Lakers Gameday | 11/30/08 | Lakers 112, Raptors 99

Gasol, Bryant lead way as Lakers cruise by Raptors

LOS ANGELES -- Pau Gasol had 24 points and nine rebounds, Kobe Bryant had 23 points and seven assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 112-99 on Sunday night to improve their league-best record to 14-1.

Bryant came 15 points shy of reaching the 22,000-point mark faster than any other player. Had he done it, he would have beaten Wilt Chamberlain to that total by one day, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Bryant was the fastest to 12,000 and every level up to 20,000. The two-time scoring champion and 10-time All-Star was the second-fastest to 21,000.

Anthony Parker led Toronto with 19 points and five teammates also scored in double figures. Jermaine O'Neal missed his third straight because of a sprained left ankle.

Bryant averaged 48.5 points in the Lakers' previous four home games against Toronto, including a staggering 81 on Jan. 22, 2006 -- the second-highest total in league history. He led the Lakers to a 61-51 lead with 21 points, but was 1-for-3 with two points in his 11 minutes on the floor in the third quarter.

He became a spectator during the fourth while Andrew Bynum and the Lakers' reserves blew the game open with a 17-4 run that increased a six-point lead to 107-88 with 5:50 to play.

Bynum scored seven of his 18 points during the rally, including an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Sasha Vujacic, and another alley-oop play in which he guided in Jordan Farmar's lob above the rim. Bynum shot 8-for-13 and grabbed 10 rebounds despite a bone spur in his right foot, which he's had since landing on Vince Carter's foot during last Tuesday's game against New Jersey.

The Lakers have beaten the Raptors in their last seven regular-season meetings at Staples Center. The Raptors have never won a season series from the Lakers during their 13 seasons in the league and trail the all-time series 20-5.

Jordan Farmar, who turned 22 years old on Sunday, hit a 3-pointer during a 13-1 run that extended a one-point Lakers lead to 51-38 with 4:57 left in the half.

Point guard Jose Calderon, who came in 40-for-40 on free throws, didn't go to the line until 2:40 remained in the second quarter, after the Lakers got a technical foul for a defensive 3-second violation. He was 3-for-3 from the line, finishing with 12 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.

Copyright 2008 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.

The Los Angeles Lakers are off to their best start in seven years. They have to dig just as far into their past to find the last time they lost at home to the Toronto Raptors.

Boasting the NBA's top record, the Lakers look to win their seventh straight home game against the Raptors when the teams meet Sunday night.

Los Angeles (13-1) won its sixth in a row Friday night, beating Dallas 114-107. The Lakers' lone loss this season was 106-95 against Detroit on Nov. 14.

"We're a pretty smart team," said Los Angeles star Kobe Bryant, who had a season-high 35 points. "So if something is not going our way in the first half, we all come in here and not just talk about playing harder, but we also talk about the execution of it. That's the way Phil (Jackson) has raised us to play and think."

The Lakers matched the 2001-02 championship team for the best start after 14 games in the franchise's 61-year history. That club won three more contests before losing its second game.

Bryant was 14-for-26 from the field Friday after going 5-for-17 with 12 points in Wednesday's 120-93 win over New Jersey. He has had little trouble at home against Toronto (8-7) in his career, helping the Lakers win nine of 10 games.

Bryant has scored at least 31 points in each of his last four games versus the Raptors at Staples Center, including the second-highest point total in NBA history with 81 in a 122-104 win on Jan. 22, 2006.

His success has helped Los Angeles win six straight home games over Toronto since an 89-86 loss on Dec. 28, 2001. The Lakers are averaging 110.2 points during that run.

Los Angeles went 2-0 against Toronto last season, averaging 119.0 points while shooting 54.6 percent from the field and 45.9 percent from 3-point range.

The Raptors will need a big game from Chris Bosh and a strong return from Jermaine O'Neal to have any chance of ending their struggles against the Lakers. O'Neal (left ankle) has missed two straight games, but said he expects to play Sunday.

One of Toronto's strengths is its free-throw shooting, making an NBA-best 83.9 percent of its chances. The Raptors, though, may not get many opportunities at the line against the Lakers, who don't sent their opponents there too often.

On Friday, the Mavericks went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line as the Lakers recorded eight fouls, the fewest by the franchise since it moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles for the 1960-61 season.

Dallas was the second straight team that did not attempt a free throw in the first quarter against Los Angeles.

The Raptors had only 10 attempts from the line Friday night, making nine in a 93-88 win over Atlanta.

Bosh led Toronto with 30 points and 10 rebounds. He's averaging 33.8 points in his last four games, but has been held to 14.8 in four career road games versus the Lakers.

Bosh wore a brace on his left knee against the Hawks, but insisted it was only a preventive measure because of knee injuries the past two seasons.

"I'm just happy I'm back to 100 percent," Bosh said. "That's the reason for the brace, to make sure I stay that way."

Copyright 2008 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

The Lakers won last season’s series with the Raptors 2-0 after splitting their 2006-07 series 1- 1. The Lakers and Raptors have split five season series with the Lakers sweeping the other seven 2-0. This will be the 25th meeting between the two teams with the Lakers leading the all-time series 19-5. In the team’s 20th meeting back on January 22, 2006, Kobe Bryant made NBA history, scoring 81 points including 55 points in the second half to bring the Lakers back from 18 down to defeat the Raptors 122-104 at STAPLES Center. Only Wilt Chamberlain back in March of 1962 scored more points in a game (100) and points in a half (59) than Bryant. In addition, Bryant eclipsed Elgin Baylor’s franchise record 71 points in a game and his own franchise record for points in a half (42) in what was ultimately the Lakers largest come-frombehind victory of the season. The 122 points scored by the Lakers in the contest were the most ever scored by Los Angeles against Toronto, eclipsing the old mark of 120 points established in the teams’ first ever game back on December 8, 1995. Last season in Toronto on February 1, 2008, the Lakers matched their largest margin of victory against Toronto with a 121-101 victory at Air Canada Centre. The Lakers are 7-2 all-time against the Raptors at STAPLES Center and are winners of their last six straight on their home floor. When visiting Toronto, the Lakers are 9-3 all-time against the Raptors. The Lakers are 8-2 in their last 10 overall games against the Raptors. Under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers have gone 13- 3 when facing Toronto. In 20 career games including 16 starts, Kobe Bryant is averaging 28.3 points against Toronto. Lakers forward Trevor Ariza played at Westchester High School with Raptors forward Hassan Adams while Lakers center Pau Gasol and Raptors guard Jose Calderon have both played for Spain internationally as members of both the 2008 Olympic silver medal team and the gold medal winning Spanish 2006 FIBA World Championships team. Additionally, at the time of his NBA debut December 5, 1996, Raptors forward Jermaine O’Neal (18 years, 53 days) was the youngest player to ever appear in an NBA game before Lakers center Andrew Bynum (18 years, 6 days) overtook him on opening night of 2005 (11/2/05). Kobe Bryant is the third youngest player to ever appear in an NBA game (18 years, 72 days).

The Toronto Raptors enter the game tonight with an 8-7 record and one of their top players...
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STRONG STARTS
At 10-1, the Lakers are off to their best start to a season through 11 games since 2001-02 when Los Angeles started the year 10-1 and ultimately extended their one-loss record to 16-1, the most wins ever accrued by the Lakers before their second loss. The Lakers best undefeated start to a season came in 1997-98 when they opened the year a franchise record 11-0 and ran their record to 12-1 before losing their second game. In all, the Lakers have been 10-1 through 11 games FIVE times - 2008-09: 10-1, 2001-02: 16-1, 1997-98: 12-1, 1989-90: 10-1, 1985-86: 11-1. Phil Jackson led teams have won at least nine games before their second loss on four occasions, twice with the Chicago Bulls and now twice with the Lakers – 2008-09: 9-1, 2001-02: 16-1, 1996-97: 17-1, 1995-96: 10-1. With their 95-106 loss to Detroit November 14, the Lakers suffered their first defeat of the 2008-09 season. The loss snapped a seven-game win streak that was the team’s longest to start a season since opening the 2001-02 season 7-0. Only twice in franchise history had the Lakers started the season with a better mark, going a franchisebest 11-0 to open the 1997-98 campaign and 8-0 to start the 1987-88 season. This was the second time under head coach Phil Jackson that the Lakers have opened the season 7-0 (2008-09, 2001-02). Only once has a Jackson-led team opened the season with a better record, with the 1996-97 Bulls going 12-0 to begin the season.

POINTS ABOUT POINTS
The Lakers are currently ranked 2nd in the NBA in points scored (140.8) and 3rd in the NBA in points allowed (91.3) through 11 games this season. Since the NBA went to a four-division format prior to the 1970-71 season and expanded to six divisions prior to the 2004-05 season, no team has ever led the league in scoring while also leading the league in fewest points allowed.
Since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, they have led the NBA in scoring four times (1965-66, 1971-72, 1985-86, 1997-98) but have never led the NBA in fewest points allowed. Additionally, the Lakers are winning by an average margin of 13.5 points per game through 11 games this season. The next closest team in point differential to date is Cleveland at +7.7 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.

BRYANT CLOSES IN ON 22,000 POINTS
With 35 points November 28 vs. Dallas, Kobe Bryant moved within 38 points of 22,000 for his career. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, should Bryant reach 22,000 points Sunday, November 30 vs. Toronto, he would become the youngest player to reach 22,000 points in NBA history, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain (30 years, 100 days) who achieve the milestone on November 26, 1966, by one day. The next youngest to 22,000 points were Oscar Robertson (31 years, 117 days) on 3/21/70 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31 years, 350 days) on 4/1/79. Additionally, should Bryant, who will be playing career game #880 and will be 30 years, 99 days of age on November 30, reach 22,000 points before game #906, he would become the 12th fastest player ever to 22,000 points in terms of career games. 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. Through his career, Bryant has been 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. Earlier this season, with 29 points November 14 against Detroit, Kobe Bryant moved past both Larry Bird and Gary Payton on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Bryant (21,962) now trails Clyde Drexler (22,195) for 21st on the all-time list. Bryant, now in his 13th NBA season, passed Bird in his 874th career game. Bird reached 21,791 points in 897 career games over 13 seasons while Payton reached 21,813 points in 1,335 games over 17 NBA seasons. 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).