Gameday: Lakers 90, Grizzlies 82

Lakers beat Grizzlies for 6th straight home win

By GREG BEACHAM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Andrew Bynum had 15 points and 15 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 90-82 Sunday night for their sixth consecutive home victory.

Matt Barnes scored 15 points and Pau Gasol had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won six of eight after an 0-2 start despite playing the NBA's busiest early-season schedule, matching Oklahoma City with 10 games in the first 15 days.

Although they haven't lost at Staples Center since their season opener on Christmas, the Lakers committed a season-high 27 turnovers and never pulled away from the injury-depleted Grizzlies. Memphis had beaten Los Angeles in two of the last three meetings, including a 19-point blowout in the Grizzlies' last trip to Staples.

Rudy Gay scored 19 points to lead five players in double figures for Memphis, which wrapped up a three-game road trip with an unimpressive fourth quarter. The Grizzlies have lost two straight after winning their first two games following Zach Randolph's serious knee injury.

Marreese Speights scored 17 points, O.J. Mayo had 15 and Quincy Pondexter added 14 for the Grizzlies.

Barnes, who joined the Lakers' starting lineup last week, energized the club for the second straight game with strong defense in the fourth quarter, including a dramatic block of Speights' layup attempt with 3:34 to play.

Bryant had just four points in the fourth quarter, failing to score 30 points for the first time in four games. Los Angeles managed just 12 points on 5-for-18 shooting, but the Grizzlies had only 14 points of their own, never getting closer than four points.

At least the Lakers' awful 3-point shooting improved, with Steve Blake hitting three of the Lakers' six 3s.

Pau Gasol rarely guarded his younger brother, Marc, who managed just two points on 0-for-9 shooting. The Spanish brothers, traded for each other in early 2008, went to dinner on Saturday night in their usual tradition.

The Lakers responded well to a rare off day, jumping to a nine-point lead in the first quarter with strong play in the half court on both ends. Los Angeles stretched its lead to 14 points in the second quarter, repeatedly scoring inside against the Grizzlies' patchwork frontcourt with playmaking by Bryant and Pau Gasol.

The Grizzlies were among the few NBA teams who could match the Lakers' twin 7-foot stars in the low post, but long-term injuries to Randolph and Darrell Arthur have compromised their depth. Memphis had its usual success against the Lakers in transition, but couldn't score consistently in half-court sets.

Memphis scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to trim the Lakers' lead to 78-74. Los Angeles missed its first seven shots of the final period, but the Grizzlies never got closer.

NOTES: Lakers F Josh McRoberts missed his fourth consecutive game with a sprained left big toe. He intends to return within a week. ... Fans near courtside included Rihanna, Bradley Cooper, David Arquette, Los Angeles Kings forward Mike Richards and Anthony Kiedis, who had a walking boot on his right foot.

POSTGAME QUOTES



Mike Brown:

Opening statement:

“It’s no secret 27 turnovers is too many. I thought it was an area, again, that was disappointing. They were poor turnovers that led to a lot of fast break points. I thought we did a good job in the half court defensively. This team shot 41 percent and scored 82 points, with 31 of those point were fast break points. In a game that was not a high tempo game --- it was a controlled, methodical game --- [it’s] a game that we should excel at if we can take care of the basketball. We were able to win because our half court defense was pretty good. I have to give our guy s credit for playing good, solid defense in the half court.”

“I thought Kobe played an outstanding game with the nine assists and the 26 points on 11 of 22 shooting. That’s pretty good basketball when you’re sharing it that much and you’re helping your team by scoring and scoring at a high clip.”

“I thought a lot of our turnovers were unforced. We talked to our guys and said ‘Hey, you don’t have to keep making the home run play.’ And I thought we kept trying to make the home run play a few too many times. I thought we did a decent job [of executing]. We shot 47 percent and scored 90 points so our execution had to be halfway decent.”

“I was just helping my teammates. He [Ellis] is an all-star caliber player, you know, one of the league’s leading scorers and you just want to make him work for the shots. I know being bigger he won’t be able to shoot over me so… he’s quick but I know I can keep a little bit of space and stop uncontested shots.”

“It’s a little bittersweet. A win is a win and it’s an important win for us but we got to clean a lot of stuff up.”

“I think it’s enjoyable because we’re both playing in the best league in the world, and playing well and having a big role with our teams. So, it’s enjoyable that way, it’s always painful to the one who loses, but from another point it’s nice and special.”

“No, obviously that’s the downside of the game. That’s how they stayed in the game, we kept them in the game by being careless with the ball. And so, we have to address that and make sure that we put our minds into making sure we take care of the ball.”

“We did a good job. They’re normally a good rebounding team and they normally give us difficulty on the boards but tonight Andrew did what he normally does, Pau was great on the boards and Matt was spectacular.”

“He’s playing to his strengths and he’s great on the glass, very active. He’s good at getting us easy opportunities and second opportunities.”

“Happy we got a win. I mean, when we get to the film and tape and everything in practice tomorrow there’s some things we have to clean up of course. But, then we did a lot of good things at the same time. So, very happy to get the win, but we have things to work on tomorrow.”

“It’s a by-product of everything. Trusting each other, believing in each other, the offense is creating good spacing. So, everything adds up, it’s just good teamwork.”

“You’ll have a lot of nights like that with us. We’re not a transition team by any means, so you won’t see the type of fluidity that you see from other ball clubs in the league.”

“It’s just him getting used to it. We’re going to be going to him a lot. It’s just getting used to the consistency and touches and then dealing with double teams. He’ll be fine --- he’s a quick learner.”

“Kobe came out really sharp, had a lot of shots and once we started competing with them and being aggressive, we turned them over, we got outrun. We competed and played hard but they won the game in the first quarter.”

“Well that was one of the things I said before the game is that we didn’t want to get into a hole. We wanted to jump on them first, we didn’t and we were down whatever we were down in the first quarter…nine points, they took it to ten at half time. We outscored them by two in the second half so that’s important when you go on the road.”

“It seemed like once we made a run, they would come back and make a run. It’s like we would never respond. Once we can get over that, we’ll be a better team.”

“We definitely settled for jump shots a lot more than we usually do. You know it’s hard to win like that. We adjusted to their lank. Everyone knows they’re not only tall, but they’re the longest team in the league. It’s tough playing against this team. They frustrate a lot of people. They scare a lot of people from the paint but yet we still played them tough.”

“It’s on us. We haven’t shot the ball well from three at all this year. It’s just another team that caught us with a bad night.”

Grizzlies-Lakers Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON

One of the NBA's most hectic schedules and an injured right wrist haven't appeared to bother Kobe Bryant. The Los Angeles Lakers star also hasn't experienced too many problems in recent home games against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Bryant will try to continue his scoring binge and lead Los Angeles to a sixth consecutive win at Staples Center on Sunday night against a Memphis team that's coming off its first defeat since losing perhaps its most important player.

Lakers coach Mike Brown said recently that Bryant has needed painkilling injections before every game since tearing a ligament in his right wrist during the preseason. That hasn't seemed to affect the 13-time All-Star in the past three contests as he's scored 30 or more points in each.

He had a season-high 39 on Friday to lead his fatigued team to a 97-90 win over Golden State. Los Angeles was playing its league-high ninth game in 13 days, and Sunday's game will tie the Lakers (5-4) with Oklahoma City for the most over the season's first 15 days. "We went through stretches where we couldn't score, and so he carried us," Brown said. "That's what great ones do."

Bryant has a chance to continue his surge Sunday considering he's averaged 32.7 points over his last seven home matchups with Memphis (3-4). With his help, Los Angeles produced a four-game win streak over the Grizzlies at Staples Center, but that was snapped with a 104-85 defeat last January.

Rudy Gay scored 27 points and Zach Randolph had 21 in that game, but one of those players will be missing from Memphis' lineup Sunday. Randolph is expected to be out for six to eight weeks after tearing the MCL in his right knee during a 104-64 loss in Chicago last Sunday.

Despite the absence of its third-team All-NBA forward, Memphis produced its first back-to-back wins of the season before losing 94-85 at Utah on Friday.

The Grizzlies gave up a season-high 52 points in the paint during that game and let the Jazz shoot a season-high 50.7 percent, also the best performance by a Memphis opponent.

The Grizzlies led by seven late in the third quarter before stumbling down the stretch.

"We got to be better at the end, especially on the road," said center Marc Gasol, who had a season-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. "We got to be better executing and knowing our scheme defensively, and trying to take them away from what they are trying to do."

Gasol and the Grizzlies might have trouble doing that when they visit his older brother Pau's Lakers team. Los Angeles has prevailed by an average of 12.2 points during its five-game home win streak, while Memphis has been outscored by 14.5 per game while going 1-3 on the road.

Gay will try to help the Grizzlies get their third win in four overall meetings with the Lakers by continuing his recent success against them in Los Angeles.

The Grizzlies forward has averaged 26.3 points on 56.6 percent shooting while making 7 of 9 from 3-point range over his last three road games in the series.

Copyright 2012 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

SEASON & SERIES NOTES; CONNECTIONS
The Lakers and Grizzlies split last season’s series 2-2 after the Lakers took the 2009-10 season series from Memphis 2-1. This will be the 61st meeting between the two franchises and the 38th since the Grizzlies moved to Memphis. In that time, the Lakers have lost just two season series to the Grizzlies (2004-05, 2005-06). The Lakers lead the all-time series 44-16 but are just 22-15 versus the Grizzlies since the team moved to Memphis. In their last 10 meetings with Memphis, the Lakers are 7-3 overall but just 3-3 in their last six contests. The Lakers are 4-1 in their last five home games against Memphis, 6-4 in their last 10 and 16-6 all-time at STAPLES Center against the Grizzlies. In Memphis, the Lakers have gone 7-3 in their last 10 road games at FedExForum. In their first meeting of the 2010-11 season, the Lakers scored a series-high 124 points in a 124-105 victory 11/2/10 vs. Memphis. In their last meeting of the 2008-09 season (4/12/09), the Lakers held Memphis to a series low 75 points, surpassing the old record of 79 points (2/14/05 @ MEM). Individually, Kobe Bryant is averaging 24.8 points for his career against the Grizzlies (54 games, 47 starts). In 2007-08, Bryant scored an NBA season-high 53 points 3/28/08 vs. Memphis. Four seasons ago in Memphis (3/22/07), Bryant scored a series-high 60 points, becoming only the 3rd player in NBA history to score 50+ points in three consecutive games. Additionally, the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol from Memphis in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie and the draft rights to his brother, Marc Gasol, on February 1, 2008. On December 22, 2008, the brothers Gasol faced off in the NBA for the first time, with Pau (15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks) bettering his brother Marc’s line (8 points,7 rebounds). In 10 games against his former team, Pau is averaging 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.50 blocks. Both brothers played for Spain in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Pau remains the franchise leader in a number of statistical categories, including points (8,966), rebounds (4,096) and blocks (877), in 6-plus years with Memphis. Also, Lakers forward Josh McRoberts played on the same high school AAU team (Spiece Indy Heat) as Grizzlies guard Mike Conley Jr. (Greg Oden & Daequan Cook were also on team).

SHOOTING BLANKS
In their January 5 loss at Portland, the Lakers struggled to 0-for-11 shooting from behind the three-point arc despite opening the contest connecting on 11 of their first 12 field goals. The zero in the three-point field goals made column marks the first time the Lakers have not made at least one three-point shot since November 16, 2003 vs. Miami when the team combined to go 0-for-9. With 11 attempts and zero made, the Lakers also equaled the franchise record for most three-point field goal attempts without a make, established, ironically, 2/26/83 at Portland (0-11 3FG) and equaled again on 3/9/01 vs. San Antonio (0-11 3FG).

BRYANT YOUNGEST IN NBA HISTORY TO 28,000 POINTS; 6th EVER TO REACH MILESTONE
With a free throw at the 10:43 mark of the third quarter January 1st at Denver, Kobe Bryant reached 28,000 points for his career. In doing so, Bryant became the youngest to 28,000 points in NBA history (33 years, 131 days), surpassing Wilt Chamberlain (34 year, 109 days) who reached the milestone back on December 8, 1970. Michael Jordan (34 years, 333 days), the only other guard in NBA history to score 28,000 points, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (34 years, 363 days), Karl Malone (35 years, 212 days), and Shaquille O’Neal (37 years, 319 days) round out the top six. Additionally, in reaching 28,000 points in 1,109 games, Bryant became just the 6th player in NBA history to do so and the 5th fastest in terms of games. Chamberlain was the fastest to reach 28,000, doing so in 825 games, followed by Jordan (886), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,008), Karl Malone (1,070) and Shaquille O’Neal (1,154).

Last season, Bryant reached the 27,000 point milestone with his 28th point January 30 vs. Boston. In doing so, Bryant became the youngest to 27,000 points in NBA history (32 years, 160 days), surpassing Wilt Chamberlain (32 years, 202 days) who reached the milestone back on March 11, 1969. Additionally, Bryant became the 8th player in NBA history to score 27,000 points and the 5th fastest to do so (1,069) in terms of games. Chamberlain was the fastest to reach 27,000, doing so in 780 games, followed by Jordan (852), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (965) and Karl Malone (1,035). The youngest player in league history to accumulate 18,000 – 20,000 and 23,000 – 28,000 points, Bryant was the 16th fastest to 18,000, 15th fastest to 19,000, 15th fastest to 20,000, 12th fastest to 21,000, 12th fastest to 22,000, 11th fastest to 23,000, 9th fastest to 24,000, 9th fastest to 25,000, 8th fastest to 26,000 points and 5th fastest to 27,000 points in terms of games.

BRYANT NOW 3RD ON NBA FRANCHISE CAREER POINTS LIST During the 2009-10 season, with his 29th point on February 1, 2010 at Memphis, Kobe Bryant surpassed Jerry West as the Lakers all-time leading scorer. In the history of the NBA, only two players have scored more points with a single franchise than Bryant (28,049): Karl Malone (1st/36,374) and Michael Jordan (2nd/29,277). Last season, Bryant moved past Hakeem Olajuwon (26,511) 12/19/10 at Toronto and John Havlicek (26,395) 12/10/10 at Chicago into third on this list.