Odom and Bryant too Much as Lakers Beat the Suns

Watch Game Highlights as Lakers Beat Suns 132-106

Once again Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal met on the court, but this time it was back at the Staples Center where both players won 3 championships.   Without Steve Nash, the Suns were no contest for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Los Angeles Lakers scored 70 points in the first half and rolled past the Nash-less Phoenix Suns 132-106 Thursday night for their sixth consecutive victory. 

For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant had 22 points and eight rebounds and Lamar Odom had 23 points on 12 for 13 shooting. O’Neal had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Suns, who trail first-place Los Angeles by 15 games in the Pacific Division.

                 1    2    3   4  Total  

Phoenix     26 29 26 25 106  

LA Lakers  39 31 32 30 132 

PHO: L. Barbosa 18 Pts, 6 Reb, 7 Ast

LAL: L. Odom 23 Pts, 9 Reb, 4 Ast

Kobe Bryant Pushes Lakers Past Thunder

Kobe Bryant needed just a few minutes to stop an Oklahoma City Thunder rally as he led the Los Angeles Lakers to another victory while maintaining the NBA’s best record.  It took quite a bit longer to shake off the effects of the ankle injury he suffered in the process. Bryant scored 10 of his 36 points in a 3-minute span of the fourth quarter to stave off the Thunder’s comeback bid and lead the Lakers to a 107-93 victory on Tuesday night. He didn’t emerge from the Lakers’ training room until about 40 minutes after the game, but he was in a good mood when he did. “It was my ankle, but I’ve got ankle insurance,” Bryant said with a smile. “I’m fine.”

Recently, Kobe moved into 19th place on the NBA’s career scoring list, ahead of Adrian Dantley only one game after he passed Elgin Baylor for 20th. Entering the game, he had needed only 13 points to tie Dantley.  He got to that point with the first of back-to-back jumpers that pushed the lead back to 18 with 7:05 left in the third quarter after Oklahoma City had gotten within 10. The Thunder still had one last charge in them, closing within one before Bryant returned from the bench and took over.

Watch Highlights of Lakers Victory Over Thunder- 2/24/ 09

Coach Phil Jackson said he had to turn away Bryant once before he finally let his star check back in with 9:17 to play and the Thunder within two. Bryant said the thoughts that were running through his head were not pleasant ones.  “If I don’t check in within the next 2 minutes, I’m just not going to sleep very well tonight,” Bryant said. “It’s about time for me to go in and do what they ask me to do.” He had 15 points in the fourth quarter after the Thunder were threatening, allowing the Lakers to improve to 47-10 on the season and 21-6 on the road. Kevin Durant scored 32 to lead Oklahoma City in its sixth straight loss. It was his ninth time scoring at least 30 points in the last 10 games, and the 13th time in 17 games, during a surge that’s landed him right behind Bryant in fourth place in the NBA in scoring.

Pau Gasol added 14 points, Derek Fisher scored 12 and Luke Walton had 11 for Los Angeles. After averaging 16 rebounds over the last seven games, Lamar Odom had only eight points and eight rebounds. But Bryant had plenty of production, especially down the stretch. He hit a jumper immediately after checking back into the game, then scored six points in a row to respond to Jeff Green’s three-point play that cut the deficit to 81-80. He used a series of hesitation moves and pump fakes to draw two fouls from Weaver, then backed his way in against the rookie for a layup that made it 87-80.  The Lakers’ lead eventually ballooned to 104-89 on Walton’s layup, and that allowed Bryant to exit with 1:26 to play. He had stayed in the game despite clutching his right ankle when he landed awkwardly after getting fouled on a layup attempt under the basket with about 4 minutes left. Odom was disappointed in how Los Angeles squandered the big lead and said it “wasn’t a wholehearted effort at all defensively for us.” “We’re pushing for perfection. We can play better than what we played tonight,” Odom said.

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