ANAHEIM, Calif.(AP) Pau Gasol scored 13 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Charlotte Bobcats 88-77 on Thursday night without the ailing Kobe Bryant.
Bryant, the NBA's reigning MVP, missed the exhibition game because of residual swelling in his hyper-extended right knee following a collision with teammate Josh Powell on Tuesday night against the Bobcats in San Diego.
The crowd of 12,147 at Honda Center let out a collective groan when public address announcer Lawrence Tanter gave them the news following the player introductions.
"I've got a little bit of puffiness in the back of the knee. It's just from the trauma of landing the way I landed,'' Bryant said. "So we'll just knock that out and make sure the swelling's out of there, which should be soon. Then I'm OK. After seeing the injury on TV, I'm surprised it's not worse, to be honest.''
Adam Morrison scored 13 points for the Bobcats, who finished the preseason 0-7. The fifth-year team will open the regular season Oct. 30 at Cleveland under Larry Brown, who is coaching his ninth NBA team following the firing of Sam Vincent in April.
Morrison played 18 minutes and was 4-for-8 from the field - a year and three days after he tore a ligament in his left knee while attempted to defend the Lakers' Luke Walton on a drive to the basket in an exhibition game at Staples Center. The injury kept the third overall pick in the June 2006 draft sidelined for the entire season.
Morrison played in six preseason games, averaging 16.5 minutes and 8.3 points.
The Bobcats took their only lead, 43-42, on a fast-break dunk by Emeka Okafor. The Lakers responded with a 15-0 run capped by Andrew Bynum's two free throws with 2:36 left in the period, and Jordan Farmar beat the third-quarter buzzer with a 3-pointer that gave Los Angeles a 66-55 advantage.
The Lakers extended the lead to 73-56 on Farmar's layup with 9:23 to play, and the Bobcats got no closer than the final margin.
Despite Jason Richardson's 1-for-8 shooting in the first half and Charlotte's 27.0 field goal percentage, the Lakers led only 36-30 at intermission. The Bobcats, who have shot under 44 percent in every game during the preseason, finished at 32.9 percent. Last season, they shot 45.2 percent as a team and finished 32-50.
Powell also sat out for the Lakers because of a strained left hamstring. Teammate Sasha Vujacic, who has been sidelined throughout training camp because of an avulsion fracture in his left ankle, was examined by a foot specialist Thursday and said he hoped to get some minutes in the preseason finale.
"It feels better,'' said Vujacic, who signed a three-year, $15 million contract on July 28. "There's no sharp pain, but it's still a little bit irritated. I just have to face it and play with it. Tomorrow I'm going to do the full practice and then we go from there. I'm going to be there and I'm going to be in uniform, which I'm excited about. But if the coach doesn't play me, that's not my decision. We'll see.''
The Lakers will conclude their preseason schedule against Oklahoma City on Friday night in Ontario, Calif., then open the season Tuesday night at home against Portland.
BOBCATS - LAKERS PREVIEW by Mike Trudell, Lakers.com
Just a day after defeating Charlotte 102-98 in San Diego, the Lakers look to earn their fifth-straight preseason win Thursday night Anaheim against those same Bobcats … The NBA’s only team yet to win.
For the first time this season, the Lakers will appear exclusively on TNT, something that we’ll see at least ten more times in the regular season. The game tips at 7 p.m., and we’ll have full coverage for you with a live in-game diary.
To preview the matchup, here’s a by-the-numbers look at the box score from Tuesday night’s contest:
0
Points in 13:35 of run for Sean May, Charlotte’s starting power forward that is coming off a knee injury. Teammate Jared Dudley scored only one point in 24 minutes.
5
Lakers in double figures on Tuesday: Pau Gasol (12); Andrew Bynum (16); Derek Fisher (12); Trevor Ariza (14); Jordan Farmar (17).
6
Lead changes between the two teams on Tuesday, an unusually low number. The Lakers led for almost the entire first quarter, the Bobcats for most of the second and third, and the Lakers for much of the fourth.
16
Points scored by Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace to lead the Bobcats, though Richardson needed 13 shots to get there. Wallace did his damage by attacking the rim and going to the line, hitting 8-of-10 resulting free throws.
38
Points in the paint for L.A., compared to 48 for the Bobcats. This number is surprising as the Lakers had been dominating that category, scoring 74 against Regal F.C. Barcelona and 64 against Toronto.
50
Percent of three-point shots hit by L.A. against the Bobcats, including two each from Jordan Farmar and Vladimir Radmanovic.
59.1
Jordan Farmar’s shooting percentage in the preseason, including 5-of-6 against Charlotte, rendering 12.0 points in 20.7 minutes. Farmar had a game-high 17 points – including 15 in the fourth quarter – to lead the Lakers over the ‘Cats.
63.2
Pau Gasol’s shooting percentage in six preseason games (24-for-38).
+15 - for Luke Walton who looks great coming off his injury, he added ten points, three boards and two assists.
13 - points added from Pau Gasol, who has been great through out the pre-season. He also contributed with four boards and two assists.
10 - boards grabbed by Andrew Bynum who looks like he is getting his timing back, he had six points and three blocks to go along with his boards.
9 - added from both Validimir Radmanovic and Lamar Odom. Lamar also had a Lakers best with six boards.
8 - points contributed from Coby Karl and Derek Fisher. This is a pre-season high for the second year Laker Coby Karl. Derek Fisher had three assists to go along with his eight points.
The Lakers split their season series with Charlotte 1-1 in 2007-08 after losing their
2006-07 season series with the Bobcats 0-2 for the first time in Charlotte’s existence.
The two teams have met eight times in all with the Lakers splitting the all-time series 4-
4 with Charlotte. In 2006-07, the Lakers and Bobcats played a triple-overtime game
with Charlotte taking the contest 124-133 in the third overtime. It was the Lakers third
ever triple-overtime game in the Los Angeles era and the team’s longest game since a
four-overtime contest in January of 1980 at Cleveland. At STAPLES Center, the
Lakers are 2-2 all-time against the Bobcats while in Charlotte, the Lakers have gone 2-
2 as well. Under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers are 2-4 against Charlotte. In
seven career games against Charlotte, Kobe Bryant is averaging 34.9 points with a
high-game of 58 points coming in the triple-overtime contest 12/29/06. Additionally,
Bobcats center Ryan Hollins was a teammate of Jordan Farmar on the Bruins 2006
Pac-10 Champion and Final Four Team. Michael Jordan, Managing Member of
Basketball Operations for the Bobcats, won six NBA Championships with the Chicago
Bulls under current Lakers head coach Phil Jackson.
LAKERS UPDATES
LAKERS vs. BOBCATS IN THE PRESEASON
While the Bobcats enter just their fifth season in existence, the Lakers will face Charlotte for the fourth and fifth times in the preseason when the two teams meet October
21 in San Diego and again October 23 in Anaheim. The Lakers and Bobcats most recently met during the preseason at last year’s STAPLES Center Shootout, with the
Lakers defeating Charlotte 113-97. Additionally, the Bobcats and Lakers have met once before in San Diego, with the Lakers defeating Charlotte 98-97 October 23, 2005.
LAKERS IN SAN DIEGO
Last season, the Lakers were forced to cancel their preseason game scheduled for Thursday, October 25 vs. Utah in San Diego due to the devastation caused by wildfires
burning throughout San Diego County. Tickets for the game were refunded at the place of purchase with the Lakers also announcing that they would make a $100,000
donation to the American Red Cross to assist with relief efforts. The cancellation snapped the Lakers streak of eight consecutive preseason games in San Diego (1999-
2006). Over that stretch, the Lakers went 5-3 and have won three straight games in San Diego overall. While preseason records are incomplete, in exhibition games on
record, the Lakers are 10-6 all-time in San Diego with trips down the coast dating as far back as 1968 versus the then Seattle Supersonics.
SHOOTOUT
For the NINTH consecutive season, the Lakers will host a four-team shootout at STAPLES Center from October 18-19. This season, the Toronto Raptors will face the LA
Clippers in the first game Saturday, October 18 at 4:30 pm followed by the Lakers taking on Regal FC Barcelona at 7:30 pm. The following day on Sunday, October 19,
the match-ups will be determined by the outcome of Saturday’s games, winners playing winners, losers playing losers. Regardless of outcome, the Lakers will play in the
second game at 7:30 pm. Since the inception of the STAPLES Center shootout, the Lakers have gone 10-6, 4-4 in the FIRST game and 6-2 in the SECOND.
Los Angeles Lakers
Charlotte Bobcats
