Lakers Maul the Grizzlies

Kobe Bryant (41 points on 19-30 from the field, 3-4 from the line), picked up right where he left off in Houston by scoring on an assortment of acrobatic shots as the Los Angeles Lakers manhandled the Memphis Grizzlies, 114-98 at Staples Center. Even without both Pau Gasol (out for the 6th consecutive game with a strained hamstring), and Andrew Bynum (strained right elbow), the Lakers managed to overpower the Grizzlies by taking the ball right to them as they repeatedly attacked the basket. With DJ Mbenga (5 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocked shots) and Josh Powell (13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), the only available bigs to anchor the post, the Lakers were forced to go small early and often. And for a while, Memphis was able to keep pace with the defending champions as the Lakers led only 25-24 after the 1st period.

The Bench Mob started the 2nd quarter and things immediately got ragged. Memphis was able to retake the lead, 28-27 behind sixth man Allen Iverson (8 points, 3 assists in 21 minutes). Phil Jackson inserted Ron Artest (19 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds), to help stabilize the group and it paid immediate dividends as he cleaned up inside and bullied his way to the bucket. A driving Artest found an uncontested Powell for a two-handed jam to put the Lakers back on top, 35-32 with 7:32 to go in the first half. Artest was the recipient of a pretty feed from Luke Walton (5 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists), but came up short on his dunk attempt and subsequent follow-up. Luke found him again the next time down the court, and this time with a full head of steam behind him, Artest was able to reverse slam this one home as he exploded off the baseline.

Kobe re-entered the game and immediately splashed a pair of mid-range jumpers. With his 14th point of the game, Kobe became the youngest player to reach 24,000 points in NBA history. Adam Morrison found himself the recipient of some first half action and he scored on a soft jump hook in the key. A Derek Fisher (11 points, 7 assists), lob pass found Kobe cutting backdoor for a two handed slam, but that would be their last points of the quarter as Memphis scored off of consecutive turnovers including a Rudy Gay (22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals), three-pointer to give them the lead at halftime, 51-49. The Lakers outrebounded and outperformed the Grizzlies in almost every statistical category but shot only 38% in the half.

Two straight buckets by Kobe gave the Lakers the lead from the start of the third. An Artest three-pointer pushed the lead to 56-51 and forced a quick timeout by Memphis coach Lionel Hollins. Lackluster defense by the Grizzlies plagued them the entire game but the Lakers continued shooting woes early in the period allowed them to stick around. Mini runs were followed by stretches of clanks off the rim. Only the play of Kobe and Artest kept the Lakers from losing any ground. A 9-0 run capped by a D-Fish trey put them on top, 74-64 with 3:50 left in the quarter. Memphis responded with a 5-0 run of their own to cut into the lead, 74-69 but this time the Lakers responded back, going on a 13-6 run to end the quarter ahead by a dozen, 87-75.

The 4th opened with the Bench Mob doing a much better job of ball movement and increased the lead to 94-79 after Walton splashed home a deep corner triple. Jordan Farmar’s (9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), three-pointer from the top of the key made it 97-80 and the starters began to sit back and relax. But just as soon as they started to call over for their ice packs, Memphis made it a game again by cutting the lead to 11 points with a 10-4 run. The starters all returned except for Fisher, and Kobe immediately went to work. First, he scored on a basket just outside the paint, then on a jumper at the elbow, then again on a turnaround fall-away off the block. With those buckets, Kobe moved ahead of Iverson into 11th place on the all-time scoring list. He added another turnaround with the shot clock running out and then followed that up with a post-up basket over three Memphis defenders for his 41st point of the night. A missed free throw by the Grizzlies with 0:24 seconds left to play guaranteed another Lakers home victory and free tacos for all in attendance.