For about 90% of the night I swear the Lakers were playing 5 on 8. The Mavs signed three new players before the game. They all had black and white striped jerseys and whistles that conveniently sounded against the Lakers. Kobe may have taken 27 free-throws, but he deserved about 10 more. Regardless, the Lakers came away with a 108-104 overtime win Sunday vs the Mavericks. The Lakers played great defense all night, holding the Mavs to only 37% FGs.
Offensively, the Lakers struggled; shooting only 38% despite Kobe’s 15-27 shooting. The Lakers hit only 5 threes in 23 attempts and missed 13 free-throws. As a team however, they attempted 50 FTs. They also grabbed 58 boards, had 9 steals, and 9 blocks. The worst part of tonight for me was only 11 bench points tonight. The bench combined for 4-19 FGs. Now, the bests of the night:
Top 3 Laker performers:
1) I don’t think I need to say his name. 52 points on 15-27 FGs, 11 boards, 4 assists, a steal, and 2 blocks.
2) Pau had 17 points, 14 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
3) No one else stood out. Odom wasn’t clutch, Luke is offensively challenged, and Fish was cold. I like Ronny’s defense tonight, so he gets #3.
Lakers Smush of the Day (Note: STD denotes the Laker that played the poorest): Any guard except Kobe sucked, but Sasha shot 1-10 threes. Of course, the 1 was big that he made, but still…that’s a pathetic percentage.
Play of the game: Luke’s no look over the back pass to Kobe for the dunk. Unfortunately, they called a foul.
What to look for next game: Should be another Laker road win. Sac is finally healthy, but they still don’t have any size. Game is Tuesday @ 7:00 PM (KCAL).
Related Posts -TLN’s Post-Game Report: Lakers vs. Bobcats
TLN’s Post-Game Report: Lakers vs. Heat
TLN’s Post-Game Report: Lakers vs. Warriors
TLN’s Post-Game Report: Lakers vs. Warriors
TLN’s Post-Game Report: Lakers vs. Knicks
whoooooooooooo Kobe?
YHEHHHHH
I don’t like the number of minutes that kobe and lamar are getting, especially this late in the season. That said, kobe is playing some of his best basketball since the gasol trade.
oh yeah and lamar- grow some balls please.
Lebron was good Kobe was better
We may be really really spoiled but I think the Lakers need to focus on getting defensive rebounds if they want to get better.
what a game.
F U C K the refs.
When did the Mavs sign Dick Bavetta and Violet Palmer??? Mark Cuban sure has a lot of money to throw around and bring such talent to his team!!
Oh well…..we got the “W” in the end and the Mavs get to fly back home and think about any other refs they can add to their roster. Maybe Mark will target the infamous “laker hater” Steve Javie to join the team??
How did the refs hurt the Lakers? We shot 50 free throws!! If anything the Mavs should be upset that we got so many calls, particularly Kobe.
Anyway, that was a great game. Both teams played well, but Kobe was too much for Dallas to handle in the fourth and overtime.
Also, I don’t see how you can say Kobe deserved 10 more free throws. He absolutely lived at the line tonight, attempting more than half of the team’s FTAs. If he was a little more accurate from the line he could have gotten almost 60.
Great game!! lot of fun!! the refs are always against us!! and we still win!!!
Luke did not play to bad, i’d give him the 3 spot…
11 pts (4-8, 50%) 6 reb 2 steals 1 block
hey, Kwame, I thought you play for Memphis nowadays? Why keep supporting the Lakers?
Luke is coming back into last years form. He played pretty well and is not offensively challenged. 4-8 fgs come on now
In the 3rd, the refs were killing the Lakers. We got fouled on, I counted, on six straight attempts, but there was never a foul called.
I think the Lakers need to stop complaing… honestly.. how does it help? Hopefully they can just focus on playing better because they went through so many lapses on offense.
Today was evident that the Lakers are missing Bynum and Mihm. Dampier gets a double double? Please. This is our only weakness righ tnow.
KOBE you are the man. What a game.
F U C K the refs. I agreed.
This team is really strong. We just need to be tougher on defense. Once we get that we are champions all the way.
I didn’t think the refs were too bad. They were letting them play pretty rough, but it made it feel like a play off game. The only think I didn’t like was that Dampier kept setting illegal screens. Particularly in the 1st quarter, though he did it a few times in the 3rd and 4th as well, and the refs never called it. Dampier should have been called for at least 1 technical. Every time Kobe drove the lane, the would just hit him, never went for the ball. At the very least that play where he hip checked Kobe should have been a technical. THere was no play at the ball at all, thats how people get hurt. But besides that and a few bad calls, I don’t think the refs were that bad.
We need Bynum back, he greatly improves the the two biggest problem which is defensive rebounding and defense.
I thought the game was fair, there were no calls either way, and although there was a competitive nature, there was no obvious bias. I think this is great experience for the Lakers going into the playoffs, giving odom a taste of what could be at stake, getting Pau to the line as well during crunch time. I haven’t been satisfied with the way our outside shots haven’t been going in. A lot of them are wide open looks, and Fisher seems to be struggling. All I have to say is this Lakers team could have handled the Dallas Mavs a lot easier than they did. They need to pick it up and not get sloppy, and not get so affected by a road loss in Portland.
Lakers need Bynum/Mihm to come back… Gasol is uncomfortable playing against centers and playing center on defense.
Great game to see, very entertaining and it is a bless to have kobe here in LA..
this summer when i get released i hope to come back to LA…
…and yes i’m talkin about the Clippers!
It felt like a playoff game. It was a whale of a game with great effort by both teams. This is what makes the NBA fantastic! Its great to be a Laker!!
at the end of the game, lamar showed his mental weakness with the mistake of not handing it off to a guard to get fouled to shoot free throws. sasha and jordan were right there. kobe bailed us out with the rebound off odom’s second miss and his 2 made free throws. those kind of mistakes will be costly.
anyway, good win considering i didn’t think we even played that well.
Blaming the refs? Chick would’ve been disappointed!!
Having said that, the shoutbox provided endless entertainment to the several suites in the Staples Center. The enormous highs and love for the players when things were going our way to the expected hate of the regulars (Refs, LO, Sasha, Walton, etc.) when things turned sour.
Some of us are still laughing . . . Thanks LN!
HELLLL NOOOOOO!!
Kobe = 30 pts in 4th q/ OT = MVP
I thought Sasha over used his licence to shoot. 1/10 in the arc. I think he needs to learn not to force things and contribute on some aspects, but the only three he made was a big one.
I’m dissapointed on Odom’s production. What’s inside him anyway, puppies and hugs?
Anyway, still feels good. A win is still a win
it was basically kobe vs the mavs i hope the rest the team steps up because when it comes playoff time we cant always depend on kobe to bail us out.
ODOM DID FINE. THE REFS ALMOST GAVE THE GAME TO THE MAVS. CUBAN DIDNT PAY THEM ENOUGH. DEVEAN GEORGE WANTS TO BE LIKE KOBE. THE LAKERS ARE THE TEAM TO BEAT. CANT WAIT FOR BYNUM/ARIZA TO BRING BACK SOME TOUGHNESS SO WE CAN PROTECT KOBE FROM THE HATERS LIKE DAMPIER. LAKERS 08′.
i think LO was more enfocated on defense and he did a good job on dirk…
This was one of those games where Kobe had to put the team on his shoulders and carry them to an ugly win, doing his thing in the process. A win is a win and I look for another one against Sacramento. Go Lakers!!!
why would dumb ass Phil not foul before the end of regulation???i dont care what anyone say’s this man has poor decision making when the games are tight i’ve seen to any mistakes done in close games…
I don’t think you would’ve done a better job so be quiet and enjoy the win we got.
We need to have a big game against the Queens so Kobe, Pau and LO can rest.
That game was a classic. Watching kobe make those clutch shots in the 4th quarter, get that rebound after lamar’s missed free throw. If the Leauge does’nt give kobe mvp, f’uck them
Oh and lamar was more focused on guarding dirk. he did a nice job
wtf? you dont like the number of minutes kobe and lamar are getting?
they played a good amount of time, enough to help them win..
know your {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.} before you talk about how to work the game
and of course kobes been doing good since the gasol trade
its quite obvious to everyone..
MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KOBE > GOD
DA REFS TRIED 2 CHEAT US N DAT 3RD QTR LUKE GETS DA 3RD SPOT
I would say the play of the game is Dampier fouling out.
Third quarter was ugly, our LA boys were flying around the floor and no fouls were called.
you heard Kobe’s post interview abt the machine? he said, “the machine just needs a new battery.” that comment was funny.
i guess you’re too retarded to undestand my point so im not going to try and prove it to you.Just look at the last 2 years and see how many games were lost by 2 points and instead of going for the tie they jacked up some threes.Now if i were to be wrong then i guess there is a lot of people out there whom are wrong along with me including the media whom also questioned him for not fouling at the end of regulation…chinga tu madre!!!
Great gmae!!! Sasha, Farmhar, Fish shot very poor in this game. Dampier had a great game for the Mavs. Kidd had a quiet game but did have nice numbers. Kobe was Kobe and the refs were trying to let the players play. I think the Mavs gave a great effort but came up short. Cant wait until we are fully healthy. Go Lakers!!
This may sound a little strange to say, but I think that Radman being injured and out of the starting line up has really hurt the Laker offense. Last Saturday, Radman was injured, so he didn’t play against Seattle, which is fine because they aren’t a good team. However, the last 4 games (portland, miami, portland and dallas - all games that Radman has been out) the Lakers offense hasn’t looked too sharp.
I’m not saying that Luke is the problem (he actually has stepped up his intensity since being a starter), but it seems that with Luke in the lineup, Odom, and even Gasol, have kind of laid back on offense and tried to incorporate Walton in the offense more. When the Lakers were winning easily games on the road, Radman was starting at the 3 and Gasol and Odom were much more efficient and aggressive on offense.
Another thing that concerns me with the Lakers is their lack of physical toughness. Dallas is a physical team, so are other good defensive teams such as Boston and the Spurs. The Lakers seem to really appear more average when they play against athletic and physical teams. The playoffs are going to be more physical, so it will interesting to see how the Lakers respond to the physicality of other teams. Bynum and Ariza will help, but Ariza isn’t a physical defender, but Bynum could help in that area.
Lastly I agree, the Lakers should have fouled at the end of regulation. With 6 seconds left, Kidd caught the ball, and was WITHIN the three point line, so Sasha should’ve fouled him. The reason I say this is because Dallas was out of timeouts! Even if Kidd had made his two free throws and the Lakers missed their ensuing free throws (which if Kobe was shooting they wouldn’t), Dallas would still have to go the length of the floor, because they had no more timeouts to put up a good shot.
Ed
Mar 2nd, 2008 at 9:31 pm Click this link to quote this comment in your reply
MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KOBE > GOD
Ed, you are a dumba$$. Kobe is a great player but is not greater than God.
someone give The Machine some more duracell!!!
lol fool, majic big johnson
why you trippin?? haha
we cant have a little sarcasm around here? hahah
This was a great win. This was much like a PO game. Very physical and good defense. Kobe was very efficient. Anyone notice he is shooting better with the hurt pinky??… Maybe Artest this tuesday can hurt the other pinky?? jk… This game will also toughen up Gasol who seemed alittle unfamiliar with the tough play.
I wont let Kobe down!
all I have to say is if Kobe Bryant does not win MVP this year, there is definately a conspiericy against him
so you still want to trade kobe? nice back tracking!!!
Don’t be a Dingleberry….
Pls.. Get Rid of Eric DUMPier!!he’s killing our future MVP!!!also our SUPERSTAR!!!!
Anyone else think Kobe was an insane ballhog? It’s like dude, pass the ball, you know?
i agree with the radmonavic part….idk why people here want to trade him…seriously he is needed here because hes an outside threat….hes taller and he shoots with a better arc than vujacic, etc. so his shooting is good…also he plays forward so it moves the bigger players out more, giving more room to kobe, gasol, etc..anyways…awesome game…but man they better suspend dirk for hitting derek in the HEAD ONLY…cuz kobe got suspended for stuff even less bad than that
Were you even watching the game or do you just not know {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.} about the game of basketball??
Fish was 3-11, Pau 5-14, LO 2-8, Sasha 3-12, Farmar 1-6.
As the leader of this team kobe had to put this team on his shoulders and carry it on the offensive end, those shooting efforts show it all. If kobe didnt “ball hog” this team wouldnt have won this game.
Lakersfirst,
Youre right about the radman part. Vlad helps spread the floor so much better than Luke can. Vlad is a definite threat beond the arc and it helps stretch the D. Anyone else notice how far back they play off of Luke? It helps open the lane so gasol can have more of a 1 on 1 situation, less help D, and it clears the lane for odom to cut the lane. When vlad went out odom doesnt seem to get those easy basket cuts to the hole as much.
The Lakers are in need of a inside physical presence = Bynum. I wouldn’t worry about Gasol’s physicality because with Bynum and Gasol and Kobe and Lamar and etc. the NBA will not know what hit them. Lakers all the way, baby!
BEC: Great point. “When vlad went out odom doesnt seem to get those easy basket cuts to the hole as much.” I noticed this too.
Amazing game, but a bit disappointed.. Odom showed signs of stupidity, Fisher is still in a slump, the Machine lost his batteries and Farmar struggled.
I just hope Phil starts Radman when he gets back. Seeing how he manages the rotation, I wouldn’t be suprised to see him keep luke in the starting lineup. Luke is horrible on offense. He can pass but thats all he wants to do. Everytime he gets the ball he looks so hesitant and scared. Its a like hot potato with him. Also, like everyone was just saying, Rad opens up lanes and isolation plays for odom, gasol, and kobe with his 3 point threat. There has been so many times since vlads injury that you see the bigs kick out to luke for an open shot and he either bricks it or gives it right back to the guy who passed it to him. Rad get well soon.
People need to stop stressing out and blaming Lamar Odom of all people. The Lakers won the game despite not having a true center (Bynum) and gave up many offensive boards. The one on one defense was very good (Dallas shot below 40%). Odom’s statline does not look good and he didnt play well offensively, but this doesn’t tell the whole story. Lamar played great defense on Dirk, and grabbed 10 rebounds. We still won a tight game against a very good team. Once Radmanovic comes back and luke goes to the bench our team will play much better.
The only negative from this game was Sasha, the guy doesn’t know when not to shoot. He shoots every single time he gets the ball and makes very bad decisions on offense, however his defense on Kidd helped the team alot in the 4th and OT.
yeah man. pinche dumpier kept showing he is stronger than gasol. Guess he doesn’t know bynum quite well yet. once he returns(i m praying against the mavs later this month), he will take care of mr. dumpier. gasol is kinds soft for a center man. hate to say it but he is softer than kwame. but, great players know how to help, gasol helped us on the boards.
mr. odom, please don’t even think about attempting a three, please. I know he only attempted once today, but please don’t. nada. zip. cero. zero times. the moment he went for the 3ple, I told everyone if he makes that, i’ll cut off my ears. let vujacic try his 11th attempt, i don’t care, but lamar stay off the outside arc.
Agree with y’all about Radman. He definately helps keep those lanes open.
Not so sure about the notion of fouling at the end there. Not with the way Lamar makes decisions as an in bounder. But if we could advance the ball with a time out, maybe you’re right- foul since they didn’t have any time outs left.
You would think that with millions of dollars being spent, some assistant coach would spend a night doing an analysis of end-of-game situations. Just make some simple charts that includes info like time left on clock, how much your up or down, and how many timeouts are left for either team. That way they don’t have to start analysing it from scratch all the time. The assistant coach should be right there in the huddle saying, “This is a 100% foul them immediately on the inbound situation.” or “This is a give them any shot and don’t foul or you’re getting fined situation.” Maybe we had both those scenarios this game. Pau would be getting a little fine/media scolding from Phil and Dirk wouldn’t have shot that 3.
AB Wanted to trade Kobe
HWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
We need Ron Artest for defensive toughness and rebounds not to mention offensive productio as well. I hope Mitch and Buss will try to get him in the offseason.
I think the refs had a little $$$ going on with their clients … Too bad for them the Lakers still overcame and won the game.
ALVIN
u are a total MORON!
kobe a ballhog?
yes lets have fish3/11, farmar 1/6, sasha 3/12, or pau 5/14, LO 2/8 shoot…that is a good idea!
yesterday they could not put it in the ocean! u idiot
WTF is wrong w all of you kobe hater? KOBE shot 15/27 dominated the game,
fortunately he took care of the game otherwise we would have lost by 20!!!!!
gtf outta here
About STD and top three….
Kobe - you should put one win just for Kobe. He one this by himself.
Pau - As much as I thought Dirk and softy Dampier was killing him anytime he tried to play defense, he was the only one that played decent other than the great 24. So he had his downs but he also was 2nd top player that night.
Turiaf - was not top three at all….he sucked so bad yesterday. Brandon Bass dunked on him and Stack put him on paper. On his defense, he’s neither STD.
Lamar - LOL, as much as Kobe won this game by himself, Lamar almost gave it away by himself on the last minutes of the regulation. He better start shooting a hundred free throws every night during practice. Teams will be looking at him as a potential target. Having said all that, he is top three that game. Hecan’t do anything about Dirk, he was alawys on his face (except for that OT sending three.)
Sasha - He can also be considered as top three. His defense on Kidd and Terry was very good. He didn’t shoot the ball well early in the game but he made key baskets.
BTW, I meantto say Kobe ‘won’ that game by himself. I know…no excuse for that.
Also STD should be Fish. He didnt bring much.
NOTE: Luke’s showing signs of coming back.
Can we trust Shaq? hey Shaq, you don’t play for the suns, do you?
You sound misleading man. I have never seen anybody talk so long about the list of players who should have been STD. Stay away from this site you fat pumpkin.
Get your facts straight PhanDUMB… Why trade a player when you can’t get equal value??… BTW… go search the post your referring to.. Love to see where you got your info…
jst kiddin.
Kobe was very efficient… 15-27.. 52 pts.. If a player is going to be that effiecient don’t worry about the shots… Also you have to consider the circumstances…end of 4th qtr..OT… who do you want shooting the ball??? LO?? no diss to LO he is just not a crunchtime shooter..
IT NOT THE NUMBER OF SHOTS… ITS THE KIND OF SHOTS …
First of all you need to take a shut-the-f**k-up pill before you start ranting about what the Zen Master needs to do. I believe every Laker fan would chastise you for calling the coach that led us to 3 championships, 4 NBA Finals and will lead us again to the promise land a “DUMB A$$”.
Have you ever coached a professional basketball game……..? What team? I’ll go look you up and see if you have a better record than PJ in crunch time minutes.
Calling PJ a dumb a$$…oh yeah, your a true Laker fan.
And as for the play, maybe PJ would rather take the game into OT because he knows Kobe will rise (like he did) and pull the team out with a W.
Bottomline…we won with the decision this “dumb a$$” coach made.
ab4sure and d-wade can suck on d’s nuts.
mplakers… back to his childish ways… taking potshots again… Wade is not gay either am I… go back to your prison buddies and get what your missing… lol
I beared witness to 2 games in which their was a feeling of for me to watch,LA VS PHX(CLASSIC) and now LA VS DALLAS(NAIL BITER,MASTERPIECE).Oh what a difference a year makes and with addition of pau and the SCARY thing is AB/Ariza aren’t back yet and their playing like this? C’mon,LAKERNATION,I feel after the those huge wins there no more denying that THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS CAN OR WILL WIN THAT CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR ,NEXT ,THE YEAR AFTER ,WHEN KOBE RETIRES AND THEN THE LAKERS WILL BE THE GREATEST TEAM OF ALL TIME(OK I got ahead of myself but it can happen). Just think after the season is and ALL those free agents wanting a taste of what it’s like to finally get to the Elite level. DAMNRIGHTI’MALAKERFAN.com,WE DA BEST!!!
Kobe took good shots and he wasn’t forcing them. That is how you should look at it.
ab4sure and dwade buttplug each other
Ha ha… I’m going to pretend you didnt post a stupid comment because you coundn’t comprehend what i said.
Ur a veRRy bad person!
MPlakers… why so obsessed with homosexual behavior??? Those prison buddies really did you wrong…LOL
Dampier is B!@#$%,he was really pathetic with fouls on Kobe,I mean this “STUPID SON OF A !@#$%” REALLY TRIED TO HURT KOBE.I have more respect for PHOENIX NOW(YEAH!I SAID IT),F!@# AVERY(FOR HIS COMMENTS AFTER THE GAME,!@#$SUCKER)AND F!@# THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION(THAT MEANS YOU TOO CUBAN). I have NO LOVE FOR WASHED UP TEAMS LIKE DALLAS,man I hope y’all play Golden State in the Playoffs again. DALLASWILLNEVERWINA’SHIP.com,OH!IT’S TRUE,IT’S DAMN TRUE!!!
thanks DC…I know ur jumping on the SHAQ bandwagon again…the diesel appreciates it….haha j/k
hey what did avery say?
whatever suck a dick!!!
ab4sure and dwade like to pick up the soap for each other.
and i’m just calling it like it is ab4sure…consider me akin to vin scully …i just call it like i see it. nothing less, nothing more.
ab4sure and dwade apply each other’s make-up.
mplakers on December 17, 2007 at 2:38 pm said:
OK LET’S NOT GET TOO EXCITED NOW….JEFF FOSTER (WHO?????) FROM INDIANA PACERS AVERAGES ABOUT THE SAME (ALTHOUGH HE DOES PLAY MORE MINUTES)
Your comparing Bynum to Jeff Foster??? LMAO again ahhahaahahahha
YEAH YOU JUST ARE “CALLING LIKE IT IS”… NOTHING LESS NOTHING MORE…