Fisher, Bryant lead Lakers past Hornets

NEW ORLEANS(AP) The Hornets were primed to pull off an improbable comeback until Kobe Bryant made it impossible.

Bryant scored 20 points, highlighted by a tough 3-pointer over James Posey with just over a minute left, and the Los Angeles Lakers improved to 7-0 with a 93-86 victory over New Orleans on Wednesday night.

"I just wanted to shoot it in his face,'' Bryant said of the late 3-pointer. "I knew I was due.''

The dramatic and deflating shot stemmed a frantic 17-4 Hornets run and put the Lakers ahead 86-80 with 1:08 to go.

"I knew Posey was going to sit on my arm, so I just had to back him up and try to shoot it,'' Bryant explained. "I knew it was going to be a tough shot because I had Posey draped all over me, so I just needed to focus on the basket and try to put it in.''

Derek Fisher hit four 3-pointers and also finished with 20. He had 18 through the first three quarters, leading what to that point had been a dominant effort by Los Angeles, which never trailed.

The Lakers led by as much as 23 before nervously holding on against a team that is expected to be one of their chief rivals for Western Conference supremacy.

Chris Paul led New Orleans (4-3) with 30 points and 13 assists, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers appeared to have the game in hand after Andrew Bynum's 8-foot turnaround jumper increased their lead to 79-63 with just under six minutes to go. But Paul scored 11 points and assisted on three other baskets during a stirring surge that pulled New Orleans to 83-80 on Paul's floater off the glass with 1:33 left.

The fans were on their feet, urging on the defense, which appeared to be on the verge of getting another stop when Bryant's difficult 3 as the shot clock wound down hit the back rim and dropped straight through.

"I'm never surprised to see him do anything,'' Fisher said. "He's one of those rare guys in the history of the game that I think can actually make the ball go in. ... Mentally, he's able to lock in on that rim and get the ball in the basket. That's what separates him from some of the best to ever play.''

Hornets coach Byron Scott said Posey could not have defended the play much better.

"Pose was right in his face, and that is what great players do, they make big shots,'' Scott said. "You have to give Kobe a lot of credit because that was a big-time shot.''

Soon after, Fisher made a key steal from David West and the Lakers never allowed the Hornets to get within one possession again.

However, Lakers coach Phil Jackson was a little annoyed that the game got that close.

"We sucked the joy out of a good victory,'' he said.

Bynum and Pau Gasol each scored 14 for Los Angeles, and Trevor Ariza added 10 points. Bynum also had four blocked shots, setting the tone with a block on Hornets center Tyson Chandler on the game's opening possession.

West had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Peja Stojakovic had 10 points but was only 3-of-13 shooting. Chandler had 10 rebounds.

"We just spotted them too many points,'' West said. "We just didn't have any rhythm offensively.''

The Lakers dominated most of the game, taking a 28-17 lead on Jordan Farmar's jumper as the first quarter ended. The basket ignited a 12-2 run that gave Los Angeles a 38-19 lead on Sasha Vujacic's jump shot.

Poor shooting prevented the Hornets from making a sustained run in the first half. Paul kept feeding Stojakovic for open perimeter attempts, but Stojakovic couldn't get any to fall, missing his first eight shots.

Fisher's jump shot from just inside the 3-point line capped a 6-0 Lakers run to close out the second quarter and give Los Angeles a 51-30 lead at halftime.

The Hornets showed signs of making a game of it early in the third quarter, but only briefly. Stojakovic finally found his shooting touch, hitting a pair of 3s during an 11-2 run that also included a pair of alley-oop dunks by Chandler, both set up by Paul.

Fisher's running jumper stemmed New Orleans's surge, then Bynum scored inside before Fisher hit a 3 and the Lakers began to pull away again, leading 69-46 after Bynum scored inside.

The Lakers are now the only undefeated team in the league following Atlanta's loss to Boston, but Jackson didn't put too much stock in that.

"If at the end of the season it's like this then it would mean a lot,'' the coach said, grinning. "There have been a lot of teams that have gotten off to good starts and it doesn't mean they have a great finish, but this is what we want to do and we're doing the right thing.''

Notes: The best start to a season in Lakers franchise history is 11-0 in 1997-98. ... Bryant moved within three points of Larry Bird on the NBA's career scoring list. Bird scored 21,791 points with Boston. ... Paul extended to seven games his record streak of 20-point, 10-assist games to start a season. ... Fisher came in averaging 9.5 points. ... Paul has had a steal in 90 straight games, the longest active streak in the NBA. ... The Lakers are 2-0 in the second of back-to-back games.

LAKERS-HORNETS PREVIEW

by Mike Trudell, Lakers.com

Heading into second half of their back-to-back games, Lakers Reporter Mike Trudell chatted with Hornets.com beat writer Jim Eichenhofer about the Hornets best two-on-two lineup, how'd they fare against the Lakers' Kobe Bryant & Pau Gasol tandem, and the upcoming game at New Orleans Arena Wednesday.

Click here to read more of Jim over at Hornets.com

Lakers-Hornets Preview

When New Orleans hosts the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, Hornets coach Byron Scott leads his team against the league's stingiest defense.

Good thing he has one of the NBA's most potent offensive weapons in Chris Paul.

With 21 points and 13 assists in Saturday's 100-89 win over Miami, Paul set an NBA record by recording his sixth consecutive double-double of 20 points and 10 assists to begin a season.

"That is very historical for him to be able to pass a name like that that's a Hall of Famer," Scott said of the record previously set by Oscar Robertson in 1968. "If he stays healthy and keeps growing as a basketball player, obviously he'll be a Hall of Famer, too."

Paul, who had 19 points and a career-best 21 assists in a 118-104 victory against the Lakers on Nov. 6, 2007, extended his steals streak to 89 straight games with four against the Heat. He leads the NBA in steals (3.3) and assists (11.7).

Paul added seven rebounds in his record-setting night against Miami.

"(20 points and 10 assists) is a very unusual stat," Paul said. "Assists only occur when your teammates do what they are supposed to be doing."

Tyson Chandler posted his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, David West had 21 nine and Peja Stojakovic hit four 3-pointers and scored 12 against Miami.

After trailing Atlanta by eight after the first quarter of its 87-79 loss on Nov. 5, and scoring only seven points in the second quarter of its 92-89 loss at Charlotte on Friday, New Orleans (4-2) held Miami to 13 second-quarter points as it built an 11-point halftime lead.

"We haven't, for some reason, come out and played with energy," said Hornets swingman Morris Peterson, who received an MRI on his sore left knee on Tuesday and could miss Wednesday's game. "A lot of times we'd be playing to the other team's level instead of playing our game and doing what we do, which has made us successful."

Heading into Tuesday's game at Dallas, Los Angeles' league-leading defense (84.4) was the key to its 5-0 start. But that defense was largely missing through three quarters, as the Lakers trailed going into the fourth for the first time this season.

Los Angeles held Dallas to 39 second-half points and won 106-99 to extend its streak of holding opponents under 100 points to six games.

"Nobody panicked," said Kobe Bryant, who scored 13 of his 27 in the second half, including seven in a row during the fourth quarter. "We just kept at it."

Pau Gasol had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum added 11 and 10 as the Lakers improved to 6-0 for the first time since their 2001-02 championship season. They are one of two remaining unbeaten teams along with surprising Atlanta.

"We know what we're capable of," said Bryant, who averaged 28.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists against New Orleans last season as the teams split four meetings. "We feel better about ourselves than we did last year. It's early, but we're on the right track."

Trevor Ariza tallied a season-high 13 off the bench and had a pivotal block on a Jerry Stackhouse 3-point attempt in the final minute.

"That's what we do, we try to change the pace of the game, play with high energy," Ariza said of the Lakers' bench, which outscored Dallas' 36-20.

GAME NOTES
NOTES & CONNECTIONS

The Lakers split last season’s series with the Hornets 2-2, going 1-1 both at home and on the road versus New Orleans. The Lakers are 6-4 in their last 10 overall games against New Orleans and are 6-4 in their last 10 road games against the Hornets as well. The Lakers are 7-3 in their last 10 homes games against the Hornets and 9-3 all-time against the Hornets at STAPLES Center. Since the Hornets move to New Orleans from Charlotte prior to the 2002-03 season, the Lakers have gone 5-2 at New Orleans Arena while going 0-2 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City during their temporary relocation from 2005-07. Under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers are 14-7 against the Hornets. In 2006, the Lakers and Hornets took part in the city of New Orleans first professional sports game following Hurricane Katrina when they met at the New Orleans Arena March 8, 2006. The Lakers won that contest 113-107 behind 40 points from Kobe Bryant. In 2006-07, Bryant scored a series record 50 points 3/23/07, becoming just the second player in NBA history to score 50-plus points in four consecutive games. In their first meeting of last season 11/6/07, Peja Stojakovic made a Lakers opponent record 10 three-point field goals while Chris Paul became only the seventh Lakers opponent to record at least 21 assists in a game and the first since John Stockton did so in April of 1990. Additionally, Hornets head coach Byron Scott played 11 seasons for the Lakers including his final NBA campaign in 1996-97 with then rookie Kobe Bryant. Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons spent the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons as an assistant coach on Scott’s staff in New Orleans. Hornets center Tyson Chandler attended Dominguez High School in Compton, CA, leading the Dons to three consecutive CIF Division II State Championships and a USA Today High School National Championship as a junior.

The key to beating the Hornets is to know their personnel. Some teams in this league beat you with their execution of precise offensive playsets.

Read more...

LAKERS UPDATES

UNDEFEATED STARTS
With their victory over the Rockets November 9, the Lakers improved to 5-0 for the 6th time in franchise history dating back to their days in Minneapolis. The Lakers most recently opened the 2003-04 campaign with five consecutive victories but haven’t started 6-0 since the 2001-02 season. Under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers have now started the season 5-0 or better three times (2008-09, 2003-04, 2001-02). With the Bulls, Jackson also opened the season 5-0 twice, going 5-0 to start the 1995-96 season and 12-0 to open 1996-97. Below are a list of the Lakers longest undefeated streaks to start a season: 1997-98 – 11-0 2008-09 – 5-0 1987-88 – 8-0 2003-04 – 5-0 2001-02 – 7-0 1980-81 – 5-0

LAKERS RANK FIRST IN BOTH OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE SCORING TO START SEASON
Currently ranked 1st in the NBA in both points scored and points allowed, the Lakers are winning by an average margin of 22.4 points per game through five games this season. The next closest in team in point differential to date are the undefeated Atlanta Hawks, whose victories have come by an average of 10.2 points per game. While still early in the season, it may be worth noting that the franchise record for point differential in a season is +12.3 established by the 1971-72 Lakers. The next highest mark in franchise history was +9.3 by the 1986-87 Lakers, making the ‘71-72 season the only year in which a Lakers team has ever averaged victory by double-figures. Phil Jackson’s 1999-00 Lakers rank third on this list with a +8.5 average margin of victory.

JACKSON TO COACH 1400TH CAREER GAME
When the Lakers face the Mavericks November 11, Phil Jackson will become just the 13th coach in league history to coach 1,400 career games. Jackson, the only coach in NBA history to win better than 70 percent of his games (981-418, .701), ranks 6th all-time in terms of victories behind Larry Brown (1,012) and 13th all-time in games behind Red Auerbach (1,417). Back on March 25, 2007, Jackson coached career game 1,300 to pass his mentor Red Holzman (1,299) on the all-time list. The fastest coach to 900 career victories, Jackson reached the mark in 1,264 games, 14 games fewer than Riley, who held the old mark at 1,278 games. Additionally, on September 7, 2007, Jackson was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, earning induction in his first year of consideration for election. Now in his 18th season as an NBA head coach, Jackson is 981-418 for a .701 win percentage, the best in league history.

BRYANT 50 POINTS SHY OF LARRY BIRD FOR 23RD ON NBA’S ALL-TIME SCORING LIST
With 23 points November 9 versus Houston, Kobe Bryant moved within 50 points of Larry Bird (21,791) on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Bryant (21,741) has played in 871 games and is currently in his 13th season while Bird reached 21,791 points in 897 career games over 13 seasons. Gary Payton (21,813) ranks 22nd on the all-time list. Last season, Bryant became the 25th player in NBA history to score 21,000 points and in doing so, became the second youngest player ever to 21,000 points (29 years, 194 days) and second ever under the age of 30 behind Wilt Chamberlain (29 years, 184 days). Michael Jordan was the third youngest to 21,000 (30 years, 40 days). Earlier in the season, Bryant, at 29 years, 122 days, became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points and the third player ever to reach 20,000 points under the age of 30, ranking ahead of Wilt Chamberlain (29 years, 134 days) and Michael Jordan (29 years, 326 days). The youngest player in league history to accumulate 12,000 – 20,000 career points, Bryant became the 12th fastest to 21,000 points in terms of games, reaching the mark in 845 career games, moving him ahead of Larry Bird who reached 21,000 points in 857 career games. Through his career, Bryant was the 29th fastest to 15,000, the 22nd fastest to 16,000, the 20th fastest to 17,000, the 16th fastest to 18,000, the 15th fastest to 19,000 and the 15th fastest to 20,000 points in terms of games.