Lakers photo gallery of win over Kings

os Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol, right, of Spain, puts up a shot as Sacramento Kings guard Greivis Vasquez, of Venezuela, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

os Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol, right, of Spain, puts up a shot as Sacramento Kings guard Greivis Vasquez, of Venezuela, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

You read about the Lakers’ 100-86 win Sunday over the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center. You read about Xavier Henry’s breakout performance against Sacramento. You read about Lakers forward Shawne Williams standing up to Kings center DeMarcus Cousins. You read about Stu Lantz’s return to the broadcast booth.

But pictures always tell a 1,000 words. And in the case of LANG’s photo gallery of the Lakers’ win over Detroit, plenty of his images tell various stories.

RELATED:

Xavier Henry breaks out of funk in Lakers’ win over Kings

Shawne Williams explains scuffle with DeMarcus Cousins

Stu Lantz returns to the broadcast booth

Lakers beat Kings, back to .500

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com

Xavier Henry breaks out of funk in Lakers’ win over Kings

The gash that once required Xavier Henry to receive eight stitches on his forehead no longer appears easily visible. Same thing with the knot that formed near Henry’s right temple.

“No blood this week,” Henry said with a laugh. “I haven’t cut my face or anything like that.”

But there’s a more important stain that Henry began to remove.

Henry posted 21 points, one short of his career high, in the Lakers’ 100-86 win Sunday over the Sacramento Kings. That marked a stark contrast to the 13 points he scored over the previous four games combined on only 5 of 16 shooting.

“I just needed to be aggressive,” Henry said. “I haven’t played as well these last few games. I know I can score and bring the defensive intensity. I came out and played the same game. But I was a little bit more aggressive tonight.”
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Shawne Williams explains scuffle with DeMarcus Cousins

In a sign that the Lakers’ team unity goes beyond sharing the ball and accepting roles, forward Shawne Williams believed he made a bold statement when he aggressively confronted Kings center DeMarcus Cousins after he bumped Lakers guard Jordan Farmar to the floor.

“Everybody in this locker room is part of a team,” Williams said following the Lakers’ 100-86 win Sunday over the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center. “We’re family. Anybody who tries to mess with our family or do a dirty play, I’m going to stand up for them on the court.”

Williams believed Cousins tried to do that.

After bumping Farmar to the ground, the Lakers guard appeared agitated by the contact. But Cousins offered to pick him up. Before that happened, Williams intervened and signaled to back away. Tensions increased, and both Williams and Cousins received technical fouls with 5:42 left in the game.

“I just felt like he was pushing him down,” Williams said. “I felt like it was a dirty play because he was already falling. I just stood up for him.”
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Stu Lantz returns to the broadcast booth

A little more than an hour awaited before tipoff, and longtime Lakers announcer Stu Lantz still needed to squeeze in some prep work.

But it didn’t involve studying up on the Lakers or interviewing a player or coach. It entailed Lantz grabbing yet another cup full of tea and honey in the media workroom at Staples Center. He returned for the Lakers-Kings telecast Sunday on TWC SportsNet after missing the two previous games because of laryngitis stemming from a head cold.

Considering he described himself as “80 percent” healthy, Lantz hoped another remedy of tea and honey would reduce the noticeable raspiness.

“My voice sounds good enough where they said I can work,” Lantz said in an interview with this newspaper. “We’ll see how it sounds like after the game.”
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Chris Kaman considered doubtful against Sacramento

Lakers backup forward Chris Kaman is expected to sit out when the Lakers host the Sacramento Kings tonight at Staples Center, marking the second consecutive game he’d miss because of back soreness.

Kaman didn’t participate in any of the Lakers’ morning shootaround and has also sat out of Thursday’s practice.

“In practice, he had the ball and somebody hit him from behind,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He took a blow in the back.”

Kaman had also sat out of 10 days during the tail end of training camp because of a stomach virus stemmed from the Lakers’ week-long preseason trip to China.

Kaman has averaged 8.3 points on 49 percent shooting and 5.3 rebounds in 17.3 minutes through 13 games. But he appeared in only five minutes in the Lakers’ win last Sunday over Detroit in what D’Antoni had described as a “casualty” of Jordan Hill’s stellar play. Hill has started at power forward for the past five games, averaging 17 points on 59.6 percent shooting and 11.4 rebounds in 31.2 minutes. Will Kaman have much of a role when he returns?

“Hopefully. We’ll see how everything works out,” D’Antoni said. “But Jordan is obviously eating up the bulk of the minutes.”

RELATED:

Kobe Bryant completed individual workout Sunday

Pau Gasol makes big impact with the Philippines

Nick Young shows off his swag in Lakers’ 102-95 win over Golden State Warriors

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com

Kobe Bryant completed individual workout Sunday

Kobe Bryant completed an individual workout for the second consecutive day on Sunday, a sign that he’s slowly but surely ramping back up his activity as he rehabs his left Achilles tendon.

Bryant had participated in two full practices this week, but he rested and received treatment Thursday and Friday to ensure he doesn’t put additional strain on his Achilles. Bryant had also experienced some soreness in his left foot after sitting out nearly seven months. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said Bryant fit in his workout about an hour before the team’s morning shootaround in preparation for tonight’s game against the Kings.

“He looked good,” D’Antoni said.

Bryant won’t practice again as early as Dec. 3, but that has nothing to do with his health. Instead, that has everything to do with the Lakers’ three-game trip this week that involves stops in Washington (Tuesday), Brooklyn (Wednesday) and Detroit (Friday). The Lakers travel Monday and will take the day off Thursday both for Thanksgiving and because the team’s coming off a back-to-back. The Lakers will have off Saturday before hosting Portland Dec. 1 at Staples Center. They Lakers will then have a four-day stretch before playing Dec. 6 in Sacramento.

Because of that reality, D’Antoni expects Bryant will spend his time on the trip participating in individual drills as well as series of two-on-two and three-on-three contests.

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com

Pau Gasol expresses concern surrounding his brother’s health

By Robert Morales

Pau Gasol had been concerned for his brother Marc, a Memphis Grizzlies post who injured his left knee during Friday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Marc Gasol had an MRI on Saturday and the results were better than they could have been. The younger Gasol sustained a Grade 2 sprain of his medial collateral ligament, the Grizzlies announced. Marc Gasol will be out indefinitely, but at least he won’t need surgery. Pau Gasol said that was “a relief.”

“Injuries are a part of the game and they can happen to anyone at any point, but when it happens to your brother, it’s hard,” Pau Gasol said. “But hopefully, he’ll recover well.”

The elder Gasol said his brother must be patient.

“He’s a strong guy mentally and physically and he’ll heal quicker, he’ll do whatever it takes to be with his team as fast as possible,” Pau Gasol said. “But at the same time knowing that he has to heal well for him to get past his injury.”

Speaking of injuries, Pau Gasol was struck on his right hand during Friday’s victory over the Golden State Warriors. He said it’s fine.

“I got whacked pretty good,” he said, showing reporters some redness on his hand, “but it feels pretty good.”

Pau Gasol makes big impact with the Philippines

Pau Gasol appeared in good spirits, and the reasons went beyond the Lakers’ 102-95 victory Friday over the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center. Or his game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds in what marked his most effective game this season.

Instead, Gasol sounded more excited about his play because of the impact it had off the court. With Gasol pledging beforehand that he would donate $1,000 for every point he scored to UNICEF’s relief efforts surrounding the Super Typhoon Haiyan that recently devastated the Philippines, the Lakers forward will soon donate $24,000 toward that cause.

“I definitely had that motivation of scoring points tonight for the Philippines,” Gasol said. “Once I started knocking those outside shots, things opened up for me. I could attack off the dribble. They didn’t know what would come to them. I was glad to get the win and score all those points to contribute to a great cause.”

Gasol also appeared happy other followed his lead.

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Nick Young shows off his swag in Lakers’ 102-95 win over Golden State Warriors

Quietly, Nick Young slid into the locker room hoping no one would notice.

He arrived to Staples Center Friday night shortly after 6:15 p.m., an hour and fifteen minutes before the Lakers would tip off against Golden State and at least an hour after most players fit in their pre-game treatment and their pre-game warmups. But he couldn’t help himself.

Young showed off the outfit that appeared to be a mix of Kanye West’s “Yeezus” and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller, including black zipper pants, Air Jordan 7 Raptors, a hoodie, two gold chains and a red leather backpack. He gloated about GQ recently ranking him 19th on this year’s “most stylish athletes” list.

Even though Young hardly looked prepared for work, his never-ending smile put everyone at ease. A team official remained more than happy to accommodate Young’s ticket requests. Lakers forward Shawne Williams continuously congratulated Young for making the GQ list. Reporters nearby endlessly made small talk on his fashion choices, his infinite shoe collection and his on-court trash talking with Kobe Bryant during practice.

Lakers guard Jordan Farmar, a former high school club teammate that, soon approached Young’s stall and sternly interrupted Young’s good times.

“What are you doing?” Farmar asked.

“I’m having conversation,” Young said.

“It’s time to get to work,” Farmar said.

So they did, a never-ending ritual where the two participate in pre-game warmups. Two hours later, the two are leading a second-half charge that personifies the endless energy displayed in the Lakers’ 102-95 victory Friday over the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center.

For Young, that entailed posting 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting, two steals and a whole lot of energy that earned him the nickname “Swaggy P.” Welcome to Young’s world, where his energetic personality has translated positively on the court. He entered Friday’s game against the Warriors as the league’s fourth-highest scoring reserve, averaging 17.2 points in his last five games.

Will he clamor for NBA’s sixth man of the year?

“I’m just trying to get wins,” Young said. “If it happens, there’s some more bragging rights for me to just talk trash and just have fun with it.”

Continue reading “Nick Young shows off his swag in Lakers’ 102-95 win over Golden State Warriors” »

Five things to take from Lakers’ 102-95 win Friday over the Golden State Warriors

Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala, left, and Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar go after a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala, left, and Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar go after a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Below are five things to take from the Lakers’ 102-95 Friday over the Golden State Warriors

1. Pau Gasol played his best game of the season. For here on out, Gasol should donate every game to charity. With Gasol promising to give $1,000 to UNICEF for relief efforts surrounding the Philippines typhoon, his 24-points and 10 rebounds lifted both the Lakers and the embattled country. Meanwhile, former Lakers coach Phil Jackson will donate $1,700 based on the $50 he pledged for every point and rebound. But it could’ve been more had Gasol taken a charge, which would’ve prompted Jackson to donate an additional $1,000.

Oh well. Gasol still played as if his performance actually affected the livelihood of others in need. Gasol showed more aggressiveness looking for his shot. He scored in a variety of ways, including mid-range jumpers, post moves and drives to the basket. Gasol’s edge also could stem from improved health in his knees and feet. Whatever the case, Gasol should walk away happy both for his effective play and the positive affect it had on others.

2. Jordan Farmar and Nick Young provided a one-two punch off the bench. The duo earned the nickname “Peanut Butter and Jelly” after playing together in a high school club team that featured Young gunning and Farmar playmaking. Fast forward nearly a decade later, and Young and Farmar showed that same chemistry with the Lakers. Their combined 35 points on 13 of 24 shooting featured the pair scoring 10 of the Lakers’ 20 second quarter points that helped break a game wide open in the final two minutes of the frame.

It all started and ended with Young sinking a 3-pointer. In between, Farmar tapped into his playmaking by converting on an open layup and jumper. His defensive rebound then led to Young’s trey that left everyone at Staples Center shouting. The Lakers built off that momentum in the fourth quarter with some more doses of Swaggy P.

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