Lakers Gameday | 04/05/09 | Lakers 88, Clippers 85
 Los Angeles Lakers
Western Conference Standing : 1 Streak: Won 3 |
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 Los Angeles Clippers
Western Conference Standing : 14 Streak: Lost 5 |
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---Francisco Gomez, Lakers.com
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Odom, Kobe lead way as Lakers beat Clippers 88-85
LOS ANGELES(AP) Lamar Odom had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Kobe Bryant added 18 points and the Los Angeles Lakers edged the Clippers 88-85 Sunday night to remain a game behind Cleveland for the NBA's best record. The Lakers' 61st victory was listless against a team that trails them by 43 games in the Western Conference. But they did just enough to win their third in a row, improve to 33-5 at home and assert themselves as the dominant tenant at Staples Center. The Lakers have already clinched home-court advantage through the Western Conference finals, but with five games remaining, still have a shot at edging the Cavaliers to earn home-court throughout the NBA finals. The Lakers already own the tiebreaker, having beaten LeBron James & Co. twice. Eric Gordon scored 24 points, Zach Randolph added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Brian Skinner grabbed 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who've lost five in a row and 12 of their last 15. Trailing 81-62 in the fourth - their second 19-point deficit - the Clippers scored 16 in a row, including eight by Fred Jones, to close to 81-78 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. Bryant stopped the run, but just barely, as his first free throw spun and bounced around before going down. He made the second and the Lakers clung to an 83-78 lead. But Jones hit a floating jumper to get the Clippers within three. Bryant's 3-point attempt bounced off the rim, the Clippers snagged the rebound, then Odom fouled Gordon. The rookie made both and the Clippers trailed 83-82 with 1:09 to play. Pau Gasol's driving layup and another pair of free throws by Bryant kept the Lakers ahead 87-82. Gasol finished with 14 points. Gordon hit a 3-pointer that drew the Clippers to 87-85 with 5 seconds to go. Derek Fisher got fouled and missed the first one with the crowd on its feet. He made the second, helped by some body English, for an 88-85 lead. After a timeout, Steve Novak inbounded to Baron Davis with Trevor Ariza closely guarding him. Davis' jumper went off the rim as time expired. The Lakers hardly lit it up, shooting 42 percent (33-of-78) for the game. Bryant and Odom both missed pairs of free throws in the third quarter, when the Clippers twice got within five points. But with Randolph and Davis each picking up their third fouls around the same time, the Lakers closed the quarter on an 11-4 run to lead 68-56 going into the fourth. Odom hit a 3-pointer and benefited on a goaltending call against Skinner, while Bryant scored the Lakers' final three points. The Lakers led by 13 in the opening quarter and extended their advantage to 19 early in the second. From there, the Clippers used a 27-18 run to close to 54-44 at halftime. Gordon scored 11 points in the spurt. The Lakers could be getting Andrew Bynum back this week. He's been out since tearing a right knee ligament on Jan. 31 at Memphis. The third-year center will work out again Monday, but won't travel with the team to Sacramento for its game Tuesday. "There's an outside chance he'll be activated by week's end,'' coach Phil Jackson said before the game. "He looks good; physically, he's strong.'' Notes: The Clippers were without Marcus Camby (sprained left ankle), Chris Kaman (flu), Ricky Davis (sore left knee), and Mardy Collins (right foot plantar fascitis). Al Thornton and Novak played despite foot and ankle injuries, respectively. ... Fisher left with a sore left foot late in the first quarter, but returned to start the second half. ... The Lakers completed a four-game season sweep. ... Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got a standing ovation on the 25th anniversary of him passing Wilt Chamberlain to become the NBA's career scoring leader. ... Center fielder Torii Hunter took in the game on the eve of the Angels' season opener. When the arena's kiss cam zoomed in on actors Kate and Oliver Hudson, she laughed and he leaned in to air kiss his sister's cheek. Copyright 2009 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 - CLIPPERS PREVIEW
The Los Angeles Lakers have dominated the Western Conference this season, but that's not enough for a franchise hungry for its first NBA championship in seven years. The Lakers take a seven-game winning streak against the Los Angeles Clippers into Sunday night's home game as they try to make a push toward the league's best record. Back from a seven-game road trip, the Lakers (60-16) improved to 32-5 at home with Friday's 93-81 win over the Houston Rockets - their second straight victory following a pair of losses to end March. They achieved the 60-win plateau for the first time since going 67-15 in the 1999-2000 championship season, coach Phil Jackson's first with the franchise. "We have to make an attempt for (the league's best record)," Jackson said. "I wouldn't feel good about it, even with these players, if we didn't. We really don't have to threaten our well-being by doing it, I don't think." The Lakers trail Cleveland by one game for the league's best record, which ensures home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Kobe Bryant's first-quarter technical foul against the Rockets proved he isn't just coasting through the final few regular-season games. "I wanted to send a message to my teammates and to the referees that we're here to play, we're not going to be out here just kind of going through the motions," said Bryant, the only player who has been with the Lakers the entire time since their last title in 2002. "If a guy's going to grab my shirt, I'm going to let you know about it. It's important to come out with a sense of urgency right from the top. We're fighting for a bigger prize." Bryant is averaging 20.3 points in three matchups with the Clippers this season, but he hasn't had to put up gaudy numbers as the Lakers have won by an average margin of 22.3. In the Pacific Division rivals' last matchup on Jan. 21, Bryant recorded his 16th career triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Teammate Pau Gasol is seeking his ninth double-double in 10 games. The struggling Clippers (18-58) return to Staples Center for what's technically a road game looking to snap a four-game skid. Saturday's 120-104 defeat at Denver was the Clippers' 23rd road loss in their last 26 away from home. Zach Randolph posted his 28th double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-plagued Clippers, who had only nine players available. Randolph will face the Lakers for the first time this season. Acquired from the New York Knicks on Nov. 21, the power forward missed the Clippers' Jan. 21 loss with a sore left knee. The Clippers won't have to face Lakers center Andrew Bynum (torn left MCL), who scored a career-high 42 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the teams' last matchup, but they also likely won't have their own starting center. Marcus Camby has missed three straight games with a sprained left ankle. The Clippers have not defeated the Lakers since a 118-110 win April 12, 2007. Copyright 2009 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 the Clippers 3-0 after sweeping last season’s series 4-0 for the first time since the 2002-03 season (4-0). The two teams have met 180 times overall and on 114 occasions since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles with the Lakers leading the all-time series 135-45 (89-25 vs. LAC). Overall, the Lakers have lost just two series in franchise history (1992-93 & 1974-75) to the Clippers. The Lakers are 8-2 in their last 10 games against the Clippers overall and have won their last seven straight. At home against the Clippers, the Lakers are 15-4 all-time at STAPLES Center and have gone 7-3 in their last 10 home contests. On the road against the Clippers, the Lakers are 7-3 in their last 10 games as a visitor at STAPLES Center. Under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers are 28-7 versus the Clippers. In their first meeting of 2008-09, the Lakers defeated the Clippers 117-79 with their 38-point margin of victory marking the Lakers largest margin of victory over the Clippers since they moved from San Diego to Los Angeles prior to the 1984-85 season. The previous mark of 37 was established just last season in a 119-82 victory 3/7/08. In their most recent meeting, 1/21/09, Andrew Bynum recorded a career-high 42 points while becoming the first Lakers player other than Kobe Bryant to record 40-plus points since 2003, while Kobe Bryant posted his second triple-double over a three game stretch. In 49 career games versus the Clippers including 41 starts, Bryant is averaging 24.8 points. Additionally, Bryant has posted two 50-point games against the Clippers, most recently 4/12/07 vs. LAC (other: 50 points 1/7/06 @ LAC). With the departures of Elton Brand and Corey Maggette this offseason, no Clippers remain from Lamar Odom’s time with the team (1999-03). Current Clippers Head Coach and General Manager Mike Dunleavy led the Lakers to a 101-63 record in two seasons with the team (1990-92) including a Western Conference Championship in 1990-91. Lakers forward Josh Powell played the 2007-08 season with the Clippers, averaging career-highs in points (5.5), rebounds (5.2) and minutes (19.2) in 64 games (25 starts).
LAKERS SCOUTING REPORT
With last night’s 120-104 loss in Denver the Clippers stretched their current losing streak to five games. The last time we played the Clippers (January 21st) we beat them 108-97. Andrew Bynum had 42 points and 15 rebounds but gave up a career night to Deandre Jordan with Jordan getting 23 points on 11-12 shooting. In that game we had 70 points in the paint to 50 for the Clippers and we had 34 second chance points to the Clippers 13. It is important that we come out of the gate with the mentality to dominate early in a similar fashion. If we jump on them early hopefully we can take away their motivation to compete for the full 48. The Clippers have a lot of talented, explosive individuals but because of injuries this season have not been able to sustain a positive flow. Because of these injuries and missed games they have started 3 guards and gone to small lineups in their last couple of games. We must not allow one or two of their individuals to bust out and have big nights. Coach Dunleavy likes to start quarters and come out of timeouts with 2 plays that they don’t call. If Jordan is in the game we need to be aware that they like to run lobs for him. Since one of our goals is to eliminate easy points we can start by taking away the lobs. We also need to contain their guards as they are a good penetrate and pitch team. One of the plays that they ran frequently last night at Denver is one called “12” or “12 LIVE”. On their regular 12 action the point dribbles to the wing and the wing then goes and sets a cross screen for Zach Randolph. They feed the post and space the floor. On 12 Live the point passes to the wing and then sets the cross screen himself. The live part refers to the fact that the wing has a live dribble to use if he needs it. We know Randolph has had some huge games against us in the past so we must be ready to mix up our defensive coverages to keep him guessing. Offensively, we need to recognize that we should go inside-out against this team. Randolph doesn’t want to expend a lot of energy on the defensive end so we must go at him. The bottom line is that we should not take this game for granted. In order to continue improving towards the playoffs we need to keep our focus on our game. We need to play a solid, low turnover game and stay strong on the boards and inside.Read more...
LAKERS UPDATES
LAKERS CLINCH #1 SEED IN THE WEST 60 WIN SEASONS THIRD TIME’S A CHARM POINTS ABOUT POINTS Since moving to LA, the Lakers 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 ranked 3rd in the NBA in point differential, winning by an average of 7.5 points per game through 76 games this season. 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 3rd on this list with a +8.5 margin of victory. PHIL JACKSON PASSES PAT RILEY FOR MOST GAMES COACHED IN FRANCHISE HISTORY |
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