Lakers committed eight turnovers in both the first and second quarters -- their most giveaways for a half -- trimmed it back to three in the third and had just one in the fourth. The backcourt of Bryant and Steve Nash combined for 10 turnovers. The final tally for points-off-turnover was 23 for the Heat and two for the Lakers. As for Miami, the Big Three had a piece missing most of the night. Despite all the points in the key, Heat center Chris Bosh finished with a season-low seven points on 3-for-10 shooting, his first game in single digits since Dec. 1 against the Nets. Bosh did contribute six steals, however.

QUOTABLE II: "You have to beat [LeBron] by not turning it over."
-- Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni

GOOD MOVE: The Heat don't play again until Wednesday at home against the Raptors, so they could be excused for playing their stars throughout the second half. But seeing as they also played Wednesday night at Golden State, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra gave James a two-minute breather at the start of the fourth quarter. He appeared fresher than ever when he re-entered the game, producing 10 points, three rebounds and three assists down the stretch.

BAD MOVE: The Lakers were trailing by just two points when Dwight Howard was fouled under the basket and stepped to the free-throw line with 1:51 remaining. He lined up his shot, raised his arms and then....shot an air ball. He put a little extra on his next attempt, but clanked it off the back of the rim. Allen then scored on the other end of the floor and the euphoria quickly spilled from the building. Howard made four of his first five free-throw attempts, but ultimately finished 5-for-13, dropping his season average to 50.1 percent from the line.

QUOTABLE III: "Something like that, you've got to have a sense of humor about,"
-- Kobe Bryant on Howard's air ball.

NOTABLE: James was 15-for-15 in shots taken from eight feet in. He had six slam dunks, his most with the Heat and the most since he had seven against Utah in 2009... Miami was 2-for-13 from 3-point range, but is 9-2 in the Big Three era when making two 3s or less in a game. ... Miami backup guard Mike Miller did not appear in the game, his first DNP since Nov. 14 against the Clippers. ... The Lakers are 1-9 this season against teams currently leading their division. ... Lakers forward Pau Gasol returned after missing the last five games with a concussion. He finished with 12 points and four rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Sunday @ Toronto, Monday @ Chicago, Wednesday @ Memphis. For the Heat, Wednesday vs. Toronto, Friday vs. Detroit, Sunday @ Boston.

• Heat: Harrellson, Varnado
• Lakers: Blake, Hill

• Heat: --
• Lakers: --

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 13

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #56 Mark Ayotte, #28 Zach Zarba
• Attendance: 18997
• Duration: 2:32