Lakers Gameday | 11/30/10 | Grizzlies

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Grizzlies send Lakers to 3rd straight loss, 98-96

By TERESA M. WALKER, AP Sports Writer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)—Mike Conley scored 10 of his season-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, and the Memphis Grizzliesbeat the Los Angeles Lakers 98-96 on Tuesday night, sending the defending champs to their third straight loss.

It’s just the second three-game skid for the Lakers since they traded with Memphis for Pau Gasol to team him up withKobe Bryant and first since March.

The Grizzlies now have won four straight at home and four of five overall.

The Lakers had a chance to at least tie the game or win at the end. Conley lost the ball when he drove the lane and crashed into Pau Gasol. Kobe Bryant passed to Ron Artest for a 3-pointer for the win, but Rudy Gay blocked the shot as the Grizzlies held on for their second win in four games against the defending champions.

Gay finished with 14 points. Zach Randolph had 13 and eight rebounds. Xavier Henry had 12,Marc Gasol had 10 and nine rebounds. O.J. Mayo had 11 points off the bench.

Bryant finished with a game-high 29 points but was 9-of-25 from the floor, including 1-of-6 outside the arc. Pau Gasol had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

It looked like it would be a tight game early as the teams swapped the lead 17 times with 13 ties until Marc Gasol’s three-point play put Memphis ahead to stay with 3:18 left in the first half. The Grizzlies led 51-49 at halftime and opened the third quarter with a 13-4 run started by consecutive buckets by Conley.

The Lakers pulled within 70-65 at the end of the third quarter. Greivis Vasquez opened the fourth with a 3, Mayo hit a 3 and Sam Young hit two free throws for a quick spurt that gave Memphis the biggest lead of the game at 78-65.

The Grizzlies still lead 89-80 and had fans chanting “Defense, defense” when it appeared Bryant had completely missed the bucket with an air ball. The teams were starting to head back down court when an official ruled the Grizzlies had touched the shot, giving it back to Los Angeles.

The Lakers struggled to get a shot off until Shannon Brown’s 3 beat the shot clock with 4:07 left. That seemed to energize the Lakers who started trimming that lead down. Brown scored again, Bryant hit four straight free throws, then Lamar Odom hit a pair.

But Conley kept answering first with a jumper, then his 3 with 1:41 left. Artest hit a 3 with 59.3 seconds left, and Bryant drove for a layup to pull the Lakers the closest since halftime.

Los Angeles had its biggest lead of the game at 43-37 on a 3-pointer by Artest with 6:29 left in the second quarter.

The Lakers stayed in the game in the first half thanks to the free throw line, hitting 12-of-14. Bryant made more free throws by himself (6-of-8) than the Grizzlies (5-of-8).

Oone of Memphis’ highlights in the half came when Hasheem Thabeet, the No. 2 pick overall last year, took a charge from Bryant in the final minute of the first half.

Notes: The Lakers gave Memphis its worst loss this season Nov. 2 with a 124-105 win in Los Angeles. … Bryant came in having hit 32-of-72 from the floor over his previous three games. He was just 6 of 16 in the first half. … Darrell Arthur was inactive with a strained left groin. … The Lakers still lead this series 43-15 and 19-10 on the road. … The Lakers outrebounded Memphis 42-29, but the Grizzlies had a 38-36 edge in scoring in the paint.

Copyright 2010 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 HEAD COACH PHIL JACKSON

On the loss:
“I just think we’re getting off to late starts in the third quarters.  It’s really hard to come out in the third quarters.  You’re not ready to play and, with teams getting a double digit lead, you have to fight it back.  We have to come out with a little more energy.”

On Mike Conley’s performance:
“Defensively, we had trouble keeping in front of him.  A lot of that’s help from the big guys and a lot of it’s his talent.” 

On second half ball movement:
“We found our way in the fourth quarter.  We found what we wanted to get accomplished.  They came out with two three’s at the start of the fourth quarter and we had to call an early timeout which changed up the quarter a lot.  Then we kind of got it back again and started playing ball the right way.  A lot of it just has to do with getting the ball inside, making cuts and movement.  We did that with Pau (Gasol).  Steve Blake got a couple shots and things started going right for us again.”

On Kobe’s recent shooting woes:
“I don’t know.  I think he felt like he had to carry a little bit of the load.  Kobe’s going to come out there and attack if no one else is aggressive enough.  He’s going to test the defense and the other guys are going to have to step in.  I always say if you feed him the ball you’re responsible for a lot of what’s going on.  You have to go away from him early and then come back to him late a lot of times, instead of going to him early and expecting it to come out because he’s going to attack out there.  That’s part of our plan and he’s going to take advantage of that if his teammates give him the ball.”

LAKERS GUARD KOBE BRYANT (29 POINTS, 7 REBOUNDS)

On tonight’s loss:
“Our pick-and-roll coverage down the stretch wasn’t as good as it could have been.  We gave them a lot of opportunities.  Rudy (Gay) made some tough shots though.”

On trying to contain Mike Conley:
“You got to try and corral him.  Make him take some tough shots.  We did that a couple of times.  He made some great tough runners.  You have to try to stop that penetration and not let them get in the paint.  We got to do a better job of that.”

On the game’s last play:
“I went middle and I had the shot that I wanted, but I lost the handle on the ball while I was going up so I kicked it to Ron (Artest).  Ron took a dribble and shot.”

LAKERS CENTER PAU GASOL (15 POINTS, 14 REBOUNDS)

On playing against Marc Gasol:
“He’s gotten more used to the NBA game.  He still has got room for improvement.  He’s a top player.  He’s got great skills.  He’s always been a great passer.  I’d like to see him shoot a little more in the post.”

On Andrew Bynum’s absence:
“Andrew gives us more depth inside and a defensive presence with a big body that can do a lot of things for us.  I’m sure we’d be stronger (with him) for sure.”

LAKERS FORWARD RON ARTEST (12 POINTS, 1 REBOUND)

On the last play:
“I thought Kobe was going to shoot it, but he passed it.  I looked at the clock and I knew I had time to one-dribble and shoot.”

On Rudy Gay’s block:
“It was a great effort on his part.  He closed out totally wrong, but it was a good close out with two seconds left.  It was great defense.  It was well executed.  You don’t see many close outs like that.  He closed out perfect.”

HEAD COACH LIONEL HOLLINS

On tonight’s game:
“It was a game that was a team game.  Our normal top scorers played well and didn’t score as much, but that’s the way basketball is.  Mike (Conley) came out and had 28 points and in the fourth quarter pretty much dominated.  He attacked the basket at will and made plays.  Rudy (Gay) had 14 points, six blocked shots, and five rebounds.  Zach (Randolph) had 13 points and four assists.  Everybody was contributing in ways that contributed to winning versus just looking good on the stats sheet.  That’s what we’re trying to get to—that selflessness as a unit that can go out and just play to win.  I thought it was a tremendous effort.  Every time I looked up, we were ahead.  It was like the ball was going up and down, up and down.  I thought in the third and fourth quarters, our defense was outstanding until that stretch with Kobe (Bryant).  I knew he was coming, and he was going to try to take over.  I thought even at the end he wanted the ball back, the one that was blocked by Rudy.  I could see he was begging.  I have to give O.J. (Mayo) and Xavier (Henry) credit for the job that they were doing earlier.  Kobe is a great player, and he is going to score and do what he does.  I just thought that they fought and battled through screens.  At the end O.J. challenged a couple of his shots, and Kobe didn’t make them.  Sometimes he does, and you’re heartbroken.  But he didn’t tonight, and we’re going home and celebrating.”

On Xavier Henry:
“I think he’s a very mature person.  I remember when we interviewed him in Chicago, and I went away saying that’s Shane Battier all over again.  He is just poised and mature beyond his years.  He understands the big picture of what’s going on.  That’s what you like to see in all your players—come in the league mature.  Unfortunately that’s not always the case, but we keep building on the foundation that we’ve laid.  Xavier has just gone in and done a tremendous job.  He’s attacking the basket, which I always knew he could.  Most people thought he was just a shooter, but I think he’s showing in his first 18 games that he is a guy who can attack the basket and finish.  He’s big and strong, and he’s done a decent job defensively for the most part.  There are some huge names and players that he’s had to guard, and it’s a learning process for him.”

On Mike Conley:
“Mike played a great game tonight.  He has to go back it up tomorrow night when we play the Atlanta Hawks, as we all do as a team.  It’s just his fourth year in the league, and the kid has a long ways to go, as do all of our young players.  They’ve got a long ways to go.  There’s a lot of growth left.  Hopefully we can do some things from a winning perspective that allow the group to stay together and grow and add pieces that can help them.”

GRIZZLIES GUARD MIKE CONLEY (28 POINTS, 3 REBOUNDS, 3 ASSISTS)

On the win:
“It felt great. It’s always good to get a win against L.A., especially when we did it so well. Doing it in the fashion that we did it is how we like to do it every night. It was part of the game plan early to get me involved and get a lot of pick-and-rolls and get me to the basket. It felt like we had an advantage in that category. Coach (Lionel Hollins) said if we had a chance of winning I had to be aggressive and dominate. That’s my nature.”

On his night:
“I always try to give it everything I can. Tonight, scoring was the thing I had to do. I was looking to make plays and sacrifice for the team. I was just happy to get the win. I say this was close to my best game, but I wouldn’t say just because I scored 28 points it is my best game. There are a lot of games where I make a lot of plays for the team to win whether it is steals, rebounds or a double-double, whatever it may be. I love those games more than scoring 28. It was a well rounded game. It was a very good game. I just want to be a havoc offensively and defensively. I want to get in the passing lane and rub people like Kobe (Bryant) as much as I can.”

GRIZZLIES CENTER MARC GASOL (10 POINTS, 9 REBOUNDS)

On the Grizzlies:
“We kept on sharing the ball. We took the best shots every time and did a great job defensively. Everybody was engaged and helped each other. I think that the sixth man defense did a great job too. It is something to appreciate because they played great tonight. In any game you never know who is going to win. We played smart basketball. It’s not rocket science. We just kept making the extra pass. We took the best shot every time, it didn’t matter who took the shot. Everybody was engaged. Everybody was talking and communicating, helping. They are talented and know how to play but, tonight we pulled a W. They beat us almost every time we play them since I’ve been here. It’s a tough match up.”

GRIZZLIES GUARD XAVIER HENRY (12 POINTS, 1 ASSIST)

On guarding Kobe Bryant:
I just wanted to make the game tough on Kobe any way I could. I knew that he could shoot and I knew that he could get through in the post. I just wanted to make it tough on him and that’s what I did. He had to take a lot of shots. I think I did my job. It is fun going against the best in the world when you are 19. I couldn’t have had more fun. It’s crazy. I take pride in everything I do, in my defense and my offense. I just tried to do my best for my team.”

On defense:
“We knew it would take defense because Kobe can get the ball any night. Then, you have Pau (Gasol), Marc’s brother, who is tough. There are a lot of good players on the Lakers. Coach made it a big preference for us to play big defense tonight.”

On playing as a team:
“(We could be) really good if we keep playing like this. We beat Miami, who is supposed to be top in the East. We beat the Lakers tonight. If we keep it up and play as a team and share the ball and be aggressive on offense and defense, I think we’ll be really good.”

GRIZZLIES FORWARD RUDY GAY (14 POINTS, 5 REBOUNDS)

On his defensive play:
“That’s the next step in my career. I have to help out the team defensively. I am known as a scorer. This year I’ve been trying to step out there. That was our problem last year; we couldn’t come together as a team. There were times when we should have won in front of the home crowd. The type of defensive minded team we are here in Memphis the sky is the limit. We all have aspirations of the playoffs. You have to play defensively every night.”

On the last play of the game:
“Kobe (Bryant) came down, you know he was looking for an open look. The team came in and tried to help O.J. (Mayo). Luckily we got in and blocked the shooter.”

LAKERS VS. GRIZZLIES GAME PREVIEW

By NOEY KUPCHAN
The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in a bit of a funk, but nothing that a matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies shouldn't be able to cure.

Then again, Los Angeles seemed to have an ideal opportunity to get back into the win column in its last game, too.

The Lakers have taken seven of eight from the Grizzlies and will look to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season when they travel to Memphis on Tuesday night.

After averaging 112.5 points in its first 14 games, Los Angeles (13-4) has been held to 95.3 per game over the last three while shooting a combined 39.9 percent.

Two nights after blowing a 19-point lead in a loss at Utah, the Lakers returned home Sunday to face an Indiana team which was at .500 and hadn't won a road game against them since 1999. However, Los Angeles fell behind by as many as 15 points and lost 95-92.

"Focus, our energy and effort. ... We need to sustain it throughout the whole game," Lamar Odom said. "It was disappointing after letting a team come back from 19. ... It was real disappointing and we have to go back to the drawing board."

Kobe Bryant had a season-high 41 points versus the Pacers after scoring 31 against Utah. The Lakers are 3-3 when he scores more than 30, compared to 10-1 when he doesn't.

"We're going to score points, but we've got to shore up the defense," Bryant said. "We've got to execute better. We missed too many assignments, and we didn't play with the right energy. ... We can't put all the pressure on the shooters to make shots all the time, because then they start thinking about their shot instead of just relaxing and shooting it."

While Bryant is 6 for 13 from 3-point range in the last two games, Derek Fisher hasn't made one in four straight and has shot a combined 3 for 21 from the field in the past three games. Still, Fisher is connecting on a career-high 47.2 percent of his 3-point attempts, and the Lakers are 7-0 when he scores in double figures.

Bryant has averaged 37.0 points in his last six games at Memphis, and the Lakers won five.

The 12-time All Star and two-time scoring champion ranks third all-time and first among active players with 105 40-point performances, seven of which have come against the Grizzlies. He only scored 23 in this season's lone meeting but was among six Lakers in double figures in a 124-105 home win Nov. 2.

That remains the most points allowed this season by the Grizzlies, but they've been the ones doing plenty of scoring lately when playing at home. They have won three straight at FedEx Forum, averaging 106.0 points while shooting 50.8 percent from the floor.

Memphis (7-10), however, shot 42.4 percent Saturday night in a 92-86 loss at Cleveland, matching its second-lowest scoring output of the season.

The Grizzlies expect to have a better offensive performance Tuesday considering they won't be so tired. They were held to a season-worst 35 points in the second half, possibly due to fatigue after playing Friday and not getting to Cleveland until 4 a.m.

"I'm not going to get into excuses," said Rudy Gay, who scored 30 against the Lakers earlier this month. "We're basketball players. If we weren't professionals, there would probably be times we'd be in a pickup game at 11 o'clock at night."

Copyright 2010 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

THIRD TIME'S A CHARM
With their loss to Indiana on November 28th, the Lakers dropped their second consecutive game; the second time this season they have lost consecutive games. Since the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol on February 1, 2008, the Lakers have now lost consecutive games 18 times (13 regular season, 5 playoff streaks).
Of the 18 two-game skids, only once have the Lakers dropped three straight with consecutive losses 3/4 at Miami, 3/5 at Charlotte and 3/7 at Orlando (their only three- game losing streak since January of 2008). On four occasions, the Lakers played the third game of the streak without Gasol, snapping each of them with victories 3/18/08 at Dallas, 3/30/08 vs. Washington in overtime, 11/17/09 vs. Detroit and 1/10/10 vs. Milwaukee. Prior to their 3-game skid, the Lakers last three-game losing streak came just a week before the trade, with consecutive losses at San Antonio, at Dallas and vs. Cleveland from 1/23/08 through 1/27/08.
Among Phil Jackson's 11 championship teams, only the 1990-91 Bulls (3-game losing streak: 11/2/90 – 11/6/90), the 2001-02 Lakers (3 game losing streak: 2/15/02 – 2/19/02) and 2009-10 Lakers (3 game losing streak: 3/4/10 – 3/7/10) have suffered 3-game losing streaks.40-POINT GAMES
With 41 points November 28th versus Indiana, Kobe Bryant scored 40+ points for the 105th time (regular season) in his NBA career. Bryant last topped the 40-point mark in the regular season back on February 1, 2010 at Memphis when he scored 44 points while passing Jerry West to become the Lakers all-time leading scorer. Last season, Bryant eclipsed the 40-point mark eight times, with the Lakers going 7-1 in those games. In the history of the NBA, only two players have more career 40-point games: Wilt Chamberlain (271) and Michael Jordan (173). The Lakers are now 72-33 all-time in games that Bryant scores 40+ points. Bryant holds the Lakers franchise record for 40- point games in a single season, recording 27 during the 2005-06 campaign. Bryant also holds the franchise record for most consecutive 40-point games (9), established during the 2002-03 season. Only Wilt Chamberlain (14 twice, 10 once) has had longer consecutive 40-point game streaks in league history than Bryant.BACK-TO-BACK
Tuesday's game at Memphis is the first of a back-to-back set with the Grizzlies and Rockets. This season, the Lakers are 2-0 in the first game and 2-0 in the second game of back-to-backs. On the year, the Lakers will play 15 sets of back-to-back games as opposed to the 20 they faced a season ago. The only other time the Lakers have played 15 or fewer sets of back-to-back games came in the team's first ever NBA season (1948-49) when they also played 15 sets of back-to-backs. Chicago, Milwaukee and Atlanta lead the league with 23 back-to-backs each in 2010-11 while Oklahoma City (17), Phoenix (16) and the Lakers (15) will play the fewest sets this season.BRYANT 5th ON NBA FRANCHISE CAREER POINTS LIST
With his 29th point February 1, 2010 at Memphis, Kobe Bryant surpassed Jerry West as the Lakers all-time leading scorer. Additionally, having scored all his points with the Lakers, Bryant moved to sixth on the NBA's franchise career points list. On February 24, 2010 at Dallas, Bryant moved past Reggie Miller (25,279) for 5th on this list. To date, only four players in league history have scored more points for a single franchise than Bryant.GASOL'S PERFECT SHOOTING NIGHT
With 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists while shooting 10-for-10 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free throw line, Pau Gasol became just the third player in the NBA's shot clock era to record a perfect shooting night from the field and the line with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. The only other players to accomplish this rare feat are Gary Payton in January of 1995 (32 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists (14-14 FG, 3-3 FT)) and Charles Barkley in March of 1989 (31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists (10-10 FG, 9-9 FT)). Additionally, Gasol became the fifth Laker in franchise history to convert at least 10 field goals without a miss in a single game and the first to do so since Byron Scott went 10-for-10 2/26/86 at Dallas. Wilt Chamberlain converted a franchise record 14-of-14 field goals without a miss 3/11/69 vs. Detroit with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11-11 FG twice) and Mitch Kupchak (11-11 FG) rounding out the list.IRON MAN
Entering the Lakers game at Memphis, Derek Fisher has played in 430 consecutive regular season games dating back to April 15, 2005, second among all active NBA players behind Portland's Andre Miller 628 consecutive games (began season at 612). Additionally, Fisher has started 308 consecutive regular season games dating back to January 15, 2007, tops among all active players by more than 40 games (2nd - Andre Iguodala). Former Laker A.C. Green holds the NBA record for most consecutive games played with 1,192 dating from 11/19/86 – 4/18/01 while a member of the Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat.SHUTTING IT DOWN EARLY
In the Lakers victory 11/17 at Detroit, Kobe Bryant scored 33 points despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter. The 33 points are the most Bryant has scored in a game in which he did not play in the fourth quarter or overtime since Feb. 23, 2007 against the Celtics. In that contest, Bryant scored 38 points before sitting out the entire fourth quarter. The most points Bryant has scored in a game in which he did not play the fourth quarter came on Dec. 20, 2005 when he posted 62 points in 33 minutes vs. Dallas (18-31 FG, 22-25 FT). Bryant established a franchise record for points in a quarter with 30 in the third of that contest, single-handedly outscoring the entire Mavericks team 62-61 through three quarters.BARNES JOINS BARKLEY FOR UNIQUE DISTINCTION
With 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists 11/19 at Minnesota on a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line, Matt Barnes joined Charles Barkley as the only other player in NBA history to post a minimum 20-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist night while not missing a single shot, with a minimum of 5 field goal attempts AND 5 free throw attempts. Barkley posted 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists on a perfect 10-of-10 from the field and 9-of-9 from the free throw line in a 135-122 victory over the Spurs back on March 24, 1989 with the 76ers. Ironically, just one game later, Pau Gasol became the third player in NBA history to do so, posting 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists on 10-of-10 shooting from the field and 8-of-8 shooting from the foul line in the Lakers victory 11/21 vs. Golden State.PERFECT NIGHT FOR BARNES
In the Lakers 112-95 victory 11/19 at Minnesota, Matt Barnes came off the bench to score 24 points on a perfect night from the field and free-throw line (7-7 FG, 5-5 3FG, 5-5 FT). Since the NBA instituted the three-point shot prior to the 1979-80 season, only two other bench players have been perfect from the free-throw line and from three- point range with at least five attempts in each category in the same game. New Jersey's Bostjan Nachbar shot 6-for-6 from three-point range and 5-for-5 from the free- throw line on 4/15/07 and Craig Ehlo shot 5-for-5 from three-point range and 7-for-7 from the charity stripe for Atlanta on 1/30/96.