Author: Mike Trudell

Click here for the Lakers – Nuggets Gameday Page

A collection of notes heading into Thursday evening’s Lakers – Nuggets game in Denver:

Injury Update
LAKERS:
– Andrew Bynum is OUT with a left Achilles strain
– Luke Walton is PROBABLE with a pinched nerve, back
– Sasha Vujacic is PROBABLE with a sprained right shoulder
– Kobe Bryant WILL PLAY with an avulsion fracture, right index finger
– Shannon Brown WILL PLAY with a sprained right thumb
– Ron Artest WILL PLAY with a left heel bruise/sprained left thumb

NUGGETS:
– Kenyon Martin is OUT with left knee patella tendinitis
– Chris Andersen is a GAME-TIME DECISION with a left ankle sprain
– Chauncey Billups is PROBABLE with a left quadriceps contusion

LAST TIME THEY PLAYED
The Lakers trailed by as many as 13 points and turned the ball over 14 times in the first half before holding Denver to 37 points in the second half, forcing 12 turnovers in the final 24 minutes to win 95-89. Lamar Odom led four Lakers in double-figures with 20 points, 12 rebounds and four steals, while Ron Artest added 17 points and a season-high tying six steals while defending Carmelo Anthony (7-of-19 FGs, eight turnovers). Kobe Bryant added a season-high 12 assists while scoring 14 points, and the Lakers reserves outscored Denver’s 35-15.

LAKERS – NUGGETS CONNECTIONS
– The Lakers trail the season series 2-1 after taking last season’s series 3-1.
– The Lakers hold a commanding 94-48 all-time mark against Denver.
– The Lakers are 18-3 against the Nuggets at STAPLES Center, and are 4-6 in their last 10 road games at Pepsi Center.
– L.A. is 25-12 against Denver under Phil Jackson.
– The Lakers are 17-4 overall against the Nuggets in postseason play, including an 11-game winning streak from 1985 to 2009, the 2nd longest postseason streak against one team in NBA history (L.A. vs Seattle, 1980-89).
– Adrian Dantley, Denver’s acting head coach in George Karl’s absence (throat cancer), averaged 18.3 points per game for the Lakers from 1977-79.

NUMBERS COMPARISON
– The Nuggets score 106.8 points per game and allow 102.3, while L.A. scores 102.1 and concedes 97.0.
– Denver shoots 47.1% from the field, 35.8% from 3 and 77.4% from the foul line, while L.A. goes 45.9% FGs, 34.2% 3’s and 76.5% FT’s.
– The Lakers grab 44.3 rebounds per game while Denver collects 41.5.
– The Lakers average 21.2 assists per game, and Denver 21.1.
– Denver averages 8.31 steals to L.A.’s 7.64 and blocks 4.97 shots to 4.83 for the Lakers.
– The Lakers average 13.5 turnovers per game and Denver 14.0.

Before the Lakers play the Nuggets, we like to put a call into the Denver Post’s Benjamin Hochman, who covers the Nuggets’ beat for the newspaper.

On Tuesday, Hochman offered updates on Kenyon Martin’s knee, George Karl’s health and Carmelo Anthony’s odd decline from the free throw line, and discussed the Thursday night TNT matchup between last year’s Western Conference Finals opponents.

To listen to the podcast, just click play below:

After Tuesday’s practice, Jordan Farmar joined us for a live chat on Lakers.com.

L.A.’s reserve point guard discussed team issues (such as the prevailing overall confidence), individual topics (like his tattoos and his engagement) and much more (like the team’s trip to the White House).

To read through the whole chat, you can CLICK HERE.

TUESDAY’S PRACTICE REPORT
The Lakers looked fantastic in beating Utah 106-92 on Friday, and not so good while losing 100-82 to San Antonio on Sunday, which naturally produced a series of questions and answers from Tuesday afternoon’s practice regarding what needs to improve heading into the playoffs.

You can also go through the practice report – which includes video from Phil Jackson, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher – by clicking here.

With no practice to cover on Monday, we dialed up 710 ESPN’s Andrew Siciliano for a lil’ chat about hoops.

Siciliano and I discussed an on-plane story about his “L.A. Sports Live” partner Mychal Thompson, went over calls he received about the Lakers, discussed the Cleveland vs. Orlando argument in the East and more.

To take a listen, click below.

The NBA announced on Monday that Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson has been fined $35,000 for publicly criticizing game officials.

NBA Executive Vice President Stu Jackson made the announcement, referring to Jackson’s comments after the Lakers’ Sunday afternoon loss to San Antonio at STAPLES Center.

Jackson’s comments referred to events occurring late in the second quarter when Ron Artest and Manu Ginobili drew matching technicals, Artest a personal foul and finally Kobe Bryant a technical foul.

Jackson gave his team the day off from practice on Monday but will gather the troops on Tuesday in preparation for Thursday evening’s game in Denver.

Andrew Bynum underwent an MRI exam on Monday and the results showed no tear to his Achilles tendon, as did the previous exam on Saturday, March 20.

Bynum’s injury will continue to be classified as an Achilles tendon strain.

No timetable for a return has been set for the 22-year-old center, and Bynum will continue to receive treatment and therapy from the Lakers’ staff, supervised by Athletic Trainer Gary Vitti.

Lakers forward Luke Walton played in a game for the first time since Feb. 10, earning eight minutes to produce two assists and provide some defensive energy without attempting a shot.

Walton was on the floor to start the fourth quarter, helping the Lakers trim an 8-point Spurs lead down to three before checking out moments later.

“As a bench player you have to find a way to get active in the game besides that but it can be difficult and tough a lot of times just throw the ball down to Kobe (Bryant) and the ball down to Pau (Gasol) and they make plays,” he said. “You’ve still have to somehow to get in there.”

As for his back, which has limited him to just 25 of 77 games this season?

“It felt good,” he said. “The back felt good out there. My timing was a little off but that will come, that’s nothing. But it was fun to be back out there.”

The Lakers easily handled one of the NBA’s hottest teams with a 106-92 victory over Utah on Friday night, but Sunday afternoon’s Easter showdown with the even-hotter Spurs was anything but easy.

San Antonio impressively kept the form that had produced wins over Cleveland, Orlando and Boston in the last nine days by building an 8-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, and then reeled off a 13-1 run after L.A. had cut the deficit to just two to ultimately win 100-81.

The loss was just L.A.’s sixth at home on the season, while San Antonio stayed a half game ahead of Portland for seventh place in the West (and a half game behind Oklahoma City for No. 6) and thankfully out of the eighth spot, which would mean a first round matchup with the Lakers.

“That was a flat game from the middle of that second quarter on,” said Phil Jackson. “We had a pretty good start again, the game looked like it was going to swing in our favor, but they got things going their way.”

Leading the way for the visitors was Manu Ginobili, who was fantastic in the fourth quarter in particular by scoring 17 of his 32 points alongside five assists made necessary after point guard George Hill left the game in the second with a sprained ankle.

“He’s been playing All-Star caliber basketball for about a month and a half now,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who also didn’t mind 24 points and 11 rebounds from Tim Duncan.

After the game, Popovich was asked if he wanted to play the Lakers in the playoffs considering his team’s impressive performance. His response: “Who wants to play the Lakers?” (read: no.).

While Friday night’s victory saw Lamar Odom post a season-high 26 points as Pau Gasol took care of the glass (16) and the passing (season-high nine assists), Sunday was the Spaniard’s turn to carry the offense. Gasol scored 25 points in the first three quarters and finished with a season-high 32 (plus seven boards and six assists) as Odom managed just nine points on eight shots with 13 rebounds.

Gasol’s increased touches played a role in Odom’s limited production, no doubt, but Phil Jackson said the Spurs effectively contained Odom’s offense by keeping the smaller Richard Jefferson on him to take away driving lanes while shifting Antonio McDyess over to Ron Artest.

Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant struggled with his shooting for the second straight game, making 8-of-24 shots for 22 points just a game after going 5-for-23 against Utah (he did produce six assists and eight rebounds). While speculating that Bryant’s broken finger isn’t helping his shooting stroke is fair, Phil Jackson suggested that a heavy game schedule of late may have worn on No. 24’s legs a bit. Good thing, then, that the Lakers have three days without a game (Thursday at Denver).

The Lakers opened the contest quite well, building an 8-point lead behind Gasol’s scoring, but the Spurs rallied to close the deficit to two points heading out of the quarter, then outscored L.A. 26-16 in the second period to turn the 8-point lead their way. L.A. managed just 6-of-17 field goals in the third quarter, then made only 7-of-23 in the third but caused four Spurs turnovers to help keep the score even at 19 in the third.

L.A.’s fourth quarter rally started, ironically, with a bench that had managed just four total points in the game, as Jordan Farmar first caught an alley-oop pass for a layup and then picked off a pass and fed Bryant for a layup that cut the Spurs’ lead to four. Then came back-to-back scores from Gasol that cut the lead first to two and then three (Ginobili hit a three in between), and the ensuing 13-1 Spurs run that buried L.A.

Production off the bench has been an issue for the Lakers since Andrew Bynum’s strained Achilles pushed Lamar Odom into the starting lineup, but the four-point total marked a new low.

“That’s unfortunate for us that we couldn’t get them going,” said Jackson.
“As a consequence of (lack of minutes) they really didn’t get into the flow of the game.”

L.A. will need production from both is starters and its bench in Thursday’s showdown at Denver, but until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
1 Game since Feb. 10 for Luke Walton, who came into the game for just three minutes in the second quarter, making the score sheet with a personal foul.

4 Bench points on 2-of-15 shooting for L.A. Obviousy weakened by Lamar Odom’s move into the starting lineup in Andrew Bynum’s absence, the lack of bench production particularly effected L.A.’s 16-point second quarter.

27.6 Kobe Bryant’s shooting percentage in L.A.’s last two games (13-for-47) after an 8-for-24 outing vs. the Spurs followed his 5-for-23 against Utah.

32 Season high in points scored by Pau Gasol, who made 13-of-20 shots and added seven boards with six assists.

40.7 L.A.’s shooting percentage, compared with San Antonio’s 48.7 percent success rate.

Who better to preview the Lakers – Spurs game than Lakers Coach Phil Jackson?

Below is a portion of Jackson’s comments to assembled media members before the Lakers and Spurs tipped off on Sunday afternoon:

On if any gamesmanship might exist in case the Lakers and Spurs meet up in the playoffs:
Jackson: I think you just try and execute what you can execute. We have emphasis on specific things today. In a playoff situation, we may have emphasis on something else. I probably won’t really use my full court press.

On defensive assignments for Manu Ginobili and George Hill:
Jackson: Hill had a big first quarter and a big first half, and we just kept (Derek) Fish(er) on him in the second half. Ron (Artest) is designated to play Ginobili, and (Ginobili) has been hot regardless of whether he was (when L.A. beat S.A. last week) that particular game or not. He seems to be the provocateur, Hill also. They’re going to run off screens and try to generate offense for other people.

On if Tony Parker (out with a hand injury) will be able to assimilate back into the Spurs team into the playoffs:
Jackson: I see no reason why not. He’s only been there seven years as a player.

On if George Hill is one of the league’s most improved players:
Jackson: Yeah, he’s in the group, I’m sure. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about that.

On if it would feel weird to play San Antonio in the first round:
Jackson: No, it would feel very common and very natural to go to San Antonio and spend this part of the year in San Antonio, which is always one of my favorite towns … But I don’t think (seeding) matters once you get into the playoffs. It’s just seeding. You’re in the playoffs, you’re in the mix.

On if he’d rest players when L.A. clinches the No. 1 seed in the West:
Jackson: No. I would not rest players. There is an opportunity to rest somebody at some point, I may do it, but this game following this one against Denver I think is an important game to play, I think Sunday’s game against Portland is an important game for us to play hard, and we know we have a back-to-back finish where I’ll probably shorten minutes if that’s possible.

Lakers.com will have the video later tonight, but until then, here are some bullet points from Kobe Bryant’s postgame press conference, during which he addressed his 3-year contract extension signed earlier on Friday prior to L.A.’s 106-92 victory against Utah:

– Opening statement: “I’m very excited to be here. It’s very rare to have a player play his entire career in one city so I’m very excited.”

– Bryant reiterated Mitch Kupchak’s earlier words that he “knew (he) was going to be (with the Lakers). We both knew it was going to get done.” As such, there was no hurry.

– On if this could be his last contract: “It’s possible. I doubt it, but it’s possible.”

– On Phil Jackson’s possible return: “I enjoy playing for him. I made it very clear to him that I would love to seem him be back. That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

– Kobe said that signing the contract was “Really a huge honor.” He added that he can remember the day that he signed his first contract with the Lakers as a 17-year-old with no facial hair.

– On possibly becoming the greatest Laker ever: “The honor comes just as being apart of that conversation. To say that one is the greatest ever is impossible.”

– On keeping it out of the media: “I didn’t want to be a distraction. It’s an unnecessary distraction.”

– On Phil Jackson suggesting he take the summer off (from Team USA duties): “We’ve talked about it. We’ll see how the season finishes up. Obviously my priority is here (with the Lakers).”

“This team certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt until the playoffs are over.”
– Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak

Kupchak’s statement, addressing a question about his level of concern after a tough 5-game road trip, came at the close of his pregame press conference that featured the best, if expected, kind of news Lakers fans could have received on Friday: Kobe Bryant will wear a Lakers’ jersey at least through the 2013-14 season.

After discussing Kobe’s 3-year extension in detail, Kupchak used the phrase “very concerned” to describe his thoughts on L.A.’s recent play that culminated in losses to New Orleans and Atlanta.

Then came his vote of confidence.

After all, the Lakers are still the league’s most talented team; they still have Kobe; they still have the an unmatched trio of skilled big men (though one, Andrew Bynum, remains out with a strained Achilles); they still have the game’s greatest coach; and, oh yeah, they’re the champs.

And with a resounding and dominant 106-92 win over one of the league’s hottest teams in the Utah Jazz, the Lakers showed why that benefit of the doubt should remain by beginning what they hope is a strong final push into the playoffs.

“We got off to a good start and played the kind of basketball that we’d like to see us play at home, with some defensive stops and some run offs and things that happened good for us,” said Phil Jackson.

The effort was led by Lamar Odom, fantastic throughout the evening with a season-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting (including 3-of-3 from 3-point range) alongside 10 rebounds (and despite foul trouble), and Pau Gasol, who was an assist shy of a triple-double with 14 points, 16 rebounds and a season-high nine assists.

“When you have that kind of front court presence, it’s going to make things difficult for anybody we play,” said Derek Fisher, who added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. “Pau and Lamar have so many things that they can do well for us that help us on the floor.”

“I was telling Kobe on the bench that I made shots I was supposed to make,” added Odom. “I felt good coming into the game. I think we felt good as a team.”

Kobe did struggle from the field in an unusual way (5-for-23) but made up for it by getting to the foul line 18 times, making 15 en route to 25 points, then declaring after the game how thrilled he was to re-declare himself to the Lakers.

“I’m very excited to be here,” he said. “It’s very rare to have a player play his entire career in one city so I’m very excited.”

The Jazz were excited in general, having come into the contest as the league’s second-best team since Jan. 9, in the process erasing last season’s “can’t win on the road” label by winning 13-of-19 away from Salt Lake City, even if they’d lost 13 straight (now 14, including playoffs) in Los Angeles.

But the Lakers that came out of the tunnel on Friday night looked nothing like the group that had its struggles last week, and a lot like the champs, thanks in part to a good day of practice.

“I think we figured some things out at practice that carried over to today,” said Fisher. “We’ve been talking about execution, doing some things better offensively and defensively, but just having the opportunity to practice – which we hadn’t had on the road – worked better for us.”

In the opening quarter, a Purple and Gold wave overtook STAPLES Center, with Laker bodies flying around defensively (five Jazz TO’s) and the ball moving crisply on offense (63.6 percent shooting), the score reading 33-16. The starters certainly passed their first test, led by Odom’s 11 points and six boards with four dimes from Gasol, but how about the bench that had been a sore spot of late?

Not bad, with Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown nailing a 3-pointer apiece to push the lead to 19. The Jazz did rally, riding 14 second quarter points from arguably the league’s best point guard, Deron Williams, and using a 10-0 run to cut L.A.’s lead down to nine, where it would stay at halftime (54-45).

Though L.A. pushed the lead back to 14 on Fisher’s driving layup, Utah chipped a single point off the halftime lead heading into the fourth. When that deficit was then chiseled to four early on, Odom – who missed much of the third quarter in foul trouble – continued his season-best offensive game by scoring six straight points on a 3-pointer followed by an and-1 put back, just the start of a first-quarter-like run.

Bryant added two free throws and converted an and-1, Shannon Brown nailed a jumper and Odom slammed home Kobe’s near miss to push the lead all the way back to 19 with 5:44 remaining. An 18-4 run will do that, a run produced as L.A. did the simple things that make it such a potent team.

“We played defense and moved the ball, really ran the triangle,” said Odom (simple indeed).

That would just about do it, the lanky lefty adding another bucket to get his 26, and the bench taking over shortly thereafter (producing a few highlight plays just for fun, including D.J. Mbenga’s huge swat and Josh Powell’s alley-oop slam) to seal a 106-92 victory.

Doesn’t that road trip seem like a long time ago?

Up next for the Lakers is a Sunday afternoon contest against the San Antonio Spurs, but until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
9 Season-high assist total for Pau Gasol, who added 14 points and 16 rebounds, just a single dime away from a triple-double.

14 Straight wins for the Lakers over the Jazz at STAPLES Center, including victories in the past two playoff series between the teams.

16 Jazz points in the first quarter after they’d scored 44 and 40 points in respective first quarters against New York and Golden State.

26 Season high in points from Lamar Odom, who was on fire in making 11-of-14 shots (3-of-3 from 3) while adding 10 rebounds.

26.8 Ron Artest’s 3-point percentage in March, which dropped his average on the season from nearly 40 percent to 36.4 percent, allowing Jordan Farmar (37.4) to claim the team lead. He was 0-for-2 on Friday.

Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak addressed assembled media members to discuss the 3-year extension afforded to Kobe Bryant earlier on Friday.

Here are some of Kupchak’s finer points:

– The 3-year extension comes on top of the final year of Bryant’s current deal, which concludes after next season. As such, Bryant is now signed through the 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

– Kupchak said that he never seriously doubted that Kobe would remain in Los Angeles: “In my mind, I thought he’d always be a Laker.”

– The deal could have been done earlier in the season or even before the season began, but Kupchak explained that there was no real sense of urgency from either party, but rather confidence it would happen.

– Kupchak and Bryant’s agent, Rob Pelinka, took a break from negotiations while Pau Gasol’s contract extension was being done back in December. Kupchak is certainly pleased to have both Gasol and Bryant (not to mention Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest) locked up for the next few seasons, but recognizes the pressure to win that comes alongside the talent.

– Neither the Lakers nor Bryant’s representatives wanted the negotiations to go into the playoffs, putting an impetus on getting the deal done. Kupchak explained that no team likes to negotiate during the playoffs, and that actual deadlines GM’s like to avoid start to come into play when the playoffs are completed.

– The status of Phil Jackson’s position as head coach “never came up” during Bryant’s negotiations, though Kupchak did acknowledge that he couldn’t imagine Bryant wouldn’t want Jackson to return.

– Kupchak said that Dr. Jerry Buss was “ecstatic” about getting the deal done, adding that there are few players in the world that “you’re excited about,” but that “Kobe is one of them.”

– While he is “very concerned” about how the Lakers are playing heading into the playoffs, Kupchak said the team “certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt until the playoffs are over.”

Since January 9, the Utah Jazz have posted the league’s second-best overall record at 31-9, playing solid all-around basketball behind point guard Deron Williams and power forward Carlos Boozer.

A major difference between the Jazz this season and the past few has been their ability to win on the road, including 13 wins in their last 19 games.

Assistant coach Frank Hamblen joined us to talk about containing Williams, dealing with Boozer on screen rolls, stepping out to Mehmet Okur and more.

Kobe Bryant, winner of four NBA championships, a Finals MVP and regular season MVP, will continue his illustrious career with the Los Angeles Lakers for the foreseeable future after signing a 3-year contract extension on Friday afternoon.

“We are extremely pleased that we were able to reach an agreement and come to terms on the extension at this time,” said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak. “Kobe has been a cornerstone of the Lakers for well over a decade, helping to lead us to four NBA Championships and in the process developing into one of the greatest players in basketball history.”

For complete details, head over to Lakers.com.

On the final day of L.A.’s 8-day, 5-game trip, we caught up with Lakers play-by-play radio voice Spero Dedes to discuss his experience calling NCAA Tournament games for CBS.

Here’s what Dedes had to say about calling the Murray State buzzer beater, why Butler’s in the Final Four and the difference between college and pro calls:

Lakers – Hawks Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers – Hawks contest in Atlanta while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked to close their 5-game road trip with win No. 3.

Inactives
Lakers: Andrew Bynum (Achilles) Luke Walton (back)
Hawks: Randolph Morris

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Odom and Gasol
Hawks: Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Al Horford

Hawks – Lakers: By The Numbers
81.1 – Atlanta’s winning percentage at home. They’ve lost just seven games while winning 30 times, behind only Cleveland, the Lakers and Denver and tied with Orlando.
41 – Points scored by Kobe Bryant in L.A.’s 118-110 Nov. 1 victory at STAPLES Center. Andrew Bynum added 21 points with Pau Gasol out of the game (hamstring), but this time Gasol’s in and Bynum out (strained Achilles).
For the rest of the numbers, CLICK HERE.

First Quarter
9:22 Though his numbers are nearly all career lows, Hawks point guard has been starting games very well lately, and did it again by nailing three jump shots to put Atlanta up 7-4 to start the game. Strangely, but expectedly, nearly a quarter of the fans in the building were cheering for the Lakers. Atlanta struggles with this in general at home, particularly during L.A.’s lone trip.

4:49 After Artest tied the game up at 13, the biggest cheer of the night came not from something on the court, but when rapper T.I. was shown on the jumbotron. In related news, T.I. just got out of jail a lil’ bit ago. This reminds me of my favorite celeb moment from last season, when T.I. rose from his courtside seats during a time out, walked down the length of the court while waving and posing for pictures. Obviously, no one told him to get off the floor. Solid.

0:03.8 “Don’t foul a jump shooter” didn’t work for the Lakers as Shannon Brown hit sixth man Jamal Crawford’s wrist. “The Difference” (Crawford’s nickname this season, sounding like a Jersey Shore name) hit both free throws to get to five points in the period and give Atlanta a 29-25 lead after one.

Second Quarter
6:38 L.A.’s offense was intermittently effective and poor, but one thing that was consistent was Kobe Bryant’s jumper. No. 24 seemed to get to his favorite spots pretty easily, and nailed 7-of-10 shots to start, getting to 15 points with the Lakers trailing 41-36. Moments later, Kobe would hit again, and Fisher converted two foul shots to cut the lead to three.

1:12 The Lakers controlled the middle portion of the quarter, twice cutting the lead to three, but they couldn’t find a way over the hump, missing 7-of-9 shots while Bibby nailed a three and Smith a deuce at the other end to open a 10-point lead at the break. The game had quickly turned from a back-and-forth contest to one that Atlanta seemed well in control of.

Third Quarter
8:21 Atlanta’s fifth 3-pointer in 11 attempts swished through for Johnson, who then pulled up in the lane on the subsequent possession to push the Hawks’ lead to 12, a high for the game. New Orleans hurt L.A. with the three-pointer on Monday in much the same way.

6:12 Kobe appeared to tweak his left ankle (injured earlier this year at Philly in January) for the second time this game, but stayed in the game to convert 1-of-2 free throws. While Kobe had 23, Artest 14 (on 5-of-7 shooting) and Gasol seven (on only five attempts), the rest of the team had scored only 11 points. ATL took advantage by scoring seven straight to push the lead all the way up to 16 points.

0:52.3 The Lakers just weren’t getting the ball into the post, settling instead for jumper after jumper in the final five minutes of the quarter to no success. The rock finally found its way to Gasol, who drew a foul on Zaza Pachulia and sank both free throws to cut the deficit to 14. Jordan Farmar then negated a Mo Evans dunk by hitting two free throws, but Pachulia tipped in Crawford’s miss at the buzzer to give the Hawks an 80-64 lead after three. Before the game, Phil Jackson said a win would “redeem the trip,” but instead, a 2-3 effort looked very likely.

Fourth Quarter
8:44 Looking for signs of life, the Lakers got four points on one possession when Gasol drew a flagrant foul on Marvin Williams, hitting 1-of-2 free throws with L.A. preserving the ball. Farmar then hit his third triple of the game to cut Atlanta’s lead to 85-73.

5:58 Make that four triples for Farmar. Finally, the Lakers had gotten a bench boost after just three total points in the first half (to Atlanta’s 24), but the lead went right back to 15 when Horford hit a jumper and Evans a free throw since Farmar was called for a foul as Horford’s shot went up.

2:32 L.A.’s night was, mercifully, basically over when Johnson hit a triple to get to 25 points and put Atlanta up 103-87. Particularly frustrating for the Lakers is that they didn’t fail to play with energy, the just failed to play well in losing for the third time on their five game trip.

Five of the team’s final seven games are in Los Angeles, but until the next one (on Friday vs. Utah), your postgame numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
5 Turnovers for Atlanta, who played very well overall and took pristine care of the basketball.

7 Points for Lamar Odom in 39 minutes. Odom struggled offensively, making only 3-of-9 shots and struggling to get calls, though he did manage 10 rebounds.

9 Three-pointers hit by the Hawks, the second straight game in which the 3-ball hurt the Lakers defensively.

28 Points for Kobe Bryant on 12-of-21 shooting to lead all scorers. He added four assists and three rebounds, but was visibly (very) frustrated while walking off the court for the second straight game.

48 Bench points for the Hawks, led by 18 from former Laker Mo Evans, 14 from Jamal Crawford and 10 from Zaza Pachulia.

The highlights of a lively pre-Atlanta Phil Jackson, featuring details about an informal practice on Tuesday, the matchup with the Hawks, Pau Gasol being “very tough” but not “very, very tough” and more.

On how he and the team is feeling heading into the team’s fifth game in eight days:
Jackson: One of the things we talk about is that you pack your bags but don’t get yourself home before the game’s even started.

On not having a full practice* on Tuesday, an off day in Atlanta.
*Jackson later explained that certain players did in fact practice, it just wasn’t a full team workout.
Jackson: There’s a lot that goes into it … I’d like to discuss it with you, but I won’t. It’s not top secret, but it’s among us.

On putting Ron Artest on Joe Johnson, since Artest had success against him in November when L.A. beat the Hawks at home.
Jackson: (Artest) wants to (start on Johnson). I let (Kobe Bryant and Artest) work it out because it depends on who is guarding whom. If they put Joe on Kobe, he’s going to be matched up with him a lot of times. But otherwise, if it’s a cross match, it will work out fine.

On if he agrees with Gasol’s statement to a reporter that Gasol is “very, very tough.”
Jackson: I think two very’s is too many. He’s very tough. Not two very’s.

On if Gasol is so smart that he can be harder to reach with a message from Jackson:
Jackson: Well yesterday in our little discussion we had, I did say that he took the bait. The other night I told him how he can’t get good post up positions on (New Orleans center Emeka) Okafor, and (Okafor’s) always had good games against him, and (Gasol) scores the first 12 points in the quarter. Of those times, he looked at the bench five of the six times. So obviously he (listens). I did tell him, ‘You don’t have to look over to the bench, you should know by now what motivation is and you should be able to do that for yourself.

On if Kobe and Pau suffered from a lack of help in New Orleans:
Jackson: One of the reasons that we went over to practice yesterday with just a few players – it was not an official practice, obviously we didn’t have the full team – was to digest a little bit of what happened when we came back in the game in the third quarter, how we played. The starters got us back in the game after being down a significant amount in the first half. When you have to come back like that, you have to really kind of reign it in, and we’ve had to do that numbers of times this year. We came down and a couple of times took 3-point shots, those shots turned into non-successful attempts, as a result put ourselves back into a whole again. We wanted to talk a little bit about not being desperate; you have the dominance, just keep weighing in on a team and keep pounding them down until they crumble, instead of making it look like we’re settling for home run shots or hero shots.

On if the bench being outscored in a big way in New Orleans bothers him:
Jackson: It makes me want to throw up sometimes. It just doesn’t make any sense. They played three guys off the bench, they had success. We have kind of sculpted out what the bench does, and they fulfilled our prophecy, our worst fears. It’s an area where we really have been emphasizing coming out and playing a little better.

On the importance of tonight’s game:
Jackson: I told them they can redeem the trip by winning this game.

On Luke Walton and Andrew Bynum:
Jackson: Luke wants to play in this Sunday’s game, wants to go through a practice (first) and play; we haven’t gotten a definitive time for Andrew yet. We’re hoping that next week is kind of a break through and he’s capable of playing by week’s end. It’s been 10 days and could be another 10.

We used numbers to take a look at L.A.’s Wednesday evening contest in Atlanta, the last stop on the team’s 5-game road trip:

81.1 Atlanta’s winning percentage at home. They’ve lost just seven games while winning 30 times, behind only Cleveland, the Lakers and Denver and tied with Orlando.

47 Wins for the Hawks, to 26 losses. L.A. has a seven game edge in the win column at 54-20.

41 Points scored by Kobe Bryant in L.A.’s 118-110 Nov. 1 victory at STAPLES Center. Andrew Bynum added 21 points with Pau Gasol out of the game (hamstring), but this time Gasol’s in and Bynum out (strained Achilles).

40 Consecutive games played by Atlanta without a 3-game losing streak, a record formerly held by the Lakers until the early-March 3-game streak.

39.0 Mike Bibby’s 3-point percentage, which leads the Hawks. Bibby has made 113 triples on the year, while sixth man Jamal Crawford has converted 142-of-376 (37.8 percent) and Joe Johnson 115-of-318 (36.2 percent).

21.3 Points per game averaged by leading scorer Johnson, who also leads the Hawks with 4.8 assists. Johnson had 27 points and nine rebounds against L.A. in the season’s third game.

17.7 Points off the bench averaged by Crawford, putting him solidly in the race for Sixth Man of the Year to lead the league for players who haven’t made a start. The Lakers have gotten inconsistent bench scoring of late particularly since Lamar Odom replaced the injured Bynum in the starting lineup.

11 Active players who have appeared in 1,000 games, including L.A.’s Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher and Atlanta’s Joe Smith.

10.5 Games back of Cleveland for first place in the Eastern Conference for Atlanta, tied with Boston for the third seed.

9.7 Rebounds per game grabbed by Al Horford, who plays slightly out of position at center for the Hawks. Atlanta brings true center Zaza Pachulia off the bench and starts Josh Smith at power forward, who provides a real shot blocking presence off the ball.

7 Three-point field goals taken by Smith this season after 87 attempts last season, when he shot only 29.9 percent. His increased discipline has been a solid development for Atlanta.

4 Smith’s league-wide rank in blocked shots (2.03) from his power forward position, trailing only centers Dwight Howard (2.74), Andrew Bogut (2.52) and Brendan Haywood (2.13).

1 Player in the NBA averaging at least 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists: Josh Smith.

With L.A.’s loss in New Orleans on Monday night, the task of catching Cleveland for the NBA’s best regular season record grew increasingly difficult, if even possible.

The Cavs hold a four-game lead over the Lakers with eight to play for each, putting the magic number for Cleveland (a combination of Lakers losses and Cavs wins) at four. Meanwhile, L.A.’s lead over Orlando for the second-best overall record is at two games, the Lakers also holding a five-game edge over Dallas out West:

League Standings
1) Cleveland (58-16), 0.0 Games back
2) L.A. Lakers (54-20), 4.0
3) Orlando (52-22), 6.0
4) Dallas (49-25), 9.0

Last season, the Cavs edged out the Lakers for home court advantage throughout the playoffs by one game (66 wins to 65), while L.A. had a 6-game edge on Orlando. That ended up being the key, since the Magic handled Cleveland 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals, even without point guard Jameer Nelson. This season, Orlando added Vince Carter, Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes, while Cleveland acquired Shaquille O’Neal, Anthony Parker and Antawn Jamison.

While the Lakers have certainly proven an ability to win in Orlando after the 4-1 Finals series that saw two straight road wins clinch the franchise’s 15th title, holding home court is of course preferable. Here are the remaining eight games for both teams:

L.A. Lakers Final 8: @ Atlanta, Utah, San Antonio, @ Denver, @ Minnesota, Portland, Sacramento, @ L.A. Clippers

Orlando Magic Final 8: @ Dallas, @ San Antonio, Memphis, Washington, New York, @ Cleveland, @ Indiana, Philadelphia

Since the Lakers aren’t practicing on Tuesday in Atlanta, lets revisit Phil Jackson’s postgame comments from New Orleans Arena after L.A.’s 108-100 loss to the Hornets:

On the game: “I told the guys I didn’t like the first half, obviously, the bench couldn’t get things going in the second quarter and they got a distant lead. We came back right after the start of the third quarter but we couldn’t sustain. They picked it up a little bit, got some blocked shots and created some turnovers and got a little advantage there after we got back in the ballgame. They just stepped up to a level that we didn’t reach.”

On Kobe Bryant: “He was getting double and triple-teamed, and he was getting the ball out to guys for shots and we just didn’t shoot the two-point shot well at all. We had a couple here and a couple there. We weren’t consistent at all.”

On the trouble with three-pointers: “It’s all well and good to get the ball swung, but if you are not making the three you have to go back inside and you have to penetrate off the dribble. That was the message. And there are nights you are not going to shoot the three-ball well so that was it.”

If you’d prefer the video, click below:

Post Hornets Part I

Post Hornets Part II