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LAL 91, Spurs 86: April 14 Running Diary

Published by Mike Trudell on April 14, 2013 7:57 pm in Running Diary.

San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers Below is a running diary of L.A.’s Sunday evening contest against San Antonio, with some comments drawn from our @LakersReporter Twitter account, and a few more details in case you missed any of the action:

Starters
Lakers: Blake, Meeks, World Peace, Gasol and Howard
Spurs: T. Parker, D. Green, K. Leonard, T. Duncan, T. Splitter

FIRST QUARTER
San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers 12:00 One almost has to pinch him or herself when looking at the Lakers warming up and not seeing No. 24 on the floor, Kobe Bryant having torn his Achilles with 3:08 left in the team’s Friday night victory over Golden State. This game was to be about the rest of the players trying to collectively pick up his slack, no one more than Dwight Howard, surely determined to show that he can lead the Lakers.

7:07 It was a good start for Dwight. L.A. doubled up the Spurs early when Steve Blake’s jumper went down, the 12-6 scoreline a product of Howard’s work inside (six points, two dunks) and terrific collective defense.

0:00 The Spurs, however, answered that spurt with an 8-0 run to take a momentary lead, using two Lakers turnovers and three missed three-pointers to score in transition. L.A.’s D was solid in the half court, but they were hurting themselves with the long misses and unnecessary giveaways, as have been issues throughout the season. At quarter’s end, the Spurs held a narrow 23-22 lead, decent for the Lakers since they turned it over six times and shot only 38 percent.

SECOND QUARTER
8:22 L.A. opened the game missing its first seven threes, so a Steve Blake make from the corner was a welcome sight for the home team. He followed with a free throw line jumper, his fourth make in five attempts, for nine points. The triple cut what had been a six-point to a point, forcing San Antonio’s time out.

San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers 3:28 Who needs Kobe when Steve Blake’s draining triples from everywhere (100 percent facetious, of course). The Maryland product drained his fourth of the quarter, reaching 18 points while putting the Lakers up 40-35 despite 38 percent shooting as a team. He was 6 of 7, the counter example.

0:00 A tip in from Howard seemed to close the half on a good note for L.A., allowing a 43-40 lead, but Gary Neal beat the buzzer with a three from the wing to tie things up heading into halftime. The Lakers showed great effort on D throughout, holding the Spurs to just 35 percent shooting, but L.A. wasn’t much better (35.6 percent) … thus the tie.

THIRD QUARTER
11:11 Consecutive power moves from Howard had L.A. off to a good start in the second half, his two makes giving him 16 points with his 10 boards, and his team a quick four-point lead.

0:00 The Lakers led by as many as six in the quarter, but found themselves tied at 61 heading into the fourth quarter, as the Spurs yucked up the game by intentionally fouling Howard off the ball five times in the final three minutes. Howard made four of the 10, and the Spurs made up only two points from when they started the process, forcing us to watch.

FOURTH QUARTER
San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers 6:01 Well, the Lakers picked a good time to get hot from three. Antawn Jamison drained three straight triples to start the quarter, and Jodie Meeks followed with two more, helping the Lakers open up a nine-point lead halfway through the period. Before the fourth, Steve Blake had all four of the teams triples in 18 attempts.

1:18 Clutch free throws first from Howard (who was only 6 for 15 before hitting two) and Blake kept the Lakers up in the final minutes, and the defensive stops continued to come, San Antonio ending up shooting just 37.1 percent for the game. L.A. didn’t need a field goal in the final few minutes, adding one more Blake free throw that gave him 23 points with five boards, in a 91-86 win. Howard had 26 points and 17 boards plus three blocks and two steals, while Gasol made up for a uncharacteristically poor effort on offense (3 of 17 shooting) with 16 boards and three blocks of his own.

With the victory, the Lakers can get into the playoffs with either a win on Wednesday against Houston, or a Utah loss at Minnesota on Monday or Memphis on Wednesday. We will you on Wednesday, folks.

Injury Update: Nash Remains Out

Published by Mike Trudell on April 14, 2013 11:04 am in Practice News and Steve Nash.

Los Angeles Lakers v Los Angeles Clippers Steve Nash pulled himself out of L.A.’s March 30 game at Sacramento after just under two minutes of action, his back/hip/hamstring not allowing him to play, and on Sunday against San Antonio will miss his eighth consecutive game.

The Lakers managed to go 6-1 in the seven games without him, shifting ball-handling and play-making responsibilities over to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol (over seven assists per game in Nash’s absence). But since Bryant tore his Achilles with 3:08 left in the fourth quarter of L.A.’s Friday night win over Golden State, the Lakers will miss what Nash brings to the table even more.

It’s coach Mike D’Antoni’s hope that Nash will be ready to play on Wednesday, but we’ll have to wait and see how he responds.

Super competitive and constantly hard working, Nash has been increasingly frustrated with the injury, and has been doing everything he can to get back on the floor.

Jordan Hill Injury Update

Published by Mike Trudell on April 11, 2013 3:40 pm in Injury News and Jordan Hill.

Lakers reserve big man Jordan Hill, who had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip on Jan. 23, has been cleared to start running on an Alter G treadmill at 70 percent of his body weight on Friday.

Hill was examined by Dr. Byrd – who performed the surgery – in Nashville over the past two days, where it was determined that he’s made enough progress to ramp up activities. If there are no setbacks, Hill will be allowed to get to 100 percent of his body weight on the treadmill, at which point he’ll be cleared for full weight-bearing running and jumping.

Subsequently, he’ll be allowed to begin on-court basketball drills.

The team has put a timeline of 3-4 weeks after that process before Hill would be ready to resume playing in games.

Hill averaged 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for the Lakers in 29 games of action.

LAL 113, Blazers 106: April 10 Running Diary

Published by Mike Trudell on April 10, 2013 9:18 pm in Running Diary.

Los Angeles Lakers v Portland Trail Blazers Below is a running diary of L.A.’s Wednesday night contest at Portland against the Blazers, with some comments drawn from our @LakersReporter Twitter account, and a few more details in case you missed any of the action:

Starters
Lakers: Blake, Bryant, Clark, Gasol and Howard
Portland: D. Lillard, W. Barton, V. Claver, L. Aldridge, M. Leonard

FIRST QUARTER
Los Angeles Lakers v Portland Trail Blazers 12:00 If you don’t recognize many names in that Blazers starting line up, it’s because four of the players are rookies. We know the likely Rookie of the Year, Damian Lillard, and All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, but the other three are in replacement of Nicolas Batum, Wes Matthews and JJ Hickson, all sitting with injuries. With the exception of Steve Nash, L.A. had the rest of its guys on the floor to start.

6:00 Yes, the Lakers knew that Portland would come out with crazy energy, playing loose with all their bench guys in, and that they’d have to match the intensity. Well, that didn’t happen. The Blazers hit – literally – 9 of 10 shots to start the game, including 4 of 4 from three, with L.A. making a more typical 5 of 9 (Dwight Howard 5 of 9) as Portland went up 22-12. Of course, nothing would come easy for this Lakers team, part of it their own doing.

0:00 If I told you that Portland, considering their injuries, would score 41 points in the first quarter, would you believe me? No need to answer. The Blazers couldn’t have been more excited to be playing L.A., hitting 15 of 22 shots, including 5 of 8 triples, to take a 41-33 lead out of the first quarter. Damian Lillard was tremendous, with 17 points and seven assits.

SECOND QUARTER
6:56 L.A. got back into it, cutting the lead to as few as two when Bryant hit a wing jumper, but at the 3:14 mark, and 8-0 Blazers run pushed the lead right back up to 11 points. The defense – as has been the case all season – continued to fail, Lillard rising to hit his fifth triple and Aldridge scoring four straight.

Los Angeles Lakers v Portland Trail Blazers 0:00 L.A. managed to cut the margin to six, mostly thanks to Kobe’s offense (28 points), but they allowed an alley-oop inbounds play to Aldridge with two seconds on the clock to head into the halftime tunnel down 69-61. There was little connectivity between teammates on either end, as Steve Nash – the chemistry master – sat in street clothes still nursing back/hip/hamstring issues. Much work remained for the Lakers in a game they really couldn’t afford to lose, with the Jazz right on their heels.

THIRD QUARTER
7:55 L.A. was terrific, at last, to start the third quarter, reeling off a 17-2 run that turned an eight-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead, getting work from both Bryant and Howard as things started to look less rainy in Portland.

0:00 But after that huge run, Lillard had a big answer, first drawing a shooting foul while taking a three (adding a technical on Blake, who didn’t like the call) and then turning a steal into a pull-up three that tied the game. Lillard had 34 points with his eight assists in a fantastic game for any player, let alone a rookie. At quarter’s close, Portland possessed a 90-88 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER
Los Angeles Lakers v Portland Trail Blazers 8:45 The Lakers tied the game with a Gasol layup to start the fourth, only to concede the 12th three-pointer from Portland, Sasha Pavlovic the third sub to hit one, as Luke Babbitt had drained four of his five. Moments later, L.A. called time out down 95-92, Bryant getting his only rest in such situations as he’d yet to be taken out of the game.

4:30 The biggest play of the game to that point came from Blake, who stripped Lillard around the three-point line, allowing Bryant to collect the loose ball and boost up the floor, Lillard forced to grab him for a clear path foul. Bryant hit both free throws, then pulled up for a long two-point jump shot to put the Lakers up 106-100. That capped an 8-0 run, as Gasol had scored on the previous trip to put the Lakers in front. But would it be for good?

0:00 Yes it would, thanks in part to two more pretty plays from Gasol, who twice found Howard for easy alley-oop dunks on the weak side, the Spaniard drawing the pressure after Kobe drew attention on the perimeter. Gasol will always make that play when given the chance, his passing (nine assists) finding D12 inside throughout the contest. L.A. was finally getting stops, meanwhile, the Blazers failing to narrow the gap before two Bryant free throws allowed the final margin of 113-106.

Here’s Kobe’s line for the night: 48 minutes without a rest; 47 points on 14 of 27 and 18 of 18 free throws in setting the record for points scored in the Rose Garden; eight rebounds; five assists; four blocks; three steals. #vino #blackmamba

Gasol was terrific with 23 points on 11 of 15 field goals, a game-high nine assists, seven boards and two blocks, while Howard had a 20-point, 10-board double-double with three blocks.

With the win, the Lakers improve to 42-37, a season-high five games over .500, and – critically – a full game in front of the Jazz in the loss column with three games to play, all at home. Up next are the Warriors on Friday in L.A.; we’ll see you there.

Gasol Returning To Form

Published by Mike Trudell on April 10, 2013 11:57 am in Pau Gasol.

130410pau_last7 After a two-game adjustment period from his 20 games off due to a plantar fasica tear at Brooklyn on Feb. 5, Pau Gasol has played some very good basketball in seven straight games.

After a 22-point, 11-rebound, 4-assist, 3-block effort against the Hornets, he’s averaging 15.4 points, 9.1 boards and 5.3 assists in his last seven. The Spaniard has hit 49 of his 88 shots, from inside and out, which comes out to 55.7 percent, and he’s still not fully healthy. That’s pretty good for a guy still not being featured, as Dwight Howard still gets more post touches, and Kobe Bryant remains the No. 1 Lakers option.

“I’m a lot more comfortable,” Gasol said. “I’m getting better conditioning, a better feel out there. I position myself well better also. It’s just getting to the positions where I’m most effective so I can operate and make plays and prove that it works.”

In the third quarter in Tuesday’s win against New Orleans, Gasol scored eight points during a three-minute span, all coming inside the paint off post-ups. Battling various injuries, Gasol shot a career low 45 percent before the All-Star break, and is at 46 percent on the season. He’s up to 56 percent in the last seven, though, with more than 60 percent of his attempts coming at the rim.

Kobe said this about the teammate that helped him to three consecutive trips to the Finals:

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a big with his skill set in the history of the game,” Bryant said. “With his touch from the outside, posting up, passing the ball, you don’t see that skill set.”

LAL 104, Hornets 96: April 9 Running Diary

Published by Mike Trudell on April 9, 2013 9:06 pm in Running Diary.

Below is a running diary of L.A.’s Tuesday night home contest against New Orleans, with some comments drawn from our @LakersReporter Twitter account, and a few more details in case you missed any of the action:

Starters
Lakers: Blake, Meeks, Bryant, Gasol and Howard
Hornets: G. Vasquez, E. Gordon, A. Aminu, A. Davis, R. Lopez

FIRST QUARTER
New Orleans Hornets v Los Angeles Lakers 12:00 The Lakers came into this contest having won 10 straight games against the Hornets, but none was close to as big as this one, the purple and gold trying to make up a game in the loss column to Utah, who was in the second half of a home game against Oklahoma City when things tipped at Staples Center. Both teams had 37 losses coming into the evening, but since the Jazz possess the tiebreaker (winning the season series 2-1), they’d advance to the postseason in case of a tie. As such, the Lakers had to not only make up a game in the win column (Utah had played one more), but also avoid another potentially damaging loss.

0:00 With the Lakers playing generally well enough to take a 27-22 lead out of the first quarter, thanks to a balanced effort in which six players scored at least one bucket, Utah lost to OKC at home, putting L.A. in position to reclaim the eight spot for the night if they could beat New Orleans. Dwight Howard led the way with nine points, three boards and two assists in nine minutes before resting for the final three.

SECOND QUARTER
6:00 L.A. was seemingly in control of the game, pushing their lead up to 10 points with some solid play on both ends, getting nine bench points from Jodie Meeks to couple solid play inside from both Howard and Pau Gasol. However…

0:00 … Six minutes later, they had scored only two more points, allowing 17 to the Hornets to see their 10-point edge turn into a 50-45 deficit. Eric Gordon did most of the damage, taking advantage of Meeks with the help of plenty of help from his big men setting screens. Needless to say, it was an unacceptable effort from L.A. in that period of time; they’d have 24 minutes to redeem a victory.

New Orleans Hornets v Los Angeles Lakers THIRD QUARTER
7:33 L.A.’s best player in this one had been Gasol, who got the Lakers right back into the game from the post, scoring three consecutive buckets at the rim to tie the game at 53. He was up to 18 points with his eight boards and three blocks, erasing the halftime deficit nearly on his own.

0:00 A 25-20 third quarter was decent for the Lakers, but inspired ball had yet to be shown in a desperate situation. Instead, we were tied at 70, New Orleans hanging tough trying to play spoiler, their bench standing up in unison for almost anything. Everybody loves trying to beat the Lakers, no doubt.

FOURTH QUARTER
New Orleans Hornets v Los Angeles Lakers 8:03 Kobe, who’d been biding his time on offense for three quarter (2 of 7 field goals, 2 of 2 free throws), came out on a mission, draining three consecutive jumpers – including a triple – to put the Lakers quickly up seven points. However, the Hornets just kept coming, scoring on five straight trips down the floor as Howard rested to tie the game up at 80 with eight minutes to play. Nothing easy for the Lakers this season.

2:52 More Kobe points (16 of his 23 in the period) and additional good work from Gasol (20 points, 11 boards, four assists, three blocks) allowed a 91-86 margin into the stretch run … and then Bryant stripped Gordon and finished a tough and-1 layup in transition.

0:00 N.O. didn’t lie down, but L.A. managed to finish the game at the same margin Bryant created, winning 104-96 to jump back ahead of Utah for the eighth and final playoff spot. Bryant ended up scoring 23 of his 30 points in the final quarter, adding some free throws down the stretch (8 of 9 in the fourth) plus six boards and six assists. Gasol was key throughout, and Howard made some plays on defense upon returning from foul trouble, adding two dunks in the final seconds when L.A. broke NOH pressure. No time to rest for the Lakers, however, as they head to the airport to fly to Portland for the final back-to-back contest of the season. We’ll see you there.

World Peace Poised to Return

Published by Mike Trudell on April 8, 2013 12:53 pm in Injury News, Metta World Peace and Practice News.

Lakers Injury Report sponsored by UCLA Health System

In a surprise development, Metta World Peace is set to return early from March 28 knee surgery, with the potential to play in Tuesday night’s game against New Orleans.

After running on a treadmill, World Peace played 3-on-3 with teammates at Monday’s practice, leaving Mike D’Antoni to say that MWP was “80 or 90 percent” going to see the court against the Hornets. World Peace agreed.

“It’s not about how strong I am playing tomorrow night,” said World Peace. “It’s about how strong I was playing three games ago … I was ready to play.”

If World Peace has no swelling or negative response to his activity on Monday, he will be cleared to play on Tuesday, cutting his expected rehabilitation time of six weeks in half.

That original timeline would have had MWP out until early May. However, according to team spokesman John Black, there was no swelling in the knee after surgery, and its the swelling that typically keeps players on the shelf.

World Peace said that doctors “were amazed at how the swelling didn’t even exist.” Rookie Robert Sacre called MWP “Megatron … a machine,” and even Kobe Bryant – of course known to play through injuries – made note.

“It’s still extremely impressive,” Bryant said after relaying that he’s not surprised given World’s penchant for taking care of himself. “I call him Logan now. He’s Wolverine … Honestly, you have to be really disciplined and take care of yourself from the beginning. It’s one thing to have an injury and then try to catch up. But when you’re already there and already taking care of yourself, it makes recovery that much faster.”

Los Angeles Lakers v Los Angeles Clippers L.A. can certainly use a boost on the wing, as Bryant has been playing nearly 48 minutes a night since Steve Nash went out early at Sacramento on March 30. The Lakers have no room for error, trailing Utah by a half game with five to play, needing to lose at least one fewer game than the tiebreaker-holding Jazz. What can MWP bring back to his team?

“A huge spark,” said Bryant. “Defensively, he’s tenacious and he brings a certain level of physicality that can really (impact) a game.”

World Peace, who has averaged 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.70 steals in 70 games (64 starts) this season, leads the Lakers in individual plus/minus on the season.

LAL 95, LAC 109: April 7 Running Diary

Published by Mike Trudell on April 7, 2013 2:02 pm in Running Diary.

Los Angeles Lakers v Los Angeles Clippers Below is a running diary of the Lakers’ Sunday afternoon “road” contest at the L.A. Clippers, with some comments drawn from our @LakersReporter Twitter account, and a few more details in case you missed any of the action:

Starters
Lakers: Blake, Meeks, Bryant, Gasol and Howard
Clippers: C. Paul, W. Green, C. Butler, B. Griffin, D. Jordan

FIRST QUARTER
4:30 An entertaining first few minutes saw the Lakers open a 18-12 lead after Earl Clark, fresh off the bench, hit the third triple in as many chances for the visiting team, countering Chris Paul’s first triple on the other end. The Clippers had made only 3 of 13 shots to start the game.

0:00 But in the final three minutes, with Howard resting, the Clippers reeled off a 14-4 run, enough for a 30-25 lead out of the first quarter. Matt Barnes hit all three of his shots off the bench, and L.A.’s six turnovers were killers, leading to 11 points from the home team.

Los Angeles Lakers v Los Angeles Clippers SECOND QUARTER
2:39 The Clippers pushed their lead to as many as nine points early in the quarter, getting continued production from former Laker Barnes (4 of 5 field gaols) and fellow sub Jamal Crawford (12 points on 4 of 6 field goals). But the Lakers came back behind Kobe Bryant’s passing (already nine assists) and Howard’s finishing (13 points) when the latter slammed home the former’s alley-oop in transition. Howard had made three straight free throws, and added another (the oop was plus the harm) to cut the lead to a single point.

0:00 Much like in the first quarter, the Lakers were bad to close the second, allowing a 7-1 run that turned what had been a 1-point game at 49-48 into a 56-49 Clippers lead at the break. This time it wasn’t turnovers – L.A. had only one in the second quarter after six in the first – but lack of awareness on defense, Howard and Gasol failing to clear some defensive boards (10 second chance points for LAC in the 2nd) or recognize cutters.

THIRD QUARTER
8:05 And it got no better to start the third quarter, the Lakers allowing a 13-6 run in the first four minutes as the Clips hit 6 of 9 shots, Caron Butler scoring five points and capping a 5-0 run with a triple into a Mike D’Antoni time out. The deficit was 14 at 69-55, the Lakers in trouble.

Los Angeles Lakers v Los Angeles Clippers 0:00 And there they’d stay after three periods, staring at a 12-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter. They had a chance to cut it to seven when Steve Blake had a look at an open three in the corner, but he missed, and CP3 beat the buzzer with a jumper after the 12th offensive rebound for his team.

FOURTH QUARTER
6:00 Chris Paul’s averages in three previous games vs. LAL this season: 24.0 points, 13.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals. After hitting a shot in the paint halfway through the fourth, he had 19 points, nine assists and five boards with two steals, keeping the Clips up 12 points. Without a massive turnaround, the Lakers would have to rely on Golden State to beat Utah in Oakland.

4:01 Five straight Kobe points came at the foul line, cutting the lead back to 10 after it had swelled to 15 behind more offensive rebounding from the Clippers (up 15-8 in that category and 45-32 overall on the glass). More Bryant scoring (12 of his 25 in the fourth) came, but the Clippers were getting more CP3, up to 21 and 11 to spark a quick 4-0 run that restored a 14-point margin.

0:00 Howard had not failed to grab at least 10 rebounds since the last time the Lakers played the Clippers, the game before the All-Star break, but he had only four in this one. He had done a good job helping on dribble penetration, notching four blocks, but had been outdone by both DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin, who combined for 25 boards. The glass was a differentiating factor in this one, LAC owning a 50-36 edge in what turned out to be a 109-95 loss for the Lakers. Bryant played all but the final 50-odd seconds towards 25 points, 10 assists and seven boards, Howard had 25 points (9 of 13 free throws) and Gasol 12 points, 13 boards and eight assists, but it wasn’t enough.

Before a Tuesday-Wednesday back-to-back with New Orleans (home) and Portland (road), the Lakers will closely watch Utah, who go to Golden State later on Sunday. A win would put them back into the eight spot ahead of the Lakers, a loss keeping them in ninth.

LAL 86, Grizzlies 84: April 5 Running Diary

Published by Mike Trudell on April 5, 2013 8:57 pm in Running Diary.

Memphis Grizzlies v Los Angeles Lakers Below is a running diary of L.A.’s Friday evening home contest against Memphis, with some comments drawn from our @LakersReporter Twitter account, and a few more details in case you missed any of the action:

Starters
Lakers: Blake, Meeks, Bryant, Gasol and Howard
Grizzlies: M. Conley, T. Allen, T. Prince, Z. Randolph, M. Gasol

FIRST QUARTER
Memphis Grizzlies v Los Angeles Lakers 8:00 Memphis came out hot, hitting its first four shots, but the Lakers weren’t far behind, hitting 3 of 4 to keep it close in the opening minutes. The Grizz allow the fewest points in the NBA this season, and aren’t explosive on offense, but in this case they were simply hitting jumpers.

0:00 L.A. closed the quarter well, thanks mostly to Kobe, who had four assists with his nine points … and you’ll be shocked, but he was about to start the second quarter, as well, after having sat out a total of 79 seconds in the previous two games.

SECOND QUARTER
9:30 A good start to the second quarter had the Lakers up 30-20 after Antawn Jamison answered Marc Gasol’s bucket. The MEM center had grown angry before a pretty post move, drawing a technical foul for arguing an offensive foul called when he elbowed his big brother accidentally, and that after Pau’s and-1 got him to nine points on 4 of 6 shooting.

Memphis Grizzlies v Los Angeles Lakers 0:00 Thanks to two difficult jumpers from Bryant (6 of 8 field goals), the Lakers took a 7-point lead into the half. The team’s offense, however, had stalled in the final moments, the screen/roll ball movement from the opening quarter and a half seemingly going away. Meanwhile, 10 turnovers helped lead to 10 fastbreak points from the road team, who aren’t a team that runs much.

THIRD QUARTER
10:00 L.A. couldn’t have started the third period any worse, turning the ball over twice (both on Steve Blake, who had five despite averaging 1.2 on the season) and watching MEM go on a 6-0 run to get within a single point.

0:00 Memphis kept it up, looking terrific on defense and scoring in transition as a result, enough to lead by as many as seven early in the period. But then, almost out of nowhere, the Lakers went on an 18-4 run to reclaim control of the game, the lead going back to as many as eight before a late Memphis bucket made it 68-62 heading into the fourth quarter. If LAL hold on to win, that could be a decisive

FOURTH QUARTER
Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Lakers 4:45 After Earl Clark kept up a terrific effort off LAL’s pine by hitting two free throws moments after a layup saving block on the other end, but the Grizz responded with a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead with crunch time approaching. Utah had won earlier in the evening, putting more pressure on the Lakers to stay ahead in the standings for the No. 8 spot.

0:00 L.A. juuuuust held on for a very much-needed victory, getting 1 of 2 free throws from Dwight Howard with four seconds left, and then Howard and Pau Gasol’s help D at the rim to prevent an attempt at a tie from Mike Conley in the final seconds. Bryant finished with 24 points and nine assists, Gasol 19 points and nine rebounds in the victory. As such, the Lakers stay a half game ahead of Utah (a full game in the all-important loss column) heading into Sunday’s game against the Clippers. We’ll see you there.

Lakers 101, Mavs 81: April 2 Running Diary

Published by Mike Trudell on April 2, 2013 9:34 pm in Running Diary.

Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Lakers Below is a running diary of L.A.’s Tuesday night home contest against Dallas, with some comments drawn from our @LakersReporter Twitter account, and a few more details in case you missed any of the action:

Starters
Lakers: Blake, Meeks, Bryant, Gasol and Howard
Mavs: M. James, O.J. Mayo, S. Marion, D. Nowitzki, C. Kaman

FIRST QUARTER
5:26 LAL were off to a good start on the night they’d retire Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey into the rafters, as their current center, Dwight Howard, scored seven points to help create a 14-10 lead. Helping find him was Pau Gasol, who had three assists a game after he went for 10 dimes at Sacramento, showing that Spanish skill from the top of the floor.

0:00 L.A. controlled the first quarter with good energy on both ends, but found itself up by only three points when rookie Jae Crowder hit a buzzer-beating three off glass at the buzzer, capping a 5-0 run in the final two minutes. Nonetheless, the Lakers had come out as they’d needed to in a critical game in the push for the No. 8 seed.

Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Lakers SECOND QUARTER
5:00 Behind a pair of three-pointers and defensive-three-second technical free throws from Jodie Meeks, plus the all-around play of Earl Clark off the pine (nine points, seven boards, two blocks in 12 minutes), L.A. got its lead back to eight points at 41-33. Bryant had yet to sit, this a game after he played all but 23 seconds in the win at Sacramento.

0:00 A terrific close to the half for the home team was led by Bryant, who reached 15 points with seven dimes and five minutes without resting for a second. Howard helped inside, via 13 points, six boards and a swat, while Clark kept rolling before settling on 12 points with eight boards in 17 key bench minutes (making up for Antawn Jamison’s 0 for 4 FG’s without a board). As such, the Lakers pushed their lead to 15 at 55-40, shooting 53 percent and holding the visitors to 44 percent (Dirk Nowitzki was just 2 for 5, the Clark/Gasol tandem doing the job).

THIRD QUARTER
3:05 An 11-0 run came suddenly from the Mavericks, L.A. missing nine straight shots and struggling to move the ball on offense, cutting what had been a 16-point lead to just five at at 63-58.

Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Lakers 0:00 At a critical time, a late Lakers rally – inspired by Earl Clark – put ‘em back up 11 points heading into the fourth quarter, reaching 17 points with his 11 rebounds for the first time since an early February game at Charlotte. At halftime, assistant coach Dan D’Antoni told me he thought Clark may have hit a wall in March, having never played this many minutes in his career. He certainly broke out of his funk on this night.

FOURTH QUARTER
10:29 L.A.’s stalled offense midway through that third quarter picked up once Gasol returned, and he kept it up early in the third, with a post move and then two free throws to put the Lakers up 76-63. Bryant, meanwhile, had still yet to sit out.

0:00 Fittingly, Kobe finished the game with a triple-double (23 points, 11 boards and 11 assists), leading the Lakers to a strong close of the game and an emphatic 101-81 win in a game they absolutely had to have. Kobe sat only the final 56 seconds of this one. With the victory, they pull even with Utah for the eighth seed, and go 2.5 games up on Dallas, plus gaining the tiebreaker in the process. Howard added 24 points and 12 boards, while Earl Clark had five key blocks along with his 17 points and 12 boards. Up next is Memphis on Sunday: we’ll see you there.