January 2011 Archives

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said today that the team's recent lackluster play might force him to make a trade. He told a reporter from NBA.com: "Regarding a trade, I may have to. I'm not saying that I've made calls today or I'll make them tomorrow. But I just don't think that we're playing as well as our talent level should allow us."

He also said: "I try to be as objective as possible, but I'm concerned that our performance is not living up to our talent level. Our record is certainly OK. But we've lost a bunch of home games. We've lost a couple of big games at home. And to me, those are red flags.

"I'm not convinced it's lack of talent. I think it's there. Our team is very similar -- certainly our starting five is exact -- as the team last year. Yes, we're a year older. But it's not like our guys are 34, 35 or 36. They're all between 29 and 31 or 32. I think we've added a couple players that may make our roster even stronger, with Steve Blake and Matt Barnes. ... You don't age off the charts in one year when you're 30 or 31."

Andrew Bynum did not practice today because of soreness in his left knee, but hopes to play in Tuesday's game against the Houston Rockets. Bynum sat out the season's first 24 games after undergoing surgery to mend torn cartilage in his right knee July 28. He scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds during the Lakers' loss Sunday to Boston.

Meanwhile, Lakers coach Phil Jackson joked his way through a heavy barrage of questions about the state of the team in the wake of its losses Sunday to the Celtics and Friday to the Sacramento Kings. He jokingly mentioned the word "suicide" when asked what the Lakers needed to change in their approach to their next game.

"Suicide?" a reporter asked.
"Yes, suicide," Jackson responded, smiling.
"You're going to drink some Kool-Aid?" the reporter asked.
"We'll drink the Kool-Aid," Jackson said, laughing.

When the same reporter asked Lamar Odom about suicide, the Lakers' backup forward and All-Star candidate smiled and then shook his head before saying, "No, no, no. There's no coming back from that. That's it. I'm not committing suicide."

The Lakers gave up 109 points today to a team that scored 71 points Friday against the Phoenix Suns. Think about that for a minute. It probably means Jerry West was right about the Lakers. They're not a good defensive team by any measure. The Celtics, who went into the game averaging 98.7 points, shot 60.3 percent. Paul Pierce had 32 points on 11-for-18 shooting. Kobe Bryant scored 41 points on 16-for-29 shooting, passing the 27,000-point mark for his career with a 3-pointer late in the third quarter. Next: Houston on Tuesday at Staples.

There was some emotion and a little blood in the first half today at Staples Center. The Lakers showed some aggression, which had been missing in their loss Friday to the Sacramento Kings. Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics supplied the blood. He got cracked in the head accidentally and had to retreat to the locker room for repairs midway through the second quarter. The game featured a scoring battle between Kobe Bryant, who scored 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and Boston's Paul Pierce, who had 16 on 5-for-10 shooting. Everyone else had a struggle. Bryant is six points away from 27,000 for his career.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson when asked what Shaquille O'Neal brings to the Boston Celtics:
"Humor."

The Lakers paid for their out-of-sync play during the first three quarters in tonight's loss to the lowly Sacramento Kings at Staples Center. Kobe Bryant scored 38 points on 13-for-27 shooting after he had 21 on 8-for-11 shooting in the first quarter. Shannon Brown added 17 points in a reserve role and Andrew Bynum scored 12. The Lakers trailed by as many as 20 points late in the third quarter and got as close as 98-94 in the closing minutes. Their comeback fizzled, however. DeMarcus Cousins had 27 points for the Kings.

As much as they said they weren't looking forward to Sunday's rematch of the NBA Finals, they couldn't help themselves against an inferior team. The Lakers? Yes, but the Boston Celtics, too. Neither was in top form tonight. The Lakers trailed the Sacramento Kings after failing to play anything resembling tight defense. Meanwhile, the Celtics were getting kicked by the Suns in Phoenix. The Lakers and Celtics meet Sunday at Staples Center for the first time since the Lakers beat the Celtics in Game 7 of the Finals last June. Kobe Bryant scored 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting for the Lakers tonight.

Kobe Bryant's breakaway dunk with 3 minutes, 29 seconds left in the first quarter of tonight's game against the Sacramento Kings gave him 13 points in the period and propelled him past Hakeem Olajuwon into eighth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. He needed 12 points to catch Olajuwon, who had 26,946 points in his Hall of Fame career. Fans saluted Bryant with a standing ovation when they were told of his feat during a timeout with the teams tied at 23-all with 2:49 left in the first quarter.

Coach Phil Jackson was asked before tonight's game against the Sacramento Kings about which players he might vote for as backups for the All-Star team. He declined to say, then spoke about some of the ways some teams try to sway (read: bribe) coaches to pick players. He talked about receiving gift boxes with bottles of wine and trips to Cabo San Lucas after the season then added with a wry smile, "Actually, I'm waiting for a boat."

Perhaps the better to sail off into the sunset after his final season of coaching the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant did a rare thing Thursday afternoon and spoke at length on a number of subjects, ranging from the Lakers' improved play to a desire to send Phil Jackson into retirement with his 12th NBA championship. Here's are some of the highlights:

Question: Are the defensive adjustments becoming clearer? Are you executing better?
Answer: "Yeah, we're doing a much better job. We've done a good job of it for the last few weeks or so, and we just continue to get better."

Q: Are you seeing the team performing better as a whole?
A: "Absolutely. Absolutely."

Q: You always talk about the process of going through a season. Is keeping the process interesting a challenge, or is there something you point at to keep it that way?
A: "Not really. I think it's just the will to get better. That's always interesting. That always makes the game interesting. And then just continue to have an infinite curiosity about the game. I think that keeps it fresh."

Q: Since Andrew Bynum came back to the lineup, your ballhandling duties increase with Lamar Odom starting on the bench, does that change anything with what you want to do coming down on offense at all?
A: "Not necessarily. My responsibility is to be a threat, and that entails many things -- scoring the ball, or penetrating, or whatever it is. It's to be a primary threat, and try to make life easy for the rest of my guys."

Q: Your shooting efficiency has gone up. Anything from that with the ballhandling duties? Is it getting set up better, or just as the season goes along, you want to ramp up?
A: "No, it's just getting better, becoming a better player. Fifteen years in, you never stop trying to get better. So I continue to make improvements."

Q: What kind of advantage do you get from having Andrew and Pau Gasol in there at the same time, with that extreme length?
A: "I think offensive boards is something that gives us a huge advantage, because we get more cracks at it. For a team that's as potent offensively as us, to get get second and third opportunities is a big difference. The length that they have does that for us."

Q: This game coming up (Friday against the Kings), there's a pretty good chance you're going to pass Hakeem Olajuwon for eighth on the all-time scoring list. Could you talk a little bit about that time you spent working with him, and what you gained out of it?
A: "I learned a great deal, obviously, just the details of the post game, and recognizing double teams and how to deal with those. Hakeem is incredibly smart and extremely competitive, and for him to take the time to kind of welcome me into his home and show me different things is a tribute to his greatness."

Q: His footwork was off the charts, wasn't it?
A: "Oh, yeah. In my opinion, he's the best post player ever. With all due respect to (Kevin) McHale, Hakeem was phenomenal.

Q: "You look up the list and there's only one more guard on there, and that's Michael Jordan. Does it say something about the history of the game that you do have big men at the top?
A: "I mean, yeah. Typically big guys have been the ones to dominate the game and dominate the ball. For the most part, the game goes through them. The bigs on that list are obviously all-time greats. I guess there's a couple little guys that are feisty, me being one of them."

Q: Phil keeps reiterating that this is his last year. How much of a loss will that be?
A: "You're asking me a question now about something in July? It will be a sad day, but I'm sure I'll get together with him and go fly fishing or something at some point.

Q: Does it add any incentive to the season for the team?
A: "Yeah. Yeah. For me, especially, because we've been together so long. I want to make sure I do everything in my power to send him off the right way."

Q: Hakeem's attention to detail, how did that distinguish him from other players?
A: "Well, it's always the attention to detail that separates the great players from the greatest of players. It's no different with Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and Michael and any of the others. It's the attention to detail that separates those guys."

Kobe Bryant received the most votes in balloting by the fans and was selected as a starter for the Western Conference All-Star team for the 13th consecutive time. He will be joined by Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets and Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets. Yao is injured and can't play, so NBA commissioner David Stern will select a replacement.

The Eastern Conference starters: Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, LeBron James of the Miami Heat, Amare Stoudemire of the New York Knicks, Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and Dwyane Wade of the Heat.

The game is Feb. 20 at Staples Center.

Before they play host to their ancient and hated rivals, the Boston Celtics, on Sunday afternoon, the Lakers have a game against the lowly Sacramento Kings on Friday night at Staples Center. Last time they overlooked a team, the Milwaukee Bucks routed them, which led to a three-game losing streak that included their Christmas Day debacle against LeBron James and the Miami Heat and called into question their fitness as three-peat champs. Last time everyone in the known basketball universe hammered them without mercy for being too fat and happy with themselves. Since that three-game skid, the Lakers have won 12 of 15 games, including Tuesday's 29-point rout of the Utah Jazz.

The Lakers beat the Utah Jazz for the ninth consecutive time at Staples Center and for the 19th time in 22 games since their downtown arena opened. Tuesday's game was close only for a few minutes early in the game. The Lakers never trailed and led by as many as 38 points. Kobe Bryant scored 21 points, Pau Gasol had 20 and Andrew Bynum added 19. Deron Williams scored 17 for Utah, which lost for the fifth time on its five-game trip.

The Lakers looked like a team tuning up for their bitter rivals, the Boston Celtics on Sunday, and the Utah Jazz looked like a team playing the final game on a five-game cross-country trip. The Lakers shot 63.2 percent in the first half and the Jazz didn't. it was that simple. Kobe Bryant scored 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting for the Lakers. The Lakers outscored the Jazz, 22-12, in the paint and had 20 assists to only 12 for the Jazz. Utah shot 32.6 percent.

Pau Gasol has been named the European Player of the Year for 2010 by the Italian sports journal La Gazetta dello Sport, the third consecutive year the Spaniard has been honored. Gasol beat out Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas (Germany) and Juan Carlos Navarro of FC Barcelona. Gasol and Nowitzki are the only players to win the award three straight times.

Jerry West took a couple of shots at the Lakers' defense last week in a chat with a bunch of Orange County car dealers, saying they were told old and wondering when the last time anyone saw them hit the floor to chase a loose ball. Asked today about West's comments, Lakers guard Derek Fisher declined to answer. He did say this, however:

"You won't get me to respond negatively to anything said by Jerry West. I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for him (West drafted Fisher while he was Lakers GM). But anybody else who has anything to say about how we've been playing defensively, it's just unfounded. "Statistically, the numbers are there in the last 10 or 11 games. Teams are not shooting the ball as well. Our opponents' points are down. We've had some slip-ups, including the Clippers game (a loss Jan. 16). ... We're working hard at it."

Indeed, the numbers are favorable to Fisher's argument rather than West's. The Lakers have have given up 100 points or more only three times in their last 17 games. They also are giving up an average of 96.4 points this season, which is slightly better than the average of 97.0 they gave up en route to winning the title in 2009-10.

Theo Ratliff returned to the practice court today, making the Lakers look whole again. He gives the team four centers, which is probably about two too many. But that doesn't mean he can't have an impact if he remains healthy in the season's second half. When he is ready to play, the Lakers will send rookie forward Derrick Caracter to Bakersfield of the D-League to give him some playing time. Ratliff also will give Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum some work during scrimmages and if they get into foul trouble he can give the Lakers a few minutes now and again. Joe Smith is the fourth center. Lakers coach Phil Jackson was reluctant to guess when Ratliff might be ready to play in a game.

DENVER -- The Lakers ended their four-game losing streak at the Pepsi Center with a balanced and brawny effort tonight. Ron Artest and Pau Gasol scored 19 points each and Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom added 18 apiece for the Lakers. Andrew Bynum scored 17 for the Lakers, who outrebounded Denver by an astounding 47-27.

DENVER -- Pau Gasol and Ron Artest scored nine points each for the Lakers in the first half tonight. Gasol also had nine rebounds. Artest might have scored more, but went to the bench after picking up his second foul with 2 minutes, 10 seconds left in the first quarter and did not return to the game. Luke Walton replaced him and did a fine job of Denver's Carmelo Anthony, who had 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting in the half. Arron Afflalo, a former UCLA standout, led the Nuggets with 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting.

DENVER -- LeBron James got kicked in the teeth when he suggested the way to improve the NBA's bottom line might be to contract a few money-losing teams. Jeanie Buss, the Lakers' executive vice president, the daughter of team owner Jerry Buss and the girlfriend of Coach Phil Jackson, told the Wall Street Journal it might be a good idea.

"I would hate to see us lose teams, but I think contraction is something we have to consider," Buss said. "We may be in some markets we shouldn't be in."

Buss is serving this season on the league's labor relations committee and has gained insight into the struggles of some teams, including the New Orleans Hornets. The NBA assumed ownership of the Hornets earlier this season, and there a possibility the team will re-locate. Additionally, the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players association runs out June 30 and there are fears of a protracted labor impasse.

DENVER -- Here's what Lakers coach Phil Jackson had to say about the New Jersey Nets' decision to pull the plug on a possible multi-player trade that would have sent Carmelo Anthony to the Garden State from Denver: "I have no idea what's going to happen there. I would imagine it could be a ploy. Let's speed this up. Let's get this going or else nothing is going to happen. It is what it is. It's factual and he's stating the obvious. We'll see what happens." Jackson referred to Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who called a press conference Wednesday to declare the negotiations were dead. Anthony will be in the Nuggets' starting lineup when the Lakers visit the Pepsi Center on Friday.

DALLAS -- The Lakers took a giant step backward with tonight's come-from-ahead loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Most of all, their defense was not up to par during a second half meltdown. Dallas went on a 17-2 run near the end of the third quarter to take control. Coach Phil Jackson woofed at Lamar Odom about he importance of team defense and Odom barked back about what only he knows. He didn't say much after the game, a rare quiet night for the usually chatty sixth man. Pau Gasol had 23 points, topping 13,000 for his career. But he had only six points on 3-for-4 shooting in the second half. The Mavericks shot a season-best 55 percent. Shawn Marion and Jason Terry each had 22 points.

DALLAS -- Pau Gasol went into the game needing 14 points to reach 13,000 for his career. He got 17 in the first half tonight against the Dallas Mavericks, making 8 of 12 shots. It was easy pickings for Gasol and Andrew Bynum (eight points, five rebounds) after Dallas center Tyson Chandler left the game because of an illness that sidelined him the last two games.

DALLAS -- Lakers coach Phil Jackson went on ESPN's L.A. radio outlet today and he addressed some of his favorite topics, including the Miami Heat, Kobe Bryant and how he sends messages to his players through reporters. Highlights included:

Jackson on the Heat: "I personally don't think they can get by Boston. I think Boston is too good a team. I think a team is still going to win. But there's a chance that they will, and they can maybe round themselves into a team by that time and do that. Boston is older and they have to go through the rest of the schedule without having some kind of breakdown of players. (Ray) Allen and (Kendrick) Perkins, etc., they are just really a good team."

Jackson on Bryant's future as a superstar: "I've encouraged him to maybe take a look at some of Michael (Jordan's) career. In '97,'98, his last few years of Michael's play when the Bulls were still able to win it, but you could see that there was some tailing off of his capabilities and ability. Maybe not much. And it's not quite as comparable, but it's pretty close. I think that (Kobe has) a couple years of play that are still left, and he's got to monitor it a lot. And he's got to do what he's doing now... to still crank it up and get his team performing at a high level. Those things will continue because he's got the knowledge and the desire to do those things that will bring him to a championship, or to competing at (the only) level where he can live. That's the only place where he can live, is where he can be at the top."

Jackson on using the media to get a point across to his players: "I do sometimes say the most honest thing. Reporters will ask me a question, and I'll be very blunt and make a statement that I think is as true as I can make it, but there's always a little encouragement to do better and improve at certain levels, and I don't miss that opportunity to do that. I think the press is there for your services as a coach, and there's a message there you can use to get across and I think it's important for a coach or anybody in that position to use that position as an opportunity."

DALLAS -- Today was a travel day for the Lakers and the reporters who cover them. Nice flight to Dallas-Ft. Worth this morning, then got to the Hertz counter and they didn't have enough cars for everyone who had a reservation. Wasn't that a "Seinfeld" episode? Picked up the local newspaper and the beat writer called the Mavericks "heartless" and "gutless" after their loss Monday to the lowly Detroit Pistons. Mavs have lost six in a row. Ugly.

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol each scored 21 points and the Lakers won for the eighth time in nine games after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at Staples Center. Russell Westbrook scored 32 points and Kevin Durant had 24 for the Thunder. The Lakers held the Thunder scoreless after Serge Ibaka's dunk made it 98-94 with 2 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the game. Westbrook missed two free throws with 22.2 seconds left that would have cut the Lakers' lead to 99-96. Bryant also missed two free throws late.

"It's a good win for us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We've been playing better. We know that we've got a ways to improve and things to do, but our intensity was right. We had the energy necessary to win against a very young, active team."

The Lakers (surprise!) had their hands full with the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at Staples Center. It looked like a repeat of the teams' first-round playoff series last April, when the top-seeded Lakers needed six games to eliminate the eighth-seeded Thunder. Lamar Odom was one of four Lakers to score in double figures in the opening half, scoring 12. Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher each had 10. Russell Westbrook scored 18 for the Thunder, and Kevin Durant added 16. The Lakers scored 36 points in the paint; the Thunder had 32. Oklahoma City was 1 of 9 on 3-pointers.

Upon further review, the NBA decided today that Ron Artest did not deserve to be ejected from Sunday's game after a late-contest snit erupted between Lamar Odom of the Lakers and Blake Griffin of the Clippers. Odom, Griffin and the Clippers' Baron Davis also were ejected with only seconds to play in the Clippers' victory. But the league decided to rescind the ejections of Artest and Griffin. The ejections of Odom and Davis still stand, however.

The numbers looked pretty good by game's end for the Lakers, a choppy victory over the New Jersey Nets tonight at Staples Center. The Lakers reached the season's midway point with a 30-11 record, having won seven in a row and nine of 10. Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, Pau Gasol scored 20 and grabbed nine rebounds and Ron Artest and Lamar Odom scored 14 apiece. Odom also had a team-leading 11 rebounds. Brook Lopez led the Nets with 35 points on 13 of 19 shooting. Sasha Vujacic added 17 and Jordan Farmar had 12.

Here's what Bryant had to say about playing against Vujacic and Farmar: "It's good to see them. They both look like they're in good spirits. They both played well, played with a lot of energy. You know, all in all, it's good to see them. These types of games are the hardest for me. Like, last year when we played Trevor (Ariza) for the first time because they're little brothers to me."

Jordan Farmar received his championship ring from Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher and also got a standing ovation from the Staples Center crowd tonight. Sasha Vujacic also got a warm homecoming reception. As for the game, the Lakers looked like they were playing in slow motion during the first half. Kobe Bryant scored 15 points and Ron Artest had 10. Brook Lopez had 14 points for the Nets. Farmar and Vujacic scored four apiece.

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher will present Jordan Farmar with his championship ring before Friday night's game against the New Jersey Nets at Staples Center. Farmar helped the Lakers win their second consecutive title last June, and then signed a three-season, $12-million contract with the Nets. It's the first season Farmar has played away from home. He went to high school at Taft of Woodland Hills and college at UCLA before the Lakers selected him in the first round (26th overall) in the 2006 draft. Farmar is the last of the 2009-10 championship team members to get his ring. DJ Mbenga received his when the New Orleans Hornets played at Staples on Jan. 7. The team mailed Adam Morrison his ring after he failed to hook on with an NBA team this season.

The Lakers hit the midway point of the season with Friday's game against the New Jersey Nets at Staples Center, and Coach Phil Jackson issued his report card today. "We're definitely a 'B' team right now," he said. "We have room for improvement. We're not displeased where we're are, but we're unhappy we had some consecutive losses. ... What I like is we've gotten their attention. They're starting to be attentive on defense. And they know they have the opportunity to be a really good team."

OAKLAND -- The Lakers got their sixth consecutive victory and their eighth in nine games, rallying to overcome the Golden State Warriors tonight. Monta Ellis finished with 38 points for the Warriors, but Kobe Bryant scored 39, including 30 in the second half. The Lakers trailed after the first, second and third quarters but Bryant and Lamar Odom rallied them. Odom scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Next: the Lakers reach the midway point of the season when they face the New Jersey Nets on Friday at Staples Center.

Of scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, Bryant said: "You have a responsibility to your team to try and come through in those situations and make the right play, and tonight I did that."

OAKLAND -- Monta Ellis scored 23 points for Golden State in the first half tonight, which helped to explain why the Lakers trailed the Warriors. Pau Gasol countered with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Lakers, who were trying for their sixth consecutive victory and their eighth in nine games since a three-game losing streak. There were no signs of the ease with which they dispatched the Cleveland Cavaliers by 55 points on Tuesday.

No, really. The Lakers set a team record for the fewest points given up in a game played with a 24-second shot clock. It had been 66 points. They also threatened the franchise's largest margin of victory, which remains 63 points. Their biggest lead was 56 late in the game. They won their fifth in a row and their seventh in eight games. Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest each scored 15 points for the Lakers. Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, Shannon Brown and Lamar Odom added 13. Gasol also had a team-leading 14 rebounds. Derek Fisher scored 10. Artest, Bryant and Fisher left to a standing ovation late in the third quarter. Cleveland shot 29.9 percent. It was that kind of night.

What, you expected a close game in the first half tonight? Sorry to disappoint. The LeBron James-less Cleveland Cavaliers were halfway to their 11th consecutive and their 21st in 22 games. The Lakers weren't exactly taking it easy on the Cavs, but Kobe Bryant did score only two points on 1-for-2 shooting in the half. Pau Gasol scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. J.J. Hickson scored five points for Cleveland.

Matt Barnes will be sidelined for about eight weeks after undergoing surgery to mend the torn lateral meniscus in his right knee, the team said today. Steve Lombardo, the team's physician performed the operation at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic.Barnes, who was injured in the first half of the Lakers' victory Friday over New Orleans, is averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 20.8 minutes. Ron Artest and Luke Walton are expected to receive more playing time while Barnes, a backup forward, is out.

The second of Andrew Bynum's two technical fouls Sunday night was rescinded today by the powers that be in the NBA office. Now, we can't go back in time and Bynum can't go back and play the final 11-plus minutes of the Lakers' 22-point victory over the New York Knicks at Staples Center, but it is a fine gesture by the league. So, technically, the Lakers only had three Ts on Sunday, one each for Bynum, Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant.

Before he got ejected for beefing about a call that went against him in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, Andrew Bynum had another in a string of superb games. He scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and helped to play strong defense against Amare Stoudemire of the New York Knicks. Stoudemire had 23 points on 7-for-24 shooting and 10 rebounds. Bynum is averaging 13.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots in seven starts. Meanwhile, Ron Artest's takedown of Stoudemire near the end of the third quarter could result in a suspension since it was ruled to be a flagrant-1 foul. Stay tuned. The Lakers won their fourth in a row and their sixth in their last seven games.

The Lakers' big men gave Amare Stoudemire fits during the first half tonight, scoring easily against him and pressuring him into only five points on 1-for-10 shooting. Andrew Bynum scored a team-leading 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Lakers, and Pau Gasol had nine points and nine rebounds and Lamar Odom added eight points and seven rebounds. The Lakers outrebounded the Knicks, 34-20. They should have led by much more by halftime, but committed nine turnovers, including four in the opening minutes.

As expected, the Lakers recalled rookie forward Devin Ebanks from Bakersfield of the D-League today. Ebanks will be one of Coach Phil Jackson's options as a replacement for injured backup forward Matt Barnes, who has torn cartilage in his right knee. Ebanks averaged 16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in six games with Bakersfield.

Matt Barnes suffered torn cartilage in his right knee during the second quarter of Friday's victory over the New Orleans Hornets and must undergo surgery, the team said today. Surgery has not been scheduled and the team won't know how long Barnes, a reserve forward, will be sidelined until after the procedure. His injury is similar to those suffered in recent seasons by Andrew Bynum, Theo Ratliff and Jordan Farmar. The team plans to recall rookie forward Devin Ebanks from Bakersfield of the D-League. The Lakers hope he can join them in time for Sunday's game against the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, Steve Blake's sprained left ankle was improved enough that he is expected to play Sunday.

Kobe Bryant scored 25 points and passed Oscar Robertson to move into ninth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list during tonight's victory over the New Orleans Hornets at Staples Center. Bryant has 26,720 points during his career, 10 more than Robertson. Pau Gasol added 21 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers won their third in a row.

Kobe Bryant scored 14 points in the first half tonight against the New Orleans Hornets, one shy of tying Oscar Robertson for ninth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 26,710 points. The Lakers were halfway to their third consecutive victory and their fifth in six games. They led by a modest margin for most of the half after shooting 60.6 percent (20-for-33). Pau Gasol added 11 points and Andrew Bynum had 10. Former Laker Trevor Ariza scored 12 for the Hornets. DJ Mbenga received a standing ovation when Bryant and Derek Fisher presented him with his championship game before the game.

The New York Post takes the Lakers beat reporters to task today for failing to report a bunch of stuff we have reported here and there over the last few seasons about Kobe Bryant's lack of practice time with the team and about his surgically-repaired right knee. The Post quotes Bryant as saying the knee cartilage is so damaged that it's almost bone-on-bone. Fair enough, That bit is actually something newsworthy. So full marks for that.

UPDATE: Bryant had this to say after the Lakers' victory over the New Orleans Hornets tonight, "Do I look worried? Did we win last year? My knee last year was the size of a balloon and we still won, so I'm not concerned about it. We've just got to be smart and pace things out. It's just listening to your body and I do a pretty good job of that."

Derek Fisher will be honored as the 2010 Sportsman of the Year at the sixth annual L.A. Sports Awards on Feb. 24 at the Beverly Hilton, it was announced Thursday. Fisher was selected for his leadership in helping to guide the Lakers to their second consecutive NBA championship and for his off-court work with charities, including the Lakers Youth Foundation. Prime Ticket will tape the ceremony and show it the next night

Lamar Odom hurt his left shoulder when he fell to the court after making a driving layup in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' victory Wednesday over the Phoenix Suns. He vowed to play in Friday's game against the New Orleans Hornets at Staples Center. Officially, Odom is said to have a sore left shoulder. "I'm going to have to play right-handed," he said when reporters quizzed him about his injury after Thursday's practice in El Segundo. "It's going to be kind of crazy. I don't know how I will pull that one off, but I'll have to try."

PHOENIX -- So, the Lakers won their second game in as many nights, taking their fourth victory in five games and their seventh win away from Staples Center in eight games. So, Ron Artest hit a key 3-pointer and grabbed a critical rebound away from Vince Carter of the Phoenix Suns. So, Derek Fisher made a big jump shot. So, Kobe Bryant scored 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds and added five assists. So, Shannon Brown scored 13 points in a reserve role. So, they are 4 1/2 games behind the NBA-leading San Antonio Spurs (29-6).

So, what was wrong with the Lakers (25-11) again?

PHOENIX -- The Lakers went on a 16-0 run during the first quarter, but couldn't maintain their lead or their momentum in the second and fell victim to the Suns' 6-for-13 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half. The Suns hit 22 3s, one shy of the NBA record, when the teams played last time at Staples Center back in November. Jared Dudley scored 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting to lead the Suns in the first half tonight. Kobe Bryant scored 10 and Shanon Brown added nine points in a reserve role for the Lakers.

PHOENIX -- Shannon Brown is officially out of the Slam Dunk Contest; Blake Griffin of the Clippers, Brandon Jennings of the Bucks, Serge Ibaka of the ThunderSonics and JaVale McGee of the Wizards are in the contest during the All-Star Weekend at Staples next month.

If you saw this quote from Lakers coach Phil Jackson after Sunday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, you might have thought Jackson was placing blame for their defeat on Kobe Bryant. "We got behind in the third quarter on some stupid play, poor passing, poor transition defense, and Kobe has to screw up the game and start energizing the team by going one on one. It takes the rest of the guys out and as a consequence it didn't get back. It got us back a little bit, it gave us a little bit of a run, but we couldn't sustain it."

What did Jackson mean by that? Well, maybe not what it seemed at first glance. Here's what he said today after practice: "When the game starts getting out of hand, Kobe will crank it up, not screw it up -- I used the term screw it up, not in terms of being in error or a mistake, but crank it up another notch to try and get us back in ballgames. That's our fourth-quarter action. That's how we win ballgames. When they have to crank it up in the third quarter, there's not much left in the gas tank after that."

Bryant's response?

"He was right," he said of Jackson. "I totally blew up the offense, but I did it intentionally because I felt like we needed to get something started. What we were doing wasn't working. I tried to get it kick-started. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. That's my responsibility. When it works out, great. When it doesn't, I'll take the criticism for it. But I have a thick enough skin to do that."

Bryant also acknowledged the complaints of the fans.

"They have a right to boo," he said. "We've also fed them a lot of tacos."

Bryant referred to the team's long-running promotion in which fans at Staples Center receive two coupons for free tacos at a fast-food outlet each time the Lakers win and hold the opposition to less than 100 points.

The Lakers, as Coach Phil Jackson, put it after the game, "went back to square one," with another clunker tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies. They played with zero energy and efficiency and their fans let them hear about it as the game slipped away. Some booed. Some turned and left for home. Still others chanted, "Refund." Kobe Bryant scored 17 of his team-leading 28 in the third quarter, but the Lakers' deficit went from nine to 17 points. Pau Gasol scored six of the Lakers' first nine points, but had only four the rest of the way.

"We'll be fine," Bryant said when asked about the Lakers' lackluster play. "It's how we address these issues ... and not just sweep them under the rug. I think it's important to focus on it and get it corrected instead of playing it out and seeing what happens."

Uh-oh, looks like another low-energy game for the Lakers, if their lackluster play in the first half is any indication. The Lakers didn't do anything especially poorly while trailing by as many as nine points, but then again they didn't do anything especially well, either. Zach Randolph scored 15 points and Rudy Gay had 12 for Memphis, which played with more fire than the Lakers. Andrew Bynum had seven points, seven rebounds and five blocks.

Coach Phil Jackson gave the Lakers the day off today, knowing they would rather be home watching the bowl games than worrying about the Memphis Grizzlies. Last time, the Lakers lost at Memphis when Rudy Gay blocked Ron Artest's potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer Nov. 30. The Lakers outrebounded the Grizzlies, 42-29, giving up five offensive rebounds. But they still lost, 98-96, their third defeat in what would become their first four-game losing streak since acquiring 7-footer Pau Gasol in a Feb. 1, 2008 trade with the Grizzlies. Their last four-game skid was in April 2007.