
Los Angeles Lakers
Western Conference Standing : 1 Streak: Won 1 |
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Golden State Warriors
Western Conference Standing : 11 Streak: Lost 4 |
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---Francisco Gomez, Lakers.com
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Gasol's 4th-quarter surge leads Lakers
OAKLAND, Calif - (AP) Pau Gasol had 33 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, Kobe Bryant added 21 points and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit for their seventh victory in eight games, 114-106 over Golden State on Wednesday night. Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, whose home loss to New Orleans on Tuesday snapped a six-game winning streak for the Western Conference leaders. Los Angeles struggled for the second straight night before Gasol took charge against Golden State's undersized frontcourt, scoring six points during the decisive 12-2 run midway through the period and adding a clinching jump-hook with 57 seconds to play. Jamal Crawford had 25 points and nine assists for Golden State, and Corey Maggette added 19 points before fouling out of the Warriors' fifth loss in six games. But after beating Boston late last month, Golden State gave another tough game to an NBA finalist, with Marco Belinelli largely limiting Bryant's scoring until Gasol opened up the game down the stretch, getting 14 points and eight rebounds in the fourth quarter alone. Both teams were missing key contributors. Stephen Jackson, the Warriors' captain and second-leading scorer, sat out with a hamstring injury, while Lakers forward Lamar Odom didn't make the trip because of a bone bruise. While Maggette played his second straight game for Golden State after missing 15 games with a strained hamstring, the Warriors lost starting forward Brandan Wright to a partially dislocated left shoulder late in the first half after Gasol dunked on him. Trevor Ariza scored a season-high 17 points for the Lakers, playing 33 minutes in Odom's absence. Sasha Vujacic scored seven of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 7:19 left. Odom injured his knee in the second quarter of the Lakers' loss to New Orleans, leaving coach Phil Jackson with just six healthy players from the nine-man rotation he regularly used earlier this season. Los Angeles still started strong after the previous night's disappointment, jumping to a 17-point lead in the second quarter. But Wright and Crawford led a 16-2 Golden State run to close the gap before halftime, and Crawford's layup put Golden State ahead early in the third quarter. The Warriors led 90-87 entering the fourth, but the clubs traded the lead until Vujacic's 3-pointer put Los Angeles up for good. The Warriors played their NBA-low 14th home game in front of an enthusiastic sellout crowd, but their brutal travel schedule over the past month still doesn't let up until the weekend. Golden State, which hasn't played two games in the same city since Dec. 10-12, must travel to Portland on Saturday before returning home against Indiana on Sunday for the start of a seven-game homestand. Notes: Warriors G Monta Ellis is one step closer to returning from his nasty offseason ankle injury. The club cleared him Wednesday for the final stage of rehabilitation before returning to practice and games. Ellis, who averaged 20.2 points last year, hasn't played since tearing up his ankle while crashing a motorized scooter in August. ... G Anthony Morrow wasn't with the Warriors while awaiting the birth of his child with his girlfriend. ... Derek Fisher had eight assists, but just nine points in 38 minutes on 3-of-10 shooting. 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
Lakers - Warriors Preview
Fresh off their second home loss of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers look to start a new winning streak on Wednesday night in Oakland against a Golden State Warriors team that's lost four of five. Los Angeles (27-6), which had won six straight overall and 15 in a row at home, saw both streaks snapped Tuesday night in a 116-105 loss to New Orleans - the first defeat at Staples Center for the Lakers since they lost 106-95 to Detroit on Nov. 14. Kobe Bryant scored a team-high 39 points and made 6 of 7 3-point attempts Tuesday, but managed only two points in the fourth quarter after tallying 20 in the third. The Hornets outscored the Lakers 27-13 in the decisive final 12 minutes. "After the third quarter, they pretty much weren't going to let me get a shot off," said Bryant, who is averaging 35.0 points in his last three games. "Shots didn't go for us.'' Bryant, who had 31 points in the Lakers' 130-113 home win over Golden State on Dec. 28, is averaging 31.4 points, 6.8 boards and 6.0 assists in his last five games in Oakland. Former Warrior Derek Fisher had 19 points Tuesday, all but one of them coming on his season-high six 3-pointers. He is scoring 17.9 points per game and hitting 58.6 percent from 3-point range in his last seven contests versus Golden State, where he spent the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. Lamar Odom will miss this contest and is scheduled to undergo an MRI Wednesday after hyperextending his right knee against the Hornets. While the Lakers look for their eighth win in 10 games at Golden State, the Warriors (10-26) are seeking their third straight home victory overall. Returning home may help Golden State recover from a winless three-game road trip which concluded Monday with a 119-114 loss at Utah. It will be a tough task, though, without leading scorer Stephen Jackson. He strained his right hamstring against the Jazz and is expected to miss at least two weeks. The Warriors did get a key player back. Corey Maggette returned from a hamstring injury and had 23 points and five boards in his first game since Dec. 6. Golden State went 5-10 while Maggette was sidelined. "I'm looking at the bigger picture, and it's just weird for us because when somebody comes back, somebody else goes out. We got Corey back, and then Stephen went down. It's tough," said Warriors guard Jamal Crawford, averaging 25.0 points in his last three games against the Lakers. Maggette has also played well versus the Lakers, averaging 27.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists in his last four games against them. Andris Biedrins posted his fourth consecutive double-double on Monday with 14 points and 17 rebounds. Biedrins, third in the NBA with 12.1 rebounds per game, had eight points and 17 boards against Los Angeles in the Dec. 28 matchup. 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
GAME NOTES
NOTES & CONNECTIONS The Lakers lead their season series with Golden State 1-0 after splitting last season’s series with the Warriors 2-2 and sweeping each of the previous two season series 4-0. This will be the 287th regular season meeting between the two teams in the Los Angeles Era with the Lakers leading the all-time series 179-107. Including their time in Minneapolis, the Lakers and Warriors have met a total of 377 times with the Lakers holding a 230-147 all-time series advantage. The Lakers have not lost a season series to the Warriors since they were defeated 2-3 over five games during the 1994-95 season. The Lakers are 16-3 in their last 19 overall games against Golden State but had two win streaks against the Warriors snapped last season: a 9-game overall win streak against Golden State snapped 12/14/07 at ORACLE Arena and a 9-game home win streak vs. Golden State snapped 3/23/08 at STAPLES Center. At STAPLES Center, the Lakers are 17-2 all-time against the Warriors. On the road, the Lakers have gone 7-3 against the Warriors in their last 10, winning 5-of-their-last 6 at ORACLE Arena. Under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers are 26-7 against the Warriors. In 45 career games including 36 starts against the Warriors, Kobe Bryant is averaging 26.8 points. Additionally, Lamar Odom posted his first triple-double as a Laker with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against the Warriors on 4/11/06. Last season, Odom pulled down a career-high 22 rebounds on 3/23/08 vs. Golden State and just one day later, posted 23 points, 21 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 rebounds at Golden State, becoming the first Laker in 13 years to record consecutive 20-rebound games and just the fifth player in the NBA since 2000 to post at least 20 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots in a single game. Lakers guard Derek Fisher played two seasons for Golden State, where he averaged a career-best 13.3 points during the 2005-06 season. Warriors forward Ronny Turiaf played 3 seasons with the Lakers, averaging a career-best 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds with the Lakers last season.
LAKERS SCOUTING REPORT
Check back soon for our Scouting Report against the Golden State Warriors.
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GASOL NAMED 2008 EUROPEAN PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS ABOUT POINTS BACK-TO-BACK
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