Author: Mike Trudell

Click here for the Lakers Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers – Grizzlies contest in Memphis while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked for their fifth straight road win.

Inactives
Lakers: Adam Morrison
Grizzlies: Darrell Arthur, Sam Young

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Grizzlies: Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol

Pregame Locker Room Talk
For discussion of a FIFA 2010 showdown between Lamar Odom/Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton/Adam Morrison, plus Phil Jackson’s pregame thoughts, CLICK HERE.

First Quarter
5:45 Ron Artest’s second long jumper of the first few minutes halted a 16-4 Grizzlies run that had opened an eight-point lead, as Kobe Bryant opened 0-for-3 and Pau Gasol picked up two early fouls that forced Lamar Odom into the contest just two minutes in. It was no surprise that Memphis came out strong, as L.A’s coaches knew how difficult it would be to close the trip with a victory: the Grizz had one 11 straight home games before blowing a big lead against New Orleans in their last game, and the Lakers were more than a bit road weary and eager to get on the team flight back to L.A.

5:16 We expected to see a lot of L.A.’s bench today on the back-to-back/last game of an eight-game trip, and Jordan Farmar checked in early in the first as evidence. We also saw Odom, Shannon Brown and D.J. Mbenga in the first, and wouldn’t have to wait long for Luke Walton to enter.

0:07.1 Rudy Gay made a big mental error by launching a full court attempt with seven seconds still remaining on the game clock, apparently mistaking the seven for a one. Give L.A. credit for capitalizing, as Shannon Brown gathered the rebound, launched a full court pass to Bryant and watched Kobe nail a buzzer-beating three-pointer. That shot tied the game at 24, and got Kobe to within 18 points of tying Jerry West’s all-time Lakers scoring mark.

Second Quarter
12:00 Farmar, Brown, Walton, Odom and Gasol (who’d played just two minutes in the first with those two early fouls) started the second as the bench effort continued. The first quarter effort had been sloppy for L.A., featuring five turnovers and five missed free throws, so the 24-all score would do just fine.

5:47 While rookie Hasheem Thabeet – the 2nd overall pick out of UCONN (taken ahead of Memphis Tigers PG Tyreke Evans) – had trouble with Gasol on defense (conceding three buckets), he was able to grab an offensive board and stick it back to put Memphis up 41-34 halfway through the second. Thabeet’s so tall that he doesn’t even have to jump to touch the rim … you could fit at least three Grizzlies cheerleaders into his body.

0:04.4 With the rest of the Lakers noticeably lacking in energy (did we mention the 13-day trip?), Bryant scored the final 13 Lakers points of the second quarter to cut what was an 11-point lead to just two at the half, 52-50. He’d also gotten to 23 points, just five away from tying West.

Third Quarter
5:41 Artest’s triple was sorely needed to halt a 12-3 Grizz run to start the third. Ron Ron got to 11 points to join Kobe (25) in double figures for the Lakers, while Zach Randolph’s 14 points (and 11 boards) led the Grizzlies. ZR certainly looked like an All-Star a few days after being voted in by the coaches.

4:14 With 4:14 left in the third quarter, Bryant threw down a two-handed dunk after Jordan Farmar laid the ball off in transition following an Artest steal to become the greatest scorer in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers with point No. 29 to climb to 25,193 all-time. Moments earlier, @LetKobeDunk had flown in for a soaring one-handed dunk through the lane.

1:00 Lamar Odom, already suffering from some sore fingers, suffered a sprained right index finger that he’d continue to play through, but LA managed a one-point lead after three.

Fourth Quarter
7:57 Brown’s three-pointer gave the Lakers a 78-76 lead as the Purple and Gold tried to mount a final push to their road trip. Farmar had nailed a third-quarter-ending triple himself to provide further ammunition off the bench.

5:05 Bryant continued his scoring binge with a corner three-pointer that made it 86-82 for L.A., getting to 39 points in the process as the starters returned to try and close out the 13-day trip. L.A., however, had managed to get only 10 attempts combined for Gasol and Bynum.

0:23.2 In a photo finish, Bryant pulled up in transition to nail a three-pointer that answered Rudy Gay’s corner three. The Grizz, however, still led by two as Randolph’s two free throws swished through when Odom was called for over the back at the other end after missing a layup (Bryant had also missed a three after a tip out). Still with us? On the ensuing inbounds pass, Mike Conley was fouled by Fisher, but missed both free throws to leave the door open for the Lakers. Bryant dribbled around the perimeter probing for an opening before eventually dishing to Artest for a look at a corner three … but it rimmed out, and the ball went over Gasol’s head as the Spaniard looked for a tip in.

With that, the Lakers lost for the first time in five games, finishing their trip with a 5-3 mark. Before the flight back to Los Angeles, here are your postgame numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
25,198 Career points for Kobe Bryant, who surpassed Lakers legend Jerry West as the all-time leading scorer in franchise history.

44 Points for Kobe to lead all scorers on this night, tying his season-high in the process.

42 Points in the paint for the Grizzlies, compared to just 26 for the Lakers, tying a season low.

10 Missed free throws for the Lakers, a number that plagues a team even worse in a two-point game.

3 Shots attempted by Andrew Bynum after his 21-point performance in Boston. He did, however, grab eight rebounds in 25 minutes, and most importantly got over the mental hurdle of not getting injured in Memphis.

The end is near.

After 13 days on the road, just one game separates the Lakers from their Los Angeles beds, and the net result in the pregame Memphis locker room resembled the kind of humor you get at a middle school sleepover around 3 a.m.

Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar both spent a good 10 minutes bantering back and forth with a few media members, detailing such topics as dogs (Farmar has two big dogs, whom he essentially treats like human beings) and video games.

Both Odom and Farmar described their respective roles in a four-man FIFA 2010 match that pitted the two against Luke Walton and Adam Morrison. In the team’s Memphis hotel, team FarOdom claimed France, while Team Walison took the USA (we should mention that Morrison is by far the best player, prompting Walison to go with the lesser side).

The result, you ask? Well, in a big upset, Farmar and Odom pulled out a 2-1 victory, with one goal coming on a breakaway, the other on a cheap blocked punt that Morrison had actually taught to Farmar (a striker runs near the goalie and knocks his punt out of the air, then slots the ball home).

Yet, as Morrison explained (and FarOdom neglected to mention), Walison went on to defeat FarOdom 5-0 in a rematch with the same teams, restoring the power rankings.

With that important stuff now covered, here’s some basketball news…

– Phil Jackson revealed that his post-playing-days aptitude test put on by the NBA Player’s Association listed the following four professions as possibilities: outdoor adventurer, a nursery school teacher, a lawyer and a minister.

– Jackson described the mutual respect he has for Pat Riley, whom he could pass for career Lakers victories if L.A. can beat the Grizzlies. “We have great respect for each other after all those years of competing,” he said. “Pat had a great run with the Showtime Lakers.” Jackson also cited the back-and-forth jabs he and Riley took at one another’s teams through the media in the 1990’s when Riley was with the Knicks and he the Bulls, something he always enjoyed.

– The head coach credited certain relationships between him and the Buss family for his longer-than-expected tenure.

– As far as Memphis: Jackson explained that they’re even better than their 25-21 record (which ranks just 5th in their division but would be 5th in the entire Eastern Conference), since the team started the season 1-8 while dealing with the Allen Iverson situation (Iverson started the season on the team, but left shortly thereafter). He cited the addition of Zach Randolph and solid young talent (Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol) as better than advertised.

– I asked Phil if Pau and Marc Gasol could be the best brother combination ever: “Yes for big guys, without a doubt they can be the best brother combination.”

Click here for the Lakers Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers – Celtics contest in Boston while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked for their fourth straight road win.

Inactives
Lakers: Adam Morrison*
Celtics: Marquis Daniels, J.R. Giddens
*Phil Jackson tends to activate D.J. Mbenga against bigger teams like Boston, and Morrison against smaller teams like Indiana.

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Celtics: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins

Phil Positioned to Tie Pat
With a victory tonight, Phil Jackson would tie Pat Riley with 533 victories as head coach of the Lakers. For more, CLICK HERE.

First Quarter
10:27 Ron Artest appeared intent upon letting Boston know that he wears purple and gold now … his activity started before the game even tipped as he wrestled Paul Pierce for position before the ref threw the ball up (ref had to separate them). He then drew a Pierce defensive foul on L.A.’s first possession, and moments later nailed a three to put L.A. up 5-2 early.

4:07 A fantastic stretch from the Lakers showed through on the scoreboard, as an 11-0 run broke open the game after Bynum followed up Gasol’s layup and Kobe’s three with a layup near the rim. Pierce, Kendrick Perkins and Ron Artest had all committed their second personal fouls, bringing Tony Allen, Rasheed Wallace and Sasha Vujacic into the game, and L.A. was certainly the better team after eight minutes, leading 22-10 (speaking of Perkins … I’ve never once seem him smile. Ever.)

0:26.9 L.A. capped an excellent defensive quarter with a great individual defensive play, as Jordan Farmar picked off Tony Allen’s pass and threw down a breakaway two-handed hammer dunk at the other end. The C’s got a layup before the quarter ended, but had managed just 19 points to L.A.’s 30, the Lakers shooting 61.1 percent from the field.

Second Quarter
9:26 Rajon Rondo gave the Lakers’ second unit some problems to begin the second, resulting in consecutive and-1 layups after Luke Walton twice reached in before Rondo converted the buckets. His second hoop and free throw cut L.A.’s lead from 11 down to five.

5:33 It continued to be all Rondo for Boston, as the point guard scored his eighth point of the quarter and then earned his fifth assist in six minutes to cap a 21-10 run to start the period that tied the contest at 40 (related: Bryant was resting, not on Rondo). Gasol scored five points, meanwhile, for the Lakers.

1:27 Remember how good L.A. was in the first quarter? Boston matched that and more over a big stretch of the second, going on a 15-0 run as L.A.’s offense appeared to be back in California. That allowed Boston to push its lead to 10 points when Pierce hit a corner three, but Bynum’s put-back and Fisher’s first field goal attempt of the half – a three-pointer – cut that in half by halftime. In summation: L.A. scored the last five points of the quarter, but Boston still won it 33-17, thanks largely to Rondo, who had nine points, eight assists and two steals in the period.

Third Quarter
10:00 The Lakers had yet to solve their Rondo problem from the second quarter, as the first-time All-Star scored consecutive buckets in the paint, though Fisher’s second three-pointer of the game kept the lead at six. Note on the crowd: probably the fewest Lakers jerseys of the season thus far, as the home fans managed to buy up most of the tickets. This is not surprising, of course.

7:36 Something we don’t see much of – an Artest pull-up jumper in transition – tied the score at 58. Off the box score and off the ball, Kevin Garnett continued to be as physical as possible with Gasol. The Spaniard wasn’t backing down, but he looked to be growing frustrated as the whistles weren’t blowing despite the contact.

0:31.3 Lakers fans love, on opposite day, when Pierce draws fouls by throwing his body randomly into the fray in the paint. His first successful such foray came late in the third, though his two free throws were negated by Bryant’s pull up jumper. The Celtics managed to add two point to their halftime lead, leaving the Lakers down 73-66 heading into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter
8:27 L.A. needed a bench boost, and Shannon Brown provided a quick one by hitting a jumper in the lane and subsequently finding Odom in transition for a left-handed dunk that cut an 11-point lead to 81-74. L.A.’s bench had still been outscored 25-15 at that point.

3:24 Bynum doesn’t always get a lot of looks in crunch time, but when isolated on Perkins, he responded with a pretty move to the baseline and swished the shot to bring L.A. within two points. Gasol, meanwhile, was on the bench and Brown remained in the lineup. The Lakers had trailed by as many as 11 earlier in the quarter when Eddie House hit two three-pointers, but had rallied to give themselves a chance.

0:07.3 Wow. Kobe nailed the game winner. We’ve said that sentence before this season a few times, right? It didn’t come at the buzzer, but instead on a pull-up jumper in the lane over Ray Allen as the shot clock wound its way down. Swish. Boston still had a chance to win the game, but Allen missed an open three created by Pierce’s penetration (it was his sixth miss in six attempts from three for the game). Kobe had the chance to win it in part thanks to Artest’s driving layup on the previous possession, and like that, the Lakers had won four road games in a row to improve to 5-2 on the long trip.

They’ll close it down in Memphis on Monday, but until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
533 Coaching victories for Phil Jackson, who tied Pat Riley for the all-time Lakers lead.

61.1 L.A.’s shooting percentage in the first quarter, a number which dipped to 47.9 for the game.

50 Points in the paint for the Lakers, 18 of which came in the fourth quarter.

12 Assists for Rajon Rondo, who also led the Celtics with 21 points, though he cooled noticeable in the second half (just two assists). Phil Jackson credited Kobe Bryant’s defense in slowing the first-time All-Star late.

3 Straight regular season wins for the Lakers over Boston since losing in the 2008 NBA Finals.

When the Lakers beat the Celtics on Christmas Day last season, Phil Jackson earned the 1,000th win in his illustrious coaching career, then proceeded to pass Celtics legend Red Auerbach with his 10th NBA coaching title.

Fast forward to Sunday in Boston, when Jackson has the chance to tie Pat Riley for the most regular-season victories as the head coach of the Lakers at 533.

Jackson, who won 545 games and six championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1989-1998, explained that different people will identify him with both teams.

“There’s a generation of people that identify with the Showtime Lakers of the 80s and similarly with the 90s Chicago teams,” Jackson said. “I don’t know if you can say we’re the dominant team of this decade, but we are pretty close. I’m sure there’s a whole generation of kids who see me only as the Lakers coach.”

Either way … it’s quite a remarkable accomplishment, particularly as his .707 winning percentage (he’s lost only 446 games) is the league’s best of all time.

While winning three straight games has made the road a bit less weary for the Lakers*, the team was nonetheless a bit on the tired side after a morning flight out of Philadelphia to Boston prior to the team’s first full practice since the current trip began on January 20.
*Eleven of 13 days and seven of eight cities: check.

We took some notes during pre-practice interviews with Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol to make sure you didn’t miss anything important:

PHIL JACKSON
– Jackson explained that the Lakers – Celtics rivalry is still alive, even if it’s different from how it was back in the 1960’s and 1980’s. “It’s a more civilized crowd,” he said, after referencing old fighting in the stands, beer throwing and the like.

– To Phil, Ron Artest can certainly continue to play as well as he did in Philadelphia. Jackson quipped that perhaps it was due to the presence of Artest’s father, though we learned last night that Artest is simply feeling healthy, finally.

– Jackson failed to attribute too much to Boston’s two-game losing streak through Orlando and Atlanta. “They’re still a team to be reckoned with in the playoffs,” he said.

– Kevin Garnett missed the first nine games in January with a knee injury and may not be back to 100 percent, but Jackson said that L.A. will still approach him as if he were. “He’s still a rover defensively, and he’s still a guy that’s going to hit those shots from 20 feet – you have to account for that.”

KOBE BRYANT
– Bryant said that he’s feeling OK after tweaking his knee and ankle in Friday evening’s win at Philly. He explained that it was his knee that hurt at first, but he simply walked it off until the pain was gone about five minutes later. His ankle began to get sore as the game wore on, but is not an issue for Bryant, who said he’s looking forward to trading blows with the Celtics.

– To Bryant, L.A. simply needs to match Boston’s intensity and energy on Sunday. It’s not so much about playing a specific style (i.e. a physical style), but bringing effort.

– The 2008 Finals loss isn’t something Bryant really thinks about; he focuses more on the fact that Boston simply plays very well at home.

– Bryant said that his finger is feeling about 80 percent better than it was at its worst point, and demonstrated to reporters that he has a bit better range of motion. Of course, it still looked pretty swollen, but to Bryant it had undergone “an improvement.”

PAU GASOL
– On the affect of losing in the Finals: “Last season we played the way we were supposed to. We played hard, and we carried the frustration from the year before. Hopefully we’ll do the same (on Sunday). It’s a game we look forward to, a game that’s going to be extremely hard.”

– Gasol said that while this is certainly a game L.A. would like to win, it’s not something that’s going to define a season one way or the other. Jackson and Bryant have echoed that sentiment as well.

– On attacking Kevin Garnett: “My understanding is that his leg is not completely healthy. I’ve seen him play, and I don’t know how much he’s struggling and hurting with it, because his injury was never clear to the public. But I’m just going to try and be aggressive with him no matter how his leg is doing. He’s playing, he’s a competitor and he wants to help out his team; I think he’s a good leader, and his team needs him.”

SHANNON BROWN
– Since Brown was traded just a few days after the team’s win in Boston last season, he’s yet to face the Celtics while wearing a Lakers jersey. Yet he already realizes that the stakes are different: “I never had the chance to play in this matchup, but I’m definitely excited to be apart of it. You still have to take the approach of respective them as a basketball team while just playing our own game. But maybe a little bit more focused.”

It wasn’t until Jan. 24 in Toronto that we confirmed Ron Artest had been suffering from plantar fasciitis in both feet.

It wasn’t until Friday evening in Philadelphia that Artest admitted that the pain had been there dating all the way back to the previous season.

Fortunately for both Artest and the Lakers, the pain finally seems to be subsiding.

The evidence could be seen on the floor across L.A.’s last three road wins and in particular during L.A.’s 99-91 victory over the Sixers (he scored 18 points and locked down Andre Iguodala) and heard off of it.

“I started to feel good in Toronto,” said Artest. “Ever since Toronto I’ve been running really fast, and moving. Just moving. Even in the game where I had two points (Indiana), I felt great.”

Artest explained that while playing for Houston last season, he had torn two ligaments in his ankle but decided not to rest as he was not only trying to help his team, but because it was a contract year and he was determined to put himself in the best position to help his family.

“I played on bad ankles, and (the pain) went from my ankle to the bottom of my heel right to the bottom of my foot, and it kept on going from there,” he said. “I rested in the summer time, but I never really addressed it.”

Artest credited L.A.’s training staff with its great job in helping him rehabilitate the injury this season, all the way through his breakthrough in Toronto. He couldn’t have been happier to get his legs back; in fact, he had gone so far as to question his age.

“I’m like, ‘Is it fixable? Am I just getting old?’” said the 30-year-old small forward. “But (now) I”m able to play hard. I feel almost like old Ron, like I might be able to get it back.”

The best evidence, to Artest, came during the Washington and Indiana back-to-back games this past week, when he was still able to run well despite heavy minutes. He said that L.A.’s trainers continue to help him with the bottoms of his respective feet so he can carry his weight, and it’s working, particularly on defense.

“I couldn’t chase anybody that was coming off a curl, and that was a problem,” he explained. “I wasn’t able to really pressure, but ever since my feet have been feeling well, I’ve been able to pick up (defensively), run and cause havoc defensively. It’s great, I’m just happy that (athletic trainer) Gary (Vitti) helped me.”

The 18 points he scored against Philadelphia were key to L.A.’s win, as the first 10 helped overcome Kobe Bryant’s slow 1-of-7 start, and the last six were back-to-back three-pointer in the final three minutes that sealed the win. But it was his three steals and lockdown defense of Philly’s best player, Iguodala (3-of-7 from the field for eight points) that really impacted the game.

Yet as Artest revealed, his goals are simple.

“I don’t care about the points at all, I just care that I can run and cut hard,” he said. “Stop short, move again, hustle, chase hard off down screens, that’s all I care about.”

There’s another explanation, however (at least in Artest’s mind), to why his defense hadn’t been as good as it once was. In both Houston (especially after Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming went down with injuries) and in Sacramento, he was asked to handle the offense. But with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, Artest said all he has to focus on is “hustling.”

Now that his feet are finally feeling good, he can do just that.

Click here for the Lakers Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers – Sixers contest in Indiana while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked for their third straight road win.

Inactives
Lakers: D.J. Mbenga
Sixers: Primoz Brezec

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Sixers: Jrue Holiday*, Allen Iverson, Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, Samuel Dalembert
*Assistant coach Brian Shaw suggested that Holiday may be starting because he’s more willing to play to Allen Iverson’s strengths than Lou Williams, the former starter, may do naturally. Williams, like Iverson, is more of a shoot-first guard.

Sixers Pregame Notes
To read about how the Sixers like to play, the change in their starting lineup, last season’s matchups between the teams and more CLICK HERE.

First Quarter
6:53 An observation from the first four-plus minutes of play: Ron Artest seems to be moving better on his feet. He told Phil Jackson before the game that his feet were both feeling better, certainly good news since he’d been battling plantar fasciitis on both feet for the past few weeks. The result was three early hoops for L.A.’s only three field goals, the first coming after his defensive steal and sprint up the floor.

5:35 Thought you should know that Philly’s mascot is a rabbit named “Hip Hop.” Get it? Yeah. In basketball news, Shannon Brown checked in for Kobe Bryant, who’d committed two fouls.

0:33.9 Lamar Odom managed L.A.’s second bench bucket with a baseline jumper to give L.A. its first lead of the quarter after a sluggish 7-for-20 start (35 percent); moments later, Jordan Farmar’s jumper rimmed out, as L.A. took a 19-18 lead into the second quarter. The Sixers shot poorly as well, managing just 35 percent from the field including 0-for-3’s from Dalembert and A.I. (Iverson, not Iggy).

Second Quarter
8:41 Bryant’s first field goal in four attempts came off a nice out of bounds play, the result of which was a two-handed dunk. Shannon Brown, meanwhile, snapped the nets on two high-arching jumpers as L.A. opened a 31-23 lead.

6:21 “Cutting down the paint, Odom hammers it in!” – Spero Dedes, calling the play for us as Odom went on a three-step burst through the lane before slamming home a left-handed flush that put the Lakers up by 10. Moments later, Gasol’s tip in of Bryant’s miss capped a 16-4 Lakers run as L.A. continued to handle its business against on-paper inferior foes, as it had in Washington and Indiana.

3:25 Gasol went on a scoring binge in the second quarter with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting, adding five assists and three boards to get to 10, five and five (triple-double watch) with time to spare in the half. He’d thus accounted for 20 of L.A.’s 26 points in the quarter to that point, which had built a double-digit lead that dipped only a point at halftime to 51-42. This despite Bryant making only 1-of-7 shots … but at least my cab driver on the way to the arena honked five times and frantically waved when seeing Kobe get off the bus upon arrival (Kobe waved).

Third Quarter
11:13 Anytime Kobe appears to injure anything, near panic enters for those associated with Purple and Gold, but after appearing to tweak his left ankle and talking to Gary Vitti about it during a time out, Bryant simply walked it off … then picked Iguodala’s pocket … then hit a jumper. So no worries, after all.

8:02 Philly, to its credit, responded to L.A.’s opening salvo with a 10-1 run to bring the lead back to single digits at nine. Elton Brand led the way with back-to-back baseline jumpers to get himself to a game-high 15 points, and added an assist to Iggy.

2:31 All of a sudden, Allen Iverson turned into All Star starter A.I., going on a scoring binge to the tune of 15 points in the quarter, bringing the 76ers within just three points after L.A. had led by 16 points. But the Lakers happened to have the No. 13 pick in A.I.’s 1996 draft class, Kobe Bryant (A.I. was No. 1), and Bryant continued to shake off that knee tweak as he scored the final six points of the period and shifted over to Iverson on defense. No. 24 is something else … Lakers by nine after three, 76-67.

Fourth Quarter
9:53 Speaking of Kobe … he didn’t slow down in the fourth, nailing three more shots to get to 8-of-10 in the second half, scoring 20 of his 22 points. The fans, a select few of whom likely saw him play at nearby Lower Merion High School, were clamoring for more.

7:53 The 76ers weren’t quite ready to die, as Iverson’s jumper made it a six-point game heading into the home stretch.

3:00 Artest, who had scored just two points since the first quarter, nailed a big three to push L.A.’s lead to 11 as the game drew to a close. Moments later, he dropped another dagger triple to get to 18 points – his highest scoring game since November 28 against Golden State. The Lakers ended up winning 99-91 for the team’s third straight impressive/easy road victory, bringing the team to a 4-2 mark on the eight-game trip.

Next up is a Sunday showdown in Boston. Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
1 Double-double for the Lakers in a relatively low-scoring game, as Pau Gasol went for 19 points and 10 rebounds, plus five assists.

2 First half points for Kobe Bryant on 1-of-7 shooting. Of course, he nailed 9-of-15 in the second half to finish with a game-high 24 points.

15 Points in the third quarter for Allen Iverson, who suddenly caught fire as if he were playing in the 2001 NBA Finals again. Kobe Bryant switched over to him on defense, however, and A.I. scored just six in the fourth quarter.

18 Points scored by Ron Artest, his highest output since Nov. 28 against Golden State, including two clutch fourth quarter three-pointers that sealed the win.

18 Also the number of turnovers committed by Philly, where as the Lakers had only 10.

It’s been a struggle this season for the Philadelphia 76ers, who have lost twice as many games (30) as they’ve won (15).

Yet Philly remains dangerous due to a mix of young talent and an untraditional style that has helped them earn several quality wins: at Boston (98-97); at Portland (104-93); at Denver (108-105); New Orleans (96-92); and Dallas (92-81).

In January, the Sixers are 6-7, and have made a change to their starting lineup by putting rookie Jrue Holiday and Elton Brand into the mix and sending Louis Williams and Thaddeus Young to the bench. L.A.’s coaching staff acknowledged that Brand may demand a double team at times, which opens the floor for cuts within coach Eddie Jordan’s Princeton offense.

The Lakers will also be well aware of Andre Iguodala, who leads the team in scoring (17.6), assists (5.7) and steals (1.87), and beat L.A. himself with a buzzer-beating three-pointer last season at STAPLES Center. He finished with 25 points in that game, and the 76ers overcame a 14-point fourth quarter deficit.

But in Philadelphia last December, the Lakers won rather easily (114-102), led by 32 points from Kobe Bryant.

A few other notes heading into the contest:

– Philly’s All-Star starter isn’t Iguodala, but Allen Iverson, who joined the team after parting ways with the Memphis Grizzlies and has averaged 14.5 points and 4.4 assists in 20 games this season.

– Offensively, the Lakers will likely look to go inside once again to Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, who have combined for 86 points in L.A.’s last two victories at Washington and Indiana.

– Kobe Bryant says he’s starting to feel better from his various ailments, and the recent numbers are backing up his claim. He made 8-of-15 shots in Washington (53.3 percent) and 10-of-15 in Indiana (66.7 percent) after failing to shoot over 50 percent in 13-of-14 games in which he was bothered by a broken finger (among other things).

– Tipoff is at 4 p.m. Pacific; we’ll see you on Lakers.com for full coverage.

Just like last year, Lakers forward Pau Gasol will be joining teammate Kobe Bryant on the Western Conference All-Star team.

The Spaniard was among seven players voted in by coaches around the league out West, alongside Dirk Nowitzki, Zach Randolph, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Brandon Roy and Deron Williams.

When Gasol missed a combined 17 games due to respective right and left hamstring strains this season, the Lakers won 11 times (nine of those games were at home) and lost six (64.7 percent), but with him on the floor, they’ve won 24 and lost just five (82.8 percent).

To reiterate, the Lakers have won 82.8 percent of games in which Gasol has played, and the team has not once lost three straight games since acquiring Gasol in February of 2008. His crucial role in the 2009 NBA playoffs and Finals didn’t hurt either.

Bryant, who led all Western Conference players in votes and will make his 12th All-Star appearance, has been constantly effusive about Gasol’s play, even saying in December that Pau was to him “absolutely” the best all-around post player in the league.

While sacrificing some of his scoring (17.6 this season compared to 18.9 last season on one fewer field goal attempt) to account for Andrew Bynum’s presence, Gasol has picked up his glass work (9.6 in 2008-09 to 11.0 this season), to rank seventh in the NBA. He’s also leading the Lakers with 1.7 blocks per game (12th in the league) and handing out 3.3 assists per night for good measure.

But what makes Gasol even more valuable is that he rarely, if ever, takes away from the team’s effort thanks to his elite efficiency on offense (54 percent field goals, 83 percent free throws), limited turnovers (1.9 per game) and ability to guard both forwards and centers without fouling (2.1 personal fouls per game).

After 41 games, the halfway point of the 2009-10 season, the Lakers led the league with a 32-9 mark (now 35-11) thanks in part to a heavy home schedule and despite various injuries including 17 missed games from All-Star Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant’s different ailments.

Instead of going through a game-by-game or player-by-player summary (the Lakers measure success in April, May and June, not November and December) – we enlisted assistant coach Jim Cleamons last week in Toronto to see how the coaching staff hoped to grow the squad from the first half to the second.

Among the topics we covered:

1) The difference of playing with and without Gasol
2) The bench rotation, specifically the emergence of Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown
3) Ron Artest’s integration with the team
4) The significance of earning home court advantage, and difference between competing in November and March
5) Playing with a target on their back
6) The impact of Kobe Bryant playing through pain

Just click the play button below to listen:

Click here for the Lakers Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers – Pacers contest in Indiana while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked for their second straight road win.

Inactives
Lakers: D.J. Mbenga
Pacers: Jeff Foster, Tyler Hansbrough

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Pacers: Earl Watson, Dahntay Jones, Brandon Rush, Danny Granger, Troy Murphy

Throw Out the Numbers at Home
While the Lakers happen to dominate the Pacers in most statistical categories and of course with their overall record (34-11 to 16-29), you can basically throw out the numbers at Conseco Fieldhouse, where the Lakers have won just three times in seven tries since 1999. CLICK HERE to read more.

First Quarter
7:35 So much for being tired on a back-to-back … the Lakers conceded nothing energy-wise in the first four-plus minutes, scoring 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting including Andrew Bynum’s 4-of-4, to just eight Pacers points. L.A. was getting anything it wanted offensively, like Peyton Manning deciding which receiver to feed and calmly delivering. In related news, there were more than a few Colts 18 jerseys in the arena, but far fewer than I expected.

2:46 The Pacers went back to a more conventional lineup when center Roy Hibbert checked in for Granger, and immediately scored on consecutive possessions to highlight an 8-2 run that brought Indiana within a single point. The Georgetown big has nice touch around the hoop, and at least gives Bynum some length with which to contend.

2:03 Moments later, Hibbert got a welcome-to-the-game spin move and baseline hammer dunk from Gasol. Pau actually struggled with his shot in the period, making only 2-of-8 attempts, but both Bryant and Bynum made all five of their attempts to get the Lakers a 31-29 lead after one.

Second Quarter
10:53 Back on Jan. 3 in a blowout of Dallas, Bynum was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field in the game. In 11:22 of action tonight, Bynum’s again a perfect 8-of-8 from the field, for a game-high 18 points. For how easily Bynum was scoring (he was almost indifferent, just dropping in layups), Murphy and Hibbert may as well have been AAU guards.

7:45 Though Bynum and Bryant still had yet to miss, the rest of the Lakers were only 4-of-21 as a Brandon Rush three gave Indiana its first lead of the night. Suppose you could blame a part of L.A.’s defensive indifference on last night’s game but we’ll likely see that pick up in the second half. The Lakers also generally take a bit to feel out their opponent if it’s the season’s first meeting, then make appropriate adjustments at the break.

0:00 Sasha Vujacic, who’d checked in for the last nine seconds of the ball game, received a corner pass from a slashing Bryant but instead of shooting, kicked the ball out to Lamar Odom, who nailed the three at the buzzer. Vujacic, who is constantly playing shooting games with assistant Brian Shaw before games and generally bantering with him, sprinted over to Shaw and said something while Shaw laughed hysterically. Lakers 59, Pacers 56 at the break.

L.A. was led by Bynum’s terrific 22 points and seven boards, while Odom grabbed nine boards off the pine and Bryant put forth 10 points on six shots, with three assists and four boards.

Third Quarter
9:54 What’s the deal with Murphy’s shots rolling around the rim for two seconds before falling in? His three just did so, much like last season’s game winner in this building, to bring Indy within two points.

7:58 While Josh Powell yelled “Let’s go D!!!” for a steady minute, the Lakers followed a general season trend by stepping up their defense in the third quarter. In concert, the offense found easy looks in transition to go on a quick 8-0 run that produced a 10-point lead, capped by a Kobe three and a Pau and-1.

1:14 Odom’s second three-pointer of the game pushed L.A.’s lead to 16 points, as the predicted third quarter push came to put the Pacers in serious jeopardy. Bynum (11-of-13) and Bryant (8-of-12) had combined for 48 points at that stage, and the Lakers headed into the fourth with a 92-78 lead after a Hibbert jumper pulled two points back.

Fourth Quarter
9:10 Bynum rightfully reached his season high early in the fourth on a baseline hoop, getting to 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting, which brought him to 57.2 percent on the season. He added 12 rebounds for good measure.

6:21 Shannon Brown’s two free throws capped an 8-0 bench run that also featured two Farmar buckets and an Odom jumper, creating a 104-87 lead for the purple in gold as the game looked increasingly over. At least the fans here have the Colts in two weekends.

3:19 Bryant left the game to a standing ovation from the scores of Lakers fans in the house after swatting Hibbert from behind. His totals: 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 35 minutes, the team up 111-92. The game would end moments later with a 118-96 final, allowing the Lakers to improve to 34-11 on the season.

Up next is a Friday contest in Philadelphia, but until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
71 Points shy of Jerry West’s all-time points total after another 29, which came on 10-of-15 shooting and 6-of-8 from the line. Bryant added nine rebounds and a team-best seven assists in yet another impressive performance.

54 Points in the paint for the Lakers, thanks in part to Andrew Bynum (see below), to just 32 from the Pacers.

30 Free throw attempts for the Lakers, of which they made 25. The Pacers were just 11-of-14.

27 Season high in points from a super efficient Bynum, who made 12-of-14 shots and all three free throws, not to mention 12 rebounds.

7 Game streak snapped when Jordan Farmar didn’t connect on at least one three-pointer.

Here’s a quick team statistical comparison between the Pacers and Lakers, based on the NBA league leaders:

Points/game: Lakers 5th, Pacers 17th

FG%: Lakers 14, Pacers 27

FT%: Lakers 7, Pacers 12

3-pt FG%: Lakers 15, Pacers 26

Off. Reb./gm: Lakers 10, Pacers 24

Def. Reb./gm: Lakers 2, Pacers 5

Rebounds/game: Lakers 2, Pacers 10

Assists/game: Lakers 8, Pacers 19

Steals/game: Lakers 11, Pacers 24

Turnovers/game: Lakers 7, Pacers 28

Blocks/game: Lakers 16, Pacers 3

These numbers clearly reflect the discrepancy between the team’s records (34-11 vs 16-29), but yet in Indiana, the Lakers struggle to win, having earned just three victories to seven losses at Conseco Fieldhouse since it opened in 1999. Of course, the rankings apply only to this season, but the numbers were similarly disparate last season when Troy Murphy’s tip in beat L.A. at the buzzer.

“It’s been a hard place for us to play,” said Phil Jackson. “The Pacers play well here, they have a good fan base; they play a little bit of a different style. They push the ball relentlessly, and they have these angles that they work at that prevent us from doing our normal defensive system.”

So maybe rapper Maino’s “All The Above” featuring T-Pain came out over a year ago, but it still makes regular appearances in my top rotation.

In fact, during the team’s flight from Washington D.C. to Indiana after Tuesday night’s 115-103 victory over the Wizards – Kobe Bryant posted 26 points and eight assists – I couldn’t help but think of No. 24 when this T-Pain verse came up:

Now if I’m up in the spot (spot)
Or if I’m out on the block (block)
I hustle hard cause it’s all the same
And you know that grind don’t stop
Just ’cause I rose to the top
And everybody knows my name
Still grindin’ (still grindin’),
Still hustlin’ (still hustlin’)
No more pain (no more pain),
No more sufferin’ (no more sufferin’)
For my ladies and my shorties and my thugs,
keep that task, and the shine, and the love

That works, right? Who else but Kobe is “still hustling and grinding” after reaching the top, after all?

Despite numerous injuries, including his current broken finger, Bryant has not missed a single Lakers game since the 2006-07 season, when he was forced to skip a March 7 tilt against Milwaukee due to a suspension after a tussle with then Timberwolves guard Marko Jaric.

The last time Bryant didn’t play in a game due to an injury was in 2006 against Atlanta on Dec. 9, when he sat with a sprained ankle on which he couldn’t run. Of course, he returned for the next game.

Since Bryant played in all 82 Lakers games during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, and all 45 this season, when you take the 20 games after that Milwaukee contest, he’s played in 229 straight (not to mention his supreme effort en route to two straight trips to the Finals and an Olympic gold medal).

Still grindin’. Still hustlin.’

Click here for the Lakers Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers – Wizards contest in Washington D.C. while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked to get back into the win column after Sunday’s loss in Toronto.

Inactives
Lakers: D.J. Mbenga
Wizards: Gilbert Arenas, Jarvaris Crittenton

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Wizards: Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood

Phil Jackson Pregame
Check out Jackson’s pregame particulars by CLICKING HERE.

First Quarter
11:50 In Toronto, the Lakers watched Pau Gasol play one of his more aggressive games in taking 22 shots, and it was good to see that continue with the game’s first bucket, plus the foul.

5:16 Remember in New York on Friday night when neither the Knicks or the Lakers missed often in the first quarter? It’s like they’re replaying that game, but in Washington with Wizards jerseys as the Wiz opened 8-for-12 from the field and L.A. 6-of-9 in a 18-16 lead for the home team. Washington got seven points from Jamison, L.A. seven from Gasol.

0:00.7 Kobe Bryant’s pull-up jumper thanks to a nice outlet from Odom gave the Lakers the final four points of the period – capping a 14-7 run – that produced a 30-29 lead after a hot shooting first quarter from both teams. The Lakers canned 11-of-17 shots (64.7 percent) while the Wiz made 13-of-24 (54.2 percent).

Second Quarter
10:00 Odom continued a hot individual start to the game by canning his fourth field goal in as many attempts to get to nine points, matching his buddy Pau Gasol. In less good news for L.A., Jordan Farmar (who had 17 points against Toronto) committed his second foul and had to go right back to the bench.

7:02 Vujacic, trying to play his way back into Phil Jackson’s rotation, nailed his first field goal attempt of the game from 18 feet, capping a quick 6-0 Lakers run that made it 46-37 while Kobe rested on the bench. The Slovenian followed up that play by, in feisty fashion, tying up Haywood for a jump ball. You had to love the determined expression on his face.

3:11 An impressive quarter continued for the Lakers as Bryant scored a tough and-1 bucket at the basket and moments later, Shannon Brown hammered home his third big dunk of the half, flying in to stuff Bynum’s missed free throw home to create a 55-41 lead for L.A. The Lakers would close the half up 60-44 after Fisher buried a corner three; Fish did go down on the floor for about 20 seconds on the ensuing inbounds play, holding his groin area, but seemed fine while walking to the bench under his own power.

Third Quarter
4:53 Remember that gravity-defining hanging runner off glass that Bryant nailed over Dwight Howard in Game 5 of the NBA Finals? He just pulled off a similar move over Haywood. Pretty stuff.

3:59A pretty passing play resulted in an alley-oop dunk from Bryant to Gasol, moments after Artest had nailed a three-pointer and Fisher had picked off a Foye pass. The Lakers often seemed to be toying with Washington’s defense, not allowing their lead to fall below 10 points at any point of the quarter.

0.04.0 Haywood hit 1-of-2 free throws to cap a solid offensive quarter for Washington featuring 28 points on 57.9 percent shooting. Their problem was that the Lakers shot a ridiculous 71.4 percent (10-of-14) to score 27 points of their own, allowing just one point chipped off the 16-point halftime edge.

Fourth Quarter
9:30 It’s not often that someone gets under the skin of Pau Gasol, but Andray Blatche managed as much early in the fourth with some post-whistle extra-curriculars. The resulting double technical seemed to re-energize Gasol, who went hard to the basket on Blatche moments later and drew a foul, hitting both foul shots to reach a game-high 24 points and put L.A. up 11.

6:35 After a Brown three capped a 7-0 Lakers run, Farmar went on a 5-0 run himself after Foye managed a jumper. The second bucket was a three-pointer, and that’s no surprise since he’s been scorching hot from three of late, hitting at least one in seven straight games and going for 46.5 percent in January after shooting just 31.6 percent in December.

2:39 A very impressive all-around Lakers effort was punctuated by a nasty one-handed alley-oop jam from Gasol to Odom, who threw down with his favored left hand to put the Lakers up 112-94. The game would end with a 115-103 margin for the Lakers, who now head to Indiana for an always difficult game at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
59.5 L.A.’s shooting percentage for the game on an impressive 44-of-75 from the field, including 9-of-22 from three.

38 Bench points for the Lakers, who got terrific games from Lamar Odom (15 points, eight rebounds) and Shannon Brown (11 points, three assists) and a nice fourth quarter from Jordan Farmar (seven points).

26 Points for both Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol to lead the Lakers. Bryant added a team-high eight assists, and Gasol a game-high 10 rebounds.

9 Turnovers for L.A., which was too busy making shots to turn the ball over.

3 Huge dunks from Shannon Brown, all in the second quarter, including a rebound flush-back of a missed free throw.

Before each American championship-winning sports team visits President Obama at the White House, they are enlisted to do a service event as part of the President’s “United We Serve” campaign that encourages everyone to give back to the community on a year-round basis.

For the Lakers, that time came on Monday morning at Washington D.C.’s Verizon Center – prior to the team’s afternoon visit to the White House – when the Lakers put on a fitness and basketball clinic for 31 fifth graders from Southeast D.C.’s Stanton Elementary School.

As the Purple and Gold’s Community Relations Director Eugenia Chow explained, the Lakers used the opportunity to partner with City Year, an organization that places students or college graduates with schools.

“City Year is a wonderful organization,” said Chow, who also works with City Year’s L.A. branch. “The Washington D.C. branch has 100 corps members that are 17-to-24 year olds who commit to a year of full-time service.”

Executive Director of City Year Washington D.C. Jeffrey Franco explained that City Year’s corps members act as tutors, mentors and role models to kids such as those gathered with the Lakers.

“They help the kids with one-on-one tutoring, group tutoring, in-class support and creating a positive climate at the schools they’re at,” he said. “They’re generally in schools that are high-need schools, and our members are in the school every day from the morning bell through the after school program.”

Part of the mission for both City Year and the Lakers is to create opportunities for kids that they might not otherwise get.

“Following along with the theme of a mentor and a role model, these kids see the basketball players as role models, so when they do something with them in the community, it also creates a very positive impression upon the kids,” said Franco.

Luke Walton would agree.

“It’s always great to get the kids having fun playing basketball, and hopefully you can encourage them to exercise more, be more active and that kind of thing,” said the Lakers forward. “And if you talk to most guys on (the Lakers), we grew up having to do well in school before being rewarded with basketball, so we want to use it as motivation.”

It certainly seemed to be working on Monday, as fifth grade teacher Lora King noticed immediately.

“This is definitely motivational for our students,” she said. “They’re excited to meet the players, they’re excited to get their shirts and I think this is something that can help them stay motivated because we’re going to start a basketball team at Stanton.”

King said that Stanton is trying to create positive opportunities for the students that make them excited both about health and fitness and about going to school, and having the Lakers join that cause is very exciting.

“It’s just nice to see smiles on their faces,” concluded Walton. “We had a great time with the kids, and I hope they can take some of these lessons back to Stanton.”

Prior to L.A’s Tuesday evening contest against the Wizards, a local media member asked him where he would you put this year’s team up against some of his better teams, and Jackson’s answer was interesting enough to quote directly:

It kind of feels to me like a team that’s won a championship and … having been to the Finals the year before the championship (also) and knowing the grind the season’s are, sometimes they don’t present the intensity (about) regular season games that I’d like them to.

Perhaps the good news is, Jackson’s early decade championship teams went through much of the same before going on to win; he has no reason to believe his 2009-10 version won’t ultimately lock in.

One thing that helps, thinks Jackson, is the road, where opposing crowds and teams have it out for the Purple and Gold.

“We got stagnant at home a little bit,” he said. “Now that we’re on the road we want to find some traction.”

A few other notes prior to tipoff:

– Jackson wasn’t worried that the team would have any letdown after an emotional day at the White House. He was, however, concerned with the team’s lack of practice time due to the crazy schedule of late.

– Jackson emphasized that the Lakers absolutely couldn’t take the Wizards lightly, noting a few players in particular: “(Antawn) Jamison and (Caron) Butler are very good scorers, and they have a track record of playing well against us. I don’t know if we’ve ever stopped (Earl) Boykins.”

– Phil revealed that he voted for Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Paul for the All-Star team, but wouldn’t divulge his other picks.

– The head coach tempered his criticism of Ron Artest’s shoes, disclosing that he was purely speculating about why his forward was suffering from plantar fasciitis.

– Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser from ESPN’s “PTI” program stayed after the media session to catch up with their frequent guest.

After an exciting day at the White House that included a private tour of the residence, President Barack Obama addressed a full house in the building’s East Room with the NBA Champions gathered behind him.

“Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers for winning your 15th NBA title and fourth in the last 10 years,” said Obama. “I still get enormous pleasure from watching great athletes, and nobody exemplifies excellence in basketball better than the Los Angeles Lakers.”

There are only so many people in the world that can command complete control of a room that also features Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson, but many of the players could hardly contain beaming smiles as the President praised their accomplishments.

“I think they’re in awe,” said Phil Jackson. “I really do.”

“A lot of us never thought we would see this day,” said Jordan Farmar before even attending the event. “I feel very special to be apart of it and to have the chance to share this with my teammates – we all get along and really care about each other, so it’s really meaningful.”

The team, in unison, could easily agree upon that sentiment after the ceremony.

During a typically terrific nine-minute speech, Obama also managed to engender frequent laughs from both the audience and the team. Perhaps the funniest part of his address came after he conveyed his excitement about meeting Phil Jackson, when he mentioned Lakers legend Magic Johnson (standing next to Kobe Bryant) while acknowledging Jackson’s championships.

“I do want to point out that six of them came with the Bulls,” said Obama, a big time Chicago fan. “You remember that, Magic?”

That one had all in attendance cracking up, particularly after Obama turned towards Magic to pantomime Michael Jordan’s right-hand-to-left-hand layup in the 1991 Finals, when Jackson’s Bulls defeated Johnson’s Lakers 4-1.

“It was really a special moment in time that I’m going to always remember that the President of the United States trash-talked Magic Johnson,” said Johnson. “And me restraining myself not to come back at him. He was the only man on earth that ever trash-talked me and I (didn’t) say anything … it was a great moment.”

Obama, of course, promptly went on to praise Johnson.

“We’re honored to have one of the all-time greats in NBA history, Magic Johnson,” he said. “Magic did pretty well during his time with the Lakers – he wasn’t bad. Part of what makes Magic special wasn’t just how he played on the court but also his infectious enthusiasm about life and what he’s now doing with businesses in black communities, he’s just been an outstanding leader in our country for a long time.”

Next up, Kobe Bryant.

“Of course I have to acknowledge Kobe Bryant, one of the most competitive players I’ve ever seen,” said Obama. “He has MVP’s under his belt, he’s the youngest player to ever reach 25,000 points in his career, and he’s playing with a broken finger.”

Bryant explained that in an exchange between himself and Obama before the speech, they shook hands, but Obama immediately pulled his hand back to make sure he wasn’t squeezing Kobe’s finger too hard. Bryant certainly appreciated that the President was so aware, as did the rest of the players and assistants when Obama called them all by name.

“It was nice that he had done his homework,” said assistant coach Brian Shaw. “He knew a little bit about everybody from Kobe to the coaching staff … I was impressed.”

“Absolutely,” Bryant agreed. “I know that everybody understood the significance and the magnitude of it. It’s great to see that … (President Obama) is someone who I obviously got behind and he’s in charge of the country, so it’s just a special feeling being the first NBA team to come to the White House.”

Yet Bryant, whose smile from the ceremony remained on his face as he addressed the press afterward, was most excited to share the experience with his family.

“To me that’s the coolest part about it,” he said. “To see my wife and my two daughters sitting there. They’re fully aware of who he is, and it’s pretty cool to see. It was perfect.”

Obama went on to describe that while the Lakers clearly never lost their focus on the court last season – even citing the “1-2-3 Ring!” chant led by Odom before each game – they also recognized the impact that can be made off the court.

“This team knows that being a champ is about more than trophies and rings,” he said. “It’s about being a winner off the court, and giving back to those that are less fortunate. The Lakers and the NBA have always been about serving others … and that tradition continued last week when the NBA players association, led by Derek Fisher, pledged to donate one million dollars to support relief efforts in Haiti.”

The President also specifically mentioned the contributions of Pau Gasol and Jordan Farmar to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, and thanked the team for putting on a Monday morning community event with fifth graders from a local Washington D.C. school.

Shaw noted the irony in that visit at the Verizon Center, when the kids looked up to the Lakers much like the Lakers looked up to the President.

“Just how the kids were kind of starry eyed when we were trying to get them organized so that we could do the clinic, I jokingly said (to the players at the White House) that now we’re the kids at the clinic,” explained Shaw. “Everybody’s looking at him just like they were looking at us.”

And so it was as Obama offered the last words.

“I want to thank the entire Lakers organization for your service, for the great joy that you have given the city of Los Angeles and also the incredible competition that your organization has graced the basketball court with for decades now.

“If this season is anything like the last one, I know you have your sights set on the NBA Finals, so we might see you here before long.”

Before the results to the 2008 Presidential election became official on Nov. 4 of that year, many of the Lakers players were almost as plugged into the outcome as they were the team scouting reports heading into NBA Finals seven months later.

Then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama won in November, and the Lakers followed suit by defeating Orlando in Game 5 in June to secure not just the NBA title, but a trip to the White House to meet the President seven months later a day before L.A.’s Tuesday night game against Washington.

Among Obama’s numerous supporters within the NBA community is Derek Fisher, who relayed his and his team’s sentiments about Monday’s meet and greet prior to L.A.’s Sunday evening game in Toronto.

“We’re all excited about it,” said Fisher. “It’s one of those rare times in an individual lifetime where there is an election or an event that changes the course of the next 30, 40, 50 years.

“A lot of people, including us, feel like President Obama’s election was one of those moments. So to be the first team that gets to actually go and meet him, see the White House and be apart of the entire event is pretty cool.”

Fisher’s backup, Jordan Farmar, expressed similar feelings.

“I’m really excited,” he noted. “I’ve never been to the White House, and being a guest there will be special.“

Farmar actually had a chance to introduce President Obama before a speech in Newport Beach in the summer of 2008, and said he jumped at the opportunity after his agent set up the details.

“It was really special, and President Obama was really cool,” said Farmar, who spoke to Obama for about 15 minutes before the speech. “We talked basketball right away; we had just lost to Boston in the Finals then, but we’ll have something better to talk about this time.”

Yet in his haste to pack for L.A.’s eight-game road trip (three down, five to go), Farmar forgot to pack a suit to wear to the ceremony.

“I had to go get one made (Sunday in Toronto),” he said. “You can’t just go to the White House in jeans and a t-shirt.”

Fortunately, Farmar’s suit was delivered during the game in Toronto; he certainly couldn’t afford to be less than sharp as the first team in what is a predominantly African American professional league met the country’s first African American President.

“A lot of us never thought we would see this day,” said Farmar, who like Obama comes from a bi-racial background. “I feel very special to be apart of it and to have the chance to share this with my teammates – we all get along and really care about each other, so it’s really meaningful.”

One of those teammates, Lamar Odom, responded immediately to a locker room question about his favorite president.

“President Obama, in a land slide,” he said before offering some perspective. “My grandmother was born in Georgia in 1923 … A lot of people coming up didn’t have hope … I’m looking forward to going tomorrow and meeting him face-to-face.”

While Odom joked that he also loved Obama because he was a fellow lefty, his eyes sparkled a bit as he imagined taking a photo with the President.

“Just having that picture in my house in Queens where I was born and raised … that will be a big deal to my family.”

We took a look at the Lakers – Raptors contest in Toronto while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked to win their second straight road game.

Inactives
Lakers: D.J. Mbenga
Raptors: Marcus Banks

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Raptors: Jarrett Jack, DeMar DeRozan, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani

Canadian Home Court Edge
The Raptors have been one of the league’s best home teams this season, particularly of late. In fact, they had won 8-of-9 games at Air Canada Centre heading into Sunday’s game, including five straight against Western Conference teams (Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Houston and Minnesota). We should recognize the vigor of the home crowd, which is very festive (much like a European soccer crown, minus the extra curriculars).

First Quarter
5:07 Pau Gasol capped a very aggressive personal open to the first with a nasty one-handed dunk in transition off the feed of Derek Fisher to make it 14-5 Lakers. The Spaniard would close the quarter with a game-high 10 points in the period on 5-of-9 shooting. Unrelated: did you know that Subways in Canada don’t have spinach or olive oil? I found out the hard way.

2:07 Ron Artest struggled to find his range throughout the quarter, missing all five of his attempts from various spots around the perimeter. Perhaps this is because Celine Dion, of whom he’s a big fan, was not here to sing “Oh Canada”? Just a guess.

0:02.9 It took a while, but the Raptors finally started to hit some shots near the quarter’s close after opening just 2-of-10, getting a Chris Bosh hoop and a end-of-shot-clock Marco Belinelli three-pointer to keep Toronto within three (24-21) at the quarter’s close. By the way, the Canada Dry ginger ale in the media room tastes quite good, not surprisingly.

Second Quarter
8:51 Jordan Farmar, who had made at least one three-pointer in five straight games, nailed another thanks to Bryant’s penetration. Farmar’s shooting around 43 percent in January, and has been fairly consistent. In related news, he’s been spending considerable time at the gym at night shooting with his personal trainer.

3:31 Sticking to the ol’ game plan in the second, the Lakers repeatedly pounded the ball inside to Bynum, who responded with 13 points in the quarter as the Raptors were left literally without an answer. Bynum had three separate and-1’s, all helping the Lakers to a 48-41 lead when Odom took his place.

0:01.9 Kobe nailed three jumpers all in the final minute of the quarter to put a dent in Toronto’s first hot stretch of the game that had produced 14 points since a 48-40 Lakers lead. His final J gave the Lakers a two-point edge heading into the half. Bryant closed the half with 14 points, eight boards and five assists, and was on triple-double watch (he had 16 in his career coming into the game).

Third Quarter
9:45 The Lakers brought some California heat to the start of the third quarter, getting consecutive buckets from Gasol and Bynum before Bryant atoned for his missed dunk with a corner three. That capped a 7-0 run to start the third, creating a nine-point cushion.

4:32 L.A.’s lead briefly reached 10 when Fisher canned a corner three, but the Raptors responded with a 6-0 run to cut the margin to 73-69 and force a Phil time out. Jarrett Jack was key in the run, scoring twice at the rim and feeding Bosh for a baseline jumper. Random note: I learned that Canada native Kiefer Sutherland’s grandpa is a famous/important politician from our cab driver to the arena.

0:08.9 DeMar DeRozan’s baseline jumper capped a quick 4-0 run to close the third for Toronto, cutting L.A.’s lead to two points – as it was at halftime – heading into the final quarter. Bryant was within only two assists of his triple-double with 21 points, 12 boards and eight assists, not to mention an explosive baseline dunk and big swat of Bargnani.

Fourth Quarter
8:25 Speaking of Bargnani … the Italian and former No. 1 overall pick nailed his third field goal in the opening minutes of the quarter to tie the score at 88. He was one of five Raptors in double figures at that point (Bosh, DeRozan, Jack and Belinelli), as the Lakers gave Bryant a rest in favor of Shannon Brown.

7:13 Just moments after failing to see Luke Walton’s alley-oop pass, Farmar atoned with his third three-pointer of the game. It also answered Bargnani’s three at the other end, a rainbow that had given Toronto its first lead of the game at 93-90, sending the crowd – which easily ranks in the NBA’s top five – into a relative frenzy. Fast forward to the 3:23 mark, when Farmar got a tough runner to go (17 pts) at the end of the shot clock to put the Lakers up 103-100 in a terrific up-and-down final quarter.

0:01.2 A crazy final few minutes as Bryant put the Lakers up 105-101 with a shot over Turkoglu, but he missed his next two jumpers – including a fade away with a second left on the shot clock – to give the Raptors a chance to go ahead with 11.4 seconds left in a 105-104 game. As it turned out, Turkoglu managed to draw a foul heading to the bucket with just 1.2 seconds to go as the ref whistled a push in the back (Gasol’s hand was on his back, but the Turkish forward appeared to be out of control and set to dive towards the hoop). Alas, he made both foul shots, and Bryant’s desperation three-pointer from 38 feet rimmed out to give the Raptors a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

Before L.A. plays the Wizards on Tuesday, they’ll go visit with President Obama at the White House on Monday … and before that, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
1 Assist shy of a triple-double for Kobe Bryant, who scored a game-high 27 points on 11-of-24 shooting.

3 Players scoring at least 20 points, with Bryant’s 27, Pau Gasol’s 22 and Andrew Bynum’s 21. Both Bynum and Gasol grabbed nine rebounds as well.

12 L.A.’s edge on the glass, 51-39.

15 More free throw attempts for the Raptors (26) than the Lakers (9).

16 Career high regular season rebounding total for Bryant. Both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum added nine rebounds for the Lakers.

17 Points off the bench for Jordan Farmar in 22 minutes on 7-of-11 shooting, plus four rebounds and all of the crunch time minutes at point guard.

Phil Jackson acknowledged before Sunday’s game against Toronto that Ron Artest is suffering from plantar fasciitis in both feet.

“We haven’t had any conversation about sitting out, but if it continues, he may have to,” said Jackson.

Artest, who generally prefers not to discuss his injuries, is averaging 11.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists while leading the team in three-point shooting at 39.6 percent, boosted by his 3-of-3 from distance against the Knicks on Friday.