Lakers finally get first win, breeze by Jazz.
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Tag Archives: Kobe Bryant
Paul leads Clippers past Lakers
Chris Paul had 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in his
Los Angeles Clippers debut and Chauncey Billups made an equally
impressive first impression with his new club, scoring 23 points in
a 114-95 victory over the Lakers on Monday night.
Lakers Defense Holds Off Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Pau Gasol had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kobe Bryant scored 17 points and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their cushion over Oklahoma City in the Western Conference standings by beating the Thunder 90-87 on Sunday.
Andrew Bynum added 16 points and 10 rebounds, but the Lakers weren’t able to simply overpower a Thunder team that added Kendrick Perkins for interior toughness but won’t get him in the lineup for a couple weeks.Lamar Odom missed a pair of free throws with 10.9 seconds left to leave the door open for Oklahoma City, but Kevin Durant and James Harden each missed 3-pointers from the top of the key in the closing moments.
Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 22 points and Durant scored 21. The Thunder were held to a season-low 31 second-half points in suffering their first three-game losing streak of the season.
The Works: All-Star Weekend Power Rankings
Filed under: Clippers, Heat, Lakers, NBA All-Star Game, NBA Media Watch, The Works
Today in The Works: Wrapping it all up and tying a pretty little bow on top.
Well, the smoke has cleared, the game is done, and now NBA players have a day to shake off this weekend’s craziness and get started with the real part of the season. Shame we won’t be around to cover it. In any case, here are our favorite phenomena from All-Star Weekend, with running commentary to preserve the illusion of human minds behind it all.
LeBron James Posts All-Star Game’s First Triple-Double Since Jordan
Filed under: Heat, Lakers, NBA All-Star Game
LOS ANGELES — As LeBron James fielded questions from the press corps at Staples Center on Sunday night, he was asked about his favorite moments from All-Star weekend.
The Miami star answered by talking about charity, describing how richly he was rewarded for taking part in a number of good-will efforts in the days leading up to the game itself. Yet after the West had won 148-143, it was the MVP voters who had been in the giving spirit. At James’ expense.
Despite his triple-double (29 points on 10-of-18 shooting, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists), James lost out to the Lakers‘ hometown hero, Kobe Bryant (37 points on 14-of-26 shooting, 14 rebounds and three assists) for the game’s top award. The voting is done with media members accounting for nine votes and the fan votes accounting for three more. The triple-double was only the second in All-Star game history — and the first since Michael Jordan turned the trick in 1997.
“I just tried to showcase my talent on both ends of the floor — defending, rebounding, scoring,” James said. “We came up short. And you know for me, I’m all about winning, so (I’m) just a little disappointed in our game. Disappointed that we didn’t win.”
Kobe Bryant Wins NBA All-Star MVP
Filed under: Clippers, Lakers, NBA All-Star Game
LOS ANGELES — It was clear early in the 2011 NBA All-Star Game that Kobe Bryant was looking to make sure that no one else would come into his home building and steal the show. Not only was it clear to the fans, but the players noticed, too.
“You could tell he started out from the start — he wanted the MVP,” Amar’e Stoudemire said afterward. “He was not passing the ball, at all.”
Bryant opened the game with 11 first-quarter points, and ended up with 37 and 14 rebounds as his Western Conference squad pulled out a 148-143 victory over the East. The performance earned him MVP honors, which marked the fourth time in his career that Bryant has taken home the game’s trophy.
Bryant tried to deny that he might have been gunning for the MVP.
“No, not really,” Bryant said, when asked if that might have been the case. “I really wanted to come out and play hard, though. I feel like we have a sense of responsibility and we are voted in for what we do during the season, which is play hard … (The fans) want to see us go at it and see us compete and that’s what I try to do and that’s what I try to tell my teammates to do.”
The fact that Bryant chose to take the scoring into his own hands wasn’t surprising — that is, after all, how he plays the game. But his aggressiveness in attacking the rim was certainly something different, and his multiple slam dunks — including one where he narrowly avoided a chase-down block from LeBron James — were certainly a pleasant surprise.
Kobe Bryant Wins Fourth All-Star MVP, Leads West Over East 148-143
Filed under: NBA All-Star Game, NBA Awards
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kobe Bryant always shines brightest among the stars, especially in his hometown.
Bryant brought Showtime back to the All-Star game, scoring 37 points and tying a record with his fourth MVP award, leading the Western Conference to a 148-143 victory over the East on Sunday night.
Returning to the game he dominates after a one-year absence, Bryant added 14 rebounds in a spectacular performance in front of the usual celebrity-filled crowd that turns out to see his Lakers at Staples Center.
“It feels great, being at home here and playing in front of the home crowd,” Bryant said after receiving the MVP trophy. “This will be my last All-Star game in front of these home fans, so it feels good to do it.”
Kevin Durant chipped in 34 points, scoring five straight after the East cut a 17-point deficit after three quarters to two points with 2:34 to play. The NBA scoring leader added the clinching free throws after the East got back within three in the final seconds.
LeBron James powered the East rally, finishing with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to join Michael Jordan as the only players with a triple-double in the All-Star game. Amare Stoudemire also scored 29, but Miami’s Dwyane Wade, the MVP of the East’s win last year, had to leave with an ankle injury after scoring 14.
Plenty of Hollywood giants were sitting courtside, but Bryant’s popularity here can rival most of them. This week, he became the first athlete to have his handprints and footprints put in concrete outside Hollywood’s famed Grauman’s Chinese Theater.
Video: Backstage Look at Players Before NBA’s All-Star Practice
Filed under: Celtics, Heat, Knicks, NBA All-Star Game, NBA Videos
LOS ANGELES — The NBA holds a public practice for its All-Stars on Saturday morning every year as part of the All-Star weekend festivities. Not much happens of course, other than players going through a few shooting drills for show, and the coaches reviewing the most basic of plays with their newly assembled squad. It’s mainly a chance for fans to see the game’s biggest stars up close and in person, assembled in one place at as intimate a venue as you’ll find in NBA circles.
Before the players took the floor, they were all hanging around in this sort of backstage area which was also open to the media, even though there were no interviews being conducted. Mostly it was the players interacting with each other as if no one else was around.
In the video clip below, you’ll see the majority of the All-Stars doing exactly that.
Video: Kobe Bryant and Kanye West Star in Nike’s ‘The Black Mamba’
Filed under: Lakers, Sneakers, NBA Business
LOS ANGELES — Nike Basketball debuted its Kobe Bryant short film/sneaker ad early Saturday morning to a worldwide audience on Facebook, and to the people of Los Angeles on the ground for the NBA‘s All-Star weekend. The mini-movie, which is directed by Robert Rodriguez and has a running time of just under six minutes, features Kanye West and Bruce Willis, along with Bryant of course, and his new Kobe VI basketball shoes.
Nike Basketball had an event at the W Hotel in Hollywood on Friday night, and showed the film to a star-studded audience that included Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Amar’e Stoudemire and Paul Pierce — all members of the Nike family. They were then treated to a performance from Kanye West.
As for the film itself, the best part about it is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, or even seriously at all. Kobe is easily the most polarizing figure in the game, and any attempt at trying to turn a sneaker ad into some kind of Oscar-winning feature film would have undoubtedly been met with an insane amount of criticism.
There are a couple of moments of unintentional comedy, and the Kobe-haters out there will likely chuckle when he takes the court and plays all by himself against a team of villains (hey, just like he does every night on the Lakers!). But overall it’s a pretty entertaining way to sell basketball shoes, even if the product itself doesn’t see a ton of time on the screen.
Check out the full video below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Cavs Stun Lakers, Avenge 55-Point Loss
Filed under: Cavaliers, Lakers
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Lakers hit the All-Star break broken.
Looking nothing like two-time defending NBA champions, they dropped their third straight game, a stunning 104-99 loss Wednesday night to the Cleveland Cavaliers — the league’s worst team, which avenged a 55-point embarrassment against Los Angeles last month.
Ramon Sessions came off the bench and scored a season-high 32 points for the Cavs, who were beaten 112-57 by the Lakers on Jan. 11. That loss was No. 11 in a league-record streak that eventually reached 26 before Cleveland ended it last week with an overtime win against L.A.’s less-heralded squad, the Clippers.
Pau Gasol had 30 points and 20 rebounds for the Lakers.
Playing the finale of a seven-game road trip, the Lakers spent much of the night looking as if they were already on vacation. They threw errant passes, forced outside shots and couldn’t catch the Cavs down the stretch despite a frantic comeback.
