Lakers Gameday | 03/26/09 | Lakers 92, Pistons 77
 Los Angeles Lakers
Western Conference Standing : 1 Streak: Won 4 |
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Detroit Pistons
Eastern Conference Standing : 7 Streak: Lost 3 |
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---Francisco Gomez, Lakers.com
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Bryant scores 30 points, Lakers beat Pistons
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.(AP) Kobe Bryant had a reason to smile when he left The Palace for a change. Bryant scored 30 points and helped the Los Angeles Lakers beat Detroit 92-77 Thursday night, snapping a nine-game losing streak on the Pistons' home court. "It feels good to finally walk out of here with a win,'' said Bryant, who helped Los Angeles score the last 20 points of the third quarter to surge ahead for good. Including three losses in the 2004 NBA finals, the Lakers hadn't won on the road against the Pistons since Jan. 8, 2002. The Western Conference-leading Lakers earned their fourth straight victory to pull within a game of NBA-leading Cleveland, and five in a row on the road for a league-high 26 this season. "One of our goals is to have the best record before the playoffs start to have home-court advantage,'' Lamar Odom acknowledged. At this point, the once-mighty Pistons simply are hoping to make the playoffs. They were without Allen Iverson (back), Richard Hamilton (groin) and Rasheed Wallace (calf) against the Lakers. "They were short-handed,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We should've won.'' Hamilton is expected back on Saturday at Washington, where Wallace might also return, and the team hopes Iverson will be able to play next week. "It's a psychological lift knowing they're going to return soon,'' coach Michael Curry said. Detroit desperately needs the trio on the court to salvage some pride in a season that has steadily unraveled since trading Chauncey Billups to Denver for Iverson in November. The Pistons lost their third straight game and seventh of nine, falling into a seventh-place tie with Chicago in the Eastern Conference. They're 18-19 at home and three games under .500 overall. "They've had some trouble,'' Byrant said. "But when the playoffs come around, I don't think anybody wants to play this team.'' Detroit reserve Will Bynum had career highs with 25 points and 11 assists and helped his banged-up team outscore the Lakers 30-14 in the second quarter to lead 42-39. The Pistons built a 10-point lead early in the second half and were ahead by five midway through the third quarter when Bryant made a layup and Trevor Ariza had consecutive putback dunks to spark a 20-0 run. "We took Will Bynum out of the game and nobody else could do anything,'' Detroit's Tayshaun Prince said. "He's the reason we had the lead at the half and the reason we made that comeback in the second quarter. "Once he came out - end of the ballgame.'' Los Angeles looked as if it was going to rout the struggling Pistons when it led 25-12, marking a low first-quarter total for an opponent, but their Bynum-led bench dominated the second quarter. The Lakers, though, ended any doubts about the outcome by outscoring Detroit 31-13 in the third quarter and coasted to victory. Derek Fisher scored 15 points for the Lakers, and Odom and Pau Gasol each had 12 points. "Those guys were playing well as a team and when they do that it's a lot easier for Kobe to pick his spots,'' Prince said. Detroit's Antonio McDyess had 14 points - making him its only double-digit scorer other than Bynum - and 12 rebounds. Notes: Bryant did not answer a question about his former housekeeper suing him and his wife. The former housekeeper contends she was "harassed and humiliated,'' denied health insurance and forced to quit because of "intolerable'' working conditions. ... Detroit handed the Lakers their first loss at home this season, winning by 11 points in mid-November, and has beaten each division leader this season. ... Jackson led the Lakers for the 727th game, tying the team record for games coach set by Pat Riley. ... Detroit C Kwame Brown played for the Lakers from 2005-08 and his last game for them was against the Pistons before being traded to Memphis in the Gasol trade. ... Lakers C Andrew Bynum, who has been out since Jan. 31 with a torn ligament in his right knee, can run and do some basketball drills, but Jackson said he's not close to even practicing with the team. ... Aretha Franklin attended the game. ... Bynum surpassed his career-high 22-point game last week against the Clippers and career-high nine-assist game Tuesday against Chicago. 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 - PISTONS PREVIEW
Armed with a big lead early in their last game, the Los Angeles Lakers emptied their bench and put their depth on display. The injury-depleted Detroit Pistons haven't had many chances to do that lately. The Lakers look to take advantage of the Pistons' ongoing injury woes and win at The Palace for the first time in more than seven years Thursday night. Los Angeles (56-14) has the best record in the Western Conference, due largely to an MVP-caliber season from Kobe Bryant and the consistent contributions of fellow All-Star Pau Gasol. The Lakers, though, also boast solid role players throughout their lineup, as evidenced by the balanced production they got in Tuesday night's 107-89 win at Oklahoma City - their sixth in seven games. Bryant and Gasol helped build a 17-point lead after one quarter and six Lakers scored in double figures as the team used all 12 active players. Josh Powell had 14 points and Luke Walton added 11 to lead the reserves, who have helped ease the burden on the team's star players as the postseason approaches. "I just think towards the end of the season we have to take each one of these games and start thinking about the playoffs and gearing ourselves towards that," Powell said. "Every game is important, and we're just trying to do what we can do to sustain the effort." The Lakers' depth could be particularly valuable against the struggling Pistons (34-36), who have lost five of six while dealing with injuries to three of their starters. Allen Iverson is sidelined indefinitely with a sore back that has kept him out of 14 straight games, Richard Hamilton has a nagging groin injury that's forced him out of the last five and Rasheed Wallace has sat out eight in a row with a strained left calf. Iverson isn't expected back soon, and the statuses of Hamilton and Wallace for Thursday's game are uncertain. Without all three players Tuesday night, Tayshaun Prince and Will Bynum scored 20 points apiece, but Detroit couldn't keep up with Chicago in the second half of a 99-91 road loss. "We really need those guys back," said Prince, averaging 18.7 points but shooting 43.1 percent over his last nine games. "But at the same time, while they're not here, we've got to figure out a way in the situation we have. We almost have to play perfect basketball to come out with a win." Detroit is 13-25 since a season-high seven-game winning streak from Dec. 23-Jan. 4. "We need to stay the course and try to control what we can control," coach Michael Curry said. The Pistons have controlled their home court against the Lakers lately, winning nine straight meetings at The Palace since a 121-92 loss Jan. 8, 2002. That streak that includes three victories during the 2004 finals, won by the Pistons in five games. Bryant has played in eight of those losses in Detroit, averaging 23.9 points but shooting 37.7 percent from the field. Bryant had 29 points but shot 12-for-30 in the Lakers' first meeting with the Pistons this season Nov. 14. Wallace and Iverson scored 25 apiece and Prince added 18 as Detroit won 106-95 in Los Angeles. 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 currently trail the season series with the Pistons 0-1 after split last season’s series with the Pistons 1-1. This will be the 198th meeting between the Pistons and Lakers with Los Angeles holding a 128-69 advantage. The Lakers are 2-8 in their last 10 overall contests with Detroit, and in Detriot, have lost their last six straight regular season games after winning nine straight regular season games in Detroit from 1993-2002. The Lakers are 7-3 all-time against the Pistons at STAPLES Center. Under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers are 10-7 against Detroit (1-4 in the postseason). In 22 career games including 18 starts against the Pistons, Kobe Bryant is averaging 22.5 points with a personal high of 40 established March 4, 2006 at STAPLES Center. On 2/8/07, the Lakers were held to a series low 78 points in Detroit, breaking the old mark of 81 points established 2/10/05 at Detroit. As a member of the Denver Nuggets, newly acquired Pistons guard Allen Iverson scored a Nuggets/Lakers series-high 51 points against the Lakers last season on 12/14/07 at Pepsi Center. The Lakers and Pistons have met five times in the postseason since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, six including their time in Minneapolis, with the Lakers going 4-2 in those meetings but just 1-2 in NBA Finals. Piston’s center Kwame Brown played 136 games for the Lakers from 2005-08, averaging 7.4 points and 6.2 rebounds during that span. His last game as a Laker was against the Pistons before being included in a trade that brought Pau Gasol from Memphis to the Lakers. Pistons guard Arron Afflalo played his freshman (2004-05) and sophomore (2005-06) seasons at UCLA alongside Lakers guard Jordan Farmar while Tayshaun Prince (Dominguez HS) and Amir Johnson (Westchester HS) both played high school basketball locally in the Los Angeles area.
LAKERS SCOUTING REPORT
The last time we played Detroit was on November 14th at Staples Center. That night the Pistons ruined our chances for an undefeated season beating us 106-95. They shot well that night and we shot poorly and Detroit won the game at the free throw line – they shot 29-34 and we shot 11-16. We have lost six straight games at the Palace of Auburn Hills and it will take a very good effort to break their streak. Detroit has a poor record this season for a number of reasons but the main one is injuries. Iverson has missed the last 14 games, Rasheed Wallace has missed the last eight games, and Rip Hamilton has missed the last five games. All three are listed as out at the time of this writing but that can change by game time. Regardless of the type of season they are having they are capable of beating anybody (especially at the Palace). Evidence of this is the fact that they have beaten five of the current division leaders (Us, Cleveland, Orlando, Denver, Boston). Just like the game at Oklahoma City, a quick start will help keep the crowd out of the contest and set the tone for what we want to be a long night for the home team. The Pistons are no longer trying to play the up-tempo game we saw from them earlier in the season. They will run off opportunities (like steals) but will not look to take the ball out of the basket and push it (the exception is when Will Bynum comes in the game). Because of their recent injuries Prince and McDyess are looking to score more. With his length Prince is a tough matchup when he gets it on the post or in a wing isolation. McDyess is hurting people on the offensive boards lately as well as in a pick and pop situation. We must contain Stuckey, Afflalo, and Bynum. We cannot allow them to penetrate our paint. If the Pistons are missing their key offensive players we cannot help their cause by giving up easy points – transition, free throws, offensive rebounds/putbacks. They will run some generic NBA play sets so we must be ready to shut these down. Defensively, the Pistons have shown some 2-3 zone. They are sometimes vulnerable in transition because their guards penetrate a lot and get buried in the paint so they are not in position to get back and form a line of transition defense. If Detroit goes small we must recognize it and pound the ball inside. We must show more patience than we did in the first game. Instead of one or two passes and then a shot we must use three, four, or five passes – getting the ball from side to side or from inside to out and back in – to get a great shot.
LAKERS UPDATES
LAKERS CLINCH 20th PACIFIC DIVISION TITLE PHIL JACKSON TO TIE JOHN KUNDLA TONIGHT, APPROACHING PAT RILEY FOR MOST GAMES COACHED IN FRANCHISE HISTORY HOT SHOTS With their March 19 victory over Golden State, the Lakers have now shot .500 or better from the field in FIVE consecutive games for the first time since doing so from 12/21/90 – 1/3/91. The last time the Lakers shot .500 or better from the field in six-straight games occurred a season earlier, when the Lakers did so from 3/25/90 – 4/5/90. HITTING THE ROAD |
