Kobe Bryant drove into the lane, met heavy traffic and flipped the ball behind his back toward the corner for Pau Gasol, who was cutting the opposite way.
After the ball bounced harmlessly out of bounds, Bryant smiled at Gasol, who smiled back. It was one of their few mistakes in a dominating first half Monday night that provided a glimpse of what the Los Angeles Lakers were hoping for when they acquired Gasol from Memphis .
With Bryant hitting from the outside and scoring 31 points and Pau Gasol clogging the middle to score 26, the Lakers continued their impressive road trip with a 106-97 win over the reeling Charlotte Bobcats.
"Adding Pau to the mix, we have something that has to be dealt with," said Bryant after the Lakers improved to 4-1 since the trade for their new big man.
It wasn't an entirely pretty performance for the Lakers, who improved to 6-2 on their nine-game trip. They allowed the Bobcats to cut a 13-point deficit to 89-86 midway through the fourth quarter.
Then Bryant went to work. His jumper with 4:30 left made it 96-90. His no-look pass to Lamar Odom for a dunk made it 100-93, and Bryant put the Lakers ahead by 11 with two free throws with 1:07 left.
Bryant had his third straight game of 30 or more points, but Bryant is clearly warming up to his new option down low.
Gasol had his second-highest scoring game since joining Los Angeles , hitting nine of 11 shots and eight of 12 free throws despite a cold that had Gasol coughing in the locker room after the game.
"Yesterday, he didn't have a good game," coach Phil Jackson said of Gasol's 12-point performance in a win at Miami . "Today was the mark of a good player to come back and double your effort and have a good game. He's not feeling the greatest now either, so that's a good game for him."
Raymond Felton scored 29 points and Nazr Mohammed added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats, whose seven-game losing streak matches the longest of their disappointing season.
The Bobcats played without leading scorer Gerald Wallace for the fourth time in five games. Wallace, hobbled by a strained right foot, was replaced a night earlier in Detroit by rookie Jared Dudley in the starting lineup.
But coach Sam Vincent changed his mind Monday, putting Dudley back on the bench, moving Felton to shooting guard and starting Jeff McInnis at point guard. Felton turned into Charlotte 's go-to scorer with Jason Richardson held to 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
Felton was two points shy of his career high, hitting 11 of 20 shots, and added eight assists.
"Just getting back to my old self, attacking the basket and trying to get guys involved at the same time," Felton said.
But the Bobcats had to make up too much ground after a dominating start by the Lakers.
Bryant hit his first five shots, three of them 3-pointers, and Gasol was 6-for-6 including two dunks as the Lakers looked early like the versatile inside-out team with Gasol.
When Bryant finally missed - a desperation 3 with the shot clock winding down - Gasol grabbed the rebound, was fouled and hit both free throws to give the Lakers a 49-40 lead.
"I was a little more aggressive and a little more determined when I got the ball early in the game," Gasol said.
Bryant and Gasol were a combined 12-of-14 from the field and 9-of-9 from the foul line as Los Angeles led 55-44 at halftime. The Bobcats weren't getting completely blown out thanks to Felton's 18 points and the Lakers' 10 turnovers.
"I thought the guys from the beginning of the game played hard," said Vincent, who has questioned his team's effort twice in the past month. "Mistakes were made, but I thought the intensity was there."
The effort allowed the Bobcats to stick around as the Lakers struggled for a second straight day to put away one of the East's downtrodden clubs. After allowing the Heat to come back in the fourth quarter Sunday before finally them off, the Lakers saw a 13-point lead with just over 10 minutes left cut to three on Charlotte 's 15-5 run.
But the Lakers had enough to move within a win at Minnesota Wednesday from a 7-2 trip.
"I just told them we have one more game before we can say anything about this trip," Jackson said. "We've fortunately gotten a few under our belt."
Notes: Vincent hinted Wallace may also sit out Wednesday against Atlanta . It's Charlotte 's final game before the All-Star break, which would give Wallace more than a week to recover. "It makes no sense for us to rush Gerald," Vincent said. ... The Lakers signed C D.J. Mbenga for the rest of the season after his second 10-day contract expired. Mbenga was brought in when C Andrew Bynum was sidelined with his left knee injury last month. ... The game had nowhere near the drama of last year's visit by the Lakers, won by the Bobcats in triple-overtime despite Bryant's 58 points.
Other Lakers Bobcats News
02/11/08 - Bobcats News
Future Sports Star:
Kevin Love
Kevin Love has shown a skill level that is absolutely unheard of amongst big men in the college ranks—knocking down NBA 3-pointers with ease, putting the ball on the floor with either hand, using pump-fakes, spin-moves, jump-stops and creating his own shot with fantastic footwork. He’s rebounding the ball well, throwing beautiful outlet passes, contesting shots around the basket, and even coming up with a few blocks on occasion.
•Game 5 Preview: Jazz vs. Lakers
•Game 2 Preview: Jazz vs. Lakers
•Game 3 Preview: Nuggets vs. Lakers
•Game 2 Preview: Nuggets vs. Lakers
•Preview: Kings vs. Lakers
•Preview: Clippers vs. Lakers
•Preview: Grizzlies vs. Lakers
•Preview: Bobcats vs. Lakers
•Preview: Warriors vs. Lakers
•Preview: Mavericks vs. Lakers
•Preview: Raptors vs. Lakers
•Preview: Clippers vs. Lakers
•Preview: Heat vs. Lakers
•Preview: Suns vs. Lakers
•Preview: Timberwolves vs. Lakers
•Preview: Bobcats vs. Lakers
•Preview: Heat vs. Lakers
•Preview: Hawks vs. Lakers
•Preview: Pistons vs. Lakers
•Preview: Knicks vs. Lakers
•Preview: Mavericks vs. Lakers
•Preview: Spurs vs. Lakers
•Preview: Nuggets vs. Lakers
•Lakers Head to Seattle Without Injured Bynum
•Preview: Bucks vs. Lakers
•Preview: Grizzlies vs. Lakers
•Preview: 76ers vs. Lakers
•Preview: 76ers vs. Lakers
•Preview: Cavaliers vs. Lakers
•Preview: Bulls vs. Lakers
•Preview: Warriors vs. Lakers
•Preview: Spurs vs. Lakers
•Preview: Nuggets vs Lakers 12/05/07
•Preview: Timberwolves vs Lakers 12/04/07
•Preview: Nuggets vs Lakers 11/29/07
•Preview: Sonics vs Lakers 11/27/07
•Spurs vs Lakers Preview 11/13/07
•Preview: New Orleans Hornets at L.A. Lakers
•Lakers vs Rockets Preview 12/12/06
•Lakers vs Spurs Preview 12/10/06
•Lakers Vs Hawks Preview 12/08/06
•Lakers Vs Pacers 12/04/06
•Lakers Vs Clippers Preview 12/02/06
•Lakers vs Jazz Preview 11-30-06
•Lakers vs Bucks preview 11/28/06
•Lakers vs Nets preview 11/26/06
•Lakers vs Jazz preview 11/24/06
•Lakers vs Clippers preview 11/21/06
•Lakers vs Bulls preview 11/18/06
•Lakers Vs Raptors Preview
•Lakers Vs Pistons Preview
•Lakers Vs Grizzlies Preview
•Lakers Vs Pistons Preview
•Timberwolves Vs Lakers Preview
•Lakers Vs SuperSonics Preview
• Lakers Vs SuperSonics Preview
• Lakers Vs Warriors Preview
• Lakers Vs Suns Preview
Jordan Farmar news:
•Rookie Farmar says he's living Hollywood dream with Lakers
• Grizzlies challenge Farmar
• Stars come out at Camp
• NBA considerations distant memory for pair of eager Cats
Kobe Bryant news:
•Kobe Bryant apologizes to Lakers GM
•Kobe Bryant Wins Scoring Title
•Kobe has most popular jersey in USA, China
•Bryant Proves the Best
•Wade beats Bryant for another Skills Challenge win
•Memorabilia Offered by Kobe Bryant and Upper Deck
•Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant Suspended
•Why did Kobe change to 24?
•Kobe Bryant: Won't Play This Week
•Kobe Bryant to Collab with Lil Wayne
•Lakers' Kobe Bryant ready for another run as NBA season nears
•Kobe Bryant Dunk Videos
•Kobe Bryant Videos
•Kobe Bryant Scores the Cover of NBA '07 for PlayStation
•Los Angeles Lakers All-Star Kobe Bryant Scores the Cover of NBA '07
Los Angeles news:
• Los Angeles news
•Los Angeles Concerts news
• Beckham Signs with Los Angeles Galaxy
• Top 10 Most Valuable NBA Franchise
• 10 Ten things to do in Los Angeles
• Lower back spasms from the court.
• Top 10 Los Angeles Restaurants.
• Top 10 Los Angeles Experiences
JR Pinnock news:
• Lakers sign JR Pinnock
Smush Parker news:
• Smush Parker Basketball Camp
Staples Center news:
•Get up to the minute Los Angeles Concert tour news
•Garth Brooks To Play Staples Center Benefit Shows For Fire Victims
•Bon Jovi Staples Center
•Van Halen Staples Center Dec 14th
•Wild try to continue hot start in LA
•Hyundai Returns to X Games 13 Rally Car Racing
• Rumorville Eric Clapton to play the Staples Center
• Grady Brewer wins 'Contender 2' in a split decision over Steve Forbes
• Cirque comes the LA Staples Center
Phil Jackson news:
• Lakers coach Jackson fined US$25,000
• Phil Jackson to have hip surgery
|
