Hornets-Lakers Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jan 28 2013 11:27PM

After months of trying, the Los Angeles Lakers feel they might have finally found the right formula.

The Lakers will test that out again and try to secure their longest win streak since Christmas on Tuesday night against the visiting New Orleans Hornets.

Los Angeles (19-25) has struggled for much of this season on how best to use its superstars. Lately, the Lakers have tried to get a more well-rounded performance out of Kobe Bryant and more scoring from point guard Steve Nash.

They've also continued to keep Pau Gasol out of the starting lineup.

Bryant had 14 assists and finished one rebound shy of a triple-double for the second straight game while scoring a team-best 21 points in a 105-96 win over Oklahoma City on Sunday.

"We're doing a good job right now of just being real with each other and holding each other accountable," said Bryant, one of the most vocal during a players-only meeting Wednesday before a 106-93 loss in Memphis. "That makes a huge difference. I'm trying to evolve and find out what we need as a ballclub."

Nash scored 17 points, one shy of matching his season high set Jan. 21 in Chicago, and Gasol had 16. Nash is averaging 14.6 points on 51.0 percent shooting over his last five games after scoring 10.4 per contest in his first 15 for the Lakers.

With those players' help, Los Angeles has topped 100 points and shot better than 53.0 percent in back-to-back games after averaging 92.3 points on 42.0 percent shooting in its previous four.

"We've found something that works, that's for sure, and something we can feel good about," Gasol said. "I think the way we are playing, we can be very successful."

The Lakers might get a stiff challenge during a season-high seven-game trip that begins Wednesday but first, they'll try to continue their dominance over the Hornets (15-29).

Los Angeles has won eight consecutive matchups and six straight at home. It had little trouble pulling away from New Orleans in a 103-87 road win Dec. 5 despite injuries to Gasol (knees) and Nash (shin). Bryant had 29 points and became the fifth player to surpass 30,000 in that victory.

Ryan Anderson had 31 points for the Hornets but only two other players reached double figures with Greivis Vasquez and Robin Lopez scoring a combined 31.

Anderson's efforts in the opener of a five-game road trip, however, led to a victory. He scored 22 points off the bench and made seven 3-pointers as the Hornets topped Memphis 91-83 on Sunday.

"He was huge for us," said Vasquez, who finished with 11 assists. "This man is an underrated shooter. People don't give him enough credit. This guy can shoot."

The win helped New Orleans avoid its first three-game skid since a season-worst string of 11 losses that began with the defeat to the Lakers and ended Dec. 22.

The Hornets will next try to deny Los Angeles its first three-game win streak since a season-best five consecutive victories Dec. 14-25.

Lakers edge Hornets 111-106 for 3rd straight win

By GREG BEACHAM
Posted Jan 30 2013 2:25AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers really think they're on to something, even if it's nothing revolutionary. They're gaining confidence in their newfound attitude and approach with each victory they're producing.

Not even a fantastic fourth-quarter rally by the New Orleans Hornets could shake Kobe's conviction that the Lakers have finally figured out a few things about their puzzling season.

Dwight Howard scored 24 points, Bryant had 14 points and 11 assists in another pass-first performance, and the Lakers hung on to beat New Orleans 111-106 Tuesday night for their first three-game winning streak in five weeks.

Earl Clark had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers (20-25), who jumped to an 18-point lead midway through the fourth quarter with their third straight game of patient passing and hard-nosed defense quarterbacked by Bryant. The fifth-leading scorer in NBA history has warmly embraced his new role as a playmaker - no surprise for somebody whose first basketball muse was Magic Johnson.

"It's working pretty well," said Bryant, whose 39 assists in the Lakers' last three games are the biggest three-game total of his 17-season career. "It's very easy for me to look over the defense and know where they're coming from, just kind of line my guys up in the right way and just pick them apart."

With Bryant running the show, the Lakers even survived a frenetic finish. Their lead dwindled to 102-101 with 2 minutes left shortly after an electric 16-2 run in a 2 1/2 minute stretch by the Hornets, but Clark hit a layup and Steve Nash calmly buried a 3-pointer with 1:21 left to clinch Los Angeles' ninth straight win over New Orleans.

Nash had 12 points and five assists, while Antawn Jamison scored 16 points. Four-time All-Star Pau Gasol had seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists as a reserve in the Lakers' final home game before a seven-game trip, their longest of the season, while the Grammy Awards take over Staples Center.

The trip should be daunting for the Lakers, who have lost 15 of 20 on the road this season, including seven straight since Christmas. Instead, they're optimistic about trying out their new approach in a hostile environment.

"We're doing a good job of not being selfish, and of doing whatever we can to help our team win," Howard said. "Things are clicking for us. Our offense is a lot smoother, and on defense we're really holding each other accountable."

Sounds simple - but the Lakers have rarely looked this good in their complex season.

Eric Gordon scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half for the Hornets, who got within one point on Greivis Vasquez's running jumper.

Ryan Anderson scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Hornets, who had won eight of 12, including an impressive victory in Memphis two nights earlier at the start of their five-game trip. Anderson, Vasquez and Robin Lopez led the impressive late rally that just fell short, with Lopez finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds.

"We're a young team that's still building chemistry, and to come back like that is a really good confidence boost for the guys," said Gordon, a Staples Center favorite in his career with the Clippers. "We had a chance to win. We were getting a lot of stops and were scoring at will. It just boiled down to the final plays."

Rookie Anthony Davis had 18 points for the Hornets, who haven't beaten the Lakers at Staples Center since January 2009.

Bryant reached new statistical heights in his revamped role, racking up 10 assists in three straight games for just the fifth time in his career and the first time in four years. Bryant also had eight rebounds, falling just short of a triple-double for the third straight game.

Two days after beating Oklahoma City in impressive fashion, the Lakers got right back to their improved form in the first half, holding the Hornets scoreless for 7:41 spanning the first two quarters with a 17-0 run.

"Even though we were down 18, we should have won the game," Vasquez said. "It's hard losing like that, but I thought we battled. We just can't get down by 18. We can't allow us to do that to ourselves. We've got to bring the juice from the beginning. We're good enough to beat anybody if we just play with energy. If we don't play with energy, it's going to be a long night."

NOTES: The Hornets' brutal road trip began in Tennessee and will eventually take them to Minnesota for their fourth game in five nights on Saturday. They'll be at Utah on Wednesday night. ... Steve Blake had two points and four assists in the veteran guard's first appearance for the Lakers since Nov. 11. He had missed the Lakers' past 37 games with an abdominal injury that required surgery and resulting groin problems. ... The Lakers missed four free throws in less than 1 second of clock time midway through the third quarter. After Howard missed two, Gasol grabbed the rebound and got fouled without the clock moving - but Gasol then missed two as well. Clark collected that rebound, but threw it past Bryant for a backcourt violation.

Notebook: Lakers 111, Hornets 106

Dan Arritt, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:20 AM - Updated Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:20 AM

THE FACTS: Another game, another victory for the new-era Lakers. Kobe Bryant brushed up against a triple-double for the third consecutive game, Dwight Howard took advantage of his allotment of shots and L.A.'s bench nearly carried the team through to the end of the 111-106 victory Tuesday night against the visiting Hornets, the final game at Staples Center before the rejuvenated Lakers embark on a seven-game road trip.

THE STAT: Bryant finished with 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds He has 39 assists in the last three games, the most assists in any three-game stretch of his 17-year career. He also reached double digits in helpers in three straight games for the first time since January 2009.

QUOTABLE II: "People forget Magic [Johnson] was my first idol. ... My dad was 6-10 and I thought I was going to be 6-9, so I tried to do everything he could do and then I realized my growth spurt stopped at 6-5."

-- Kobe Bryant

TURNING POINT: Give the Hornets credit, they refused to go away. They trailed by 18 points in the second quarter before cutting the deficit to four with 2:45 remaining in the third, then fell behind by 18 again in the fourth before storming back within a point on an eight-foot runner by Greivis Vasquez with 2:04 remaining. Earl Clark scored the last of his 20 points with some fancy footwork inside for the Lakers, and Vasquez then air-balled a two-footer on the other end. Steve Nash and Eric Gordon traded 3-pointers before Antawn Jamison scored on a drive to extend L.A.'s lead back to 109-104 with 15 seconds remaining.

HOT: Clark, who rode the end of the bench the first two months of the season, sank a career-high four 3-pointers on five attempts and grabbed 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double this month. Howard shot 9-for-13 from the floor and scored a team-high 24 points, though he grabbed just four rebounds, matching his season low when playing the entire game. The bench also played a huge role in the win, as Jamison (16 points), Jodie Meeks (13) and Pau Gasol (seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists) allowed Bryant to play less than 35 minutes for just the second time this month.

QUOTABLE II: "Our second group played really well tonight. That's something that's going to be really important going forward."

-- Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni

NOT: New Orleans' bench combined for 32 points but shot 11-for-38 from the field (28.9 percent). Brian Roberts missed all six of his field-goal attempts, Jason Smith was 1-for-6 and Ryan Anderson was 6-for-15. The starters weren't completed immune, as Al-Farouq Aminu went scoreless in 17 minutes. Aminu had worked his way back into the rotation after sitting out six games in December, but Hornets coach Monty Williams probably won't put up with many more performances like Tuesday's.

QUOTABLE III: "A lot of our guys didn't have the game they've been having, for whatever reason, but we did have the kind of output, effort and intensity in the second half to compete against a team like that."

-- Monty Williams

GOOD MOVE: With Bryant taking over much of the play-making lately, Nash has been given the freedom to shoot more. He still believes in quality over quantity, however, and proved that against the Hornets by shooting 4-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, and finishing with 12 points and five assists. His 3-pointer with 1:21 left in the game demonstrated he's still a dangerous threat down the stretch.

BAD MOVE: Hornets center Robin Lopez was whistled for his third foul while trying to guard Howard with 5:59 remaining in the third quarter. Howard missed both foul shots, but Lopez fouled Gasol while battling for the rebound, sending him to the bench for the rest of the quarter. With the Lakers in the bonus, Gasol stepped to the line and missed both his shots as well. Lopez returned with 10:49 left in the game and scored eight of his 16 points down the stretch, but the Hornets could have used him much earlier, especially with the way Howard was dominating the paint on the offensive end.

NOTABLE: The Lakers play their next seven games on the road. ... Lakers back-up point guard Steve Blake returned after sitting out the previous 37 games with a lower abdominal injury that required surgery. He finished with two points and four assists in 14 minutes. Chris Duhon was the odd-man out, failing to appear in a game for the first time since Jan. 4. ... New Orleans guard Roger Mason Jr. came in shooting 69.2 percent (18-for-26) from 3-point range since Dec. 29, but he played just three minutes, missing his only 3-point attempt.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Wednesday @ Phoenix, Friday @ Minnesota, Sunday @ Detroit. For the Hornets, Wednesday @ Utah, Friday @ Denver, Saturday @ Minnesota.

• Hornets: --
• Lakers: Hill

• Hornets: --
• Lakers: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #58 Josh Tiven, #65 Sean Wright
• Attendance: 18997
• Duration: 2:11