Lakers in the News 5/21/12: Thunder-Lakers Post-game News Conference

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Lakers-Thunder Preview

Updated May 20, 2012 7:16 PM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)

After chasing championships for so many years with the Los Angeles Lakers, Derek Fisher now finds himself standing squarely in their way.

Fisher joined up with the Oklahoma City Thunder after getting traded away by the Lakers during the season, choosing to buy out of his own contract with the Houston Rockets and sign with a team he thought had a chance of winning the NBA title.

Fisher has already won five championship rings with the Lakers, but now his new team is a victory away from knocking Los Angeles out of the playoffs. The Thunder get their first chance in Game 5 Monday night in Oklahoma City.

Fisher has had to put his personal friendship with Kobe Bryant on hold during the series. The two greeted each other the first time Fisher came off the bench and checked in during Game 1 but otherwise are adversaries as long as the Western Conference semifinals go on.

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Longtime Laker Fisher near vanquishing old team

Posted: May 20, 2012 3:15 PM PDT Updated: May 20, 2012 3:15 PM PDT
By JEFF LATZKE
AP Sports Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - After winning five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, Derek Fisher is just one victory away from knocking his former team out of the playoffs.

Fisher was traded away by the Lakers during the season and ended up buying out of his contract and signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder in mid-March. The Thunder lead Los Angeles 3-1 in the Western Conference semifinals and will try to finish off the series in Game 5 on Monday night in Oklahoma City.

While Fisher has been statistically struggling in the series, coach Scott Brooks says it's hard to quantify the impact of the leadership the veteran guard has brought to Oklahoma City.

Fisher had only two baskets in Game 4, but one was a 3-pointer that sparked the Thunder's comeback.

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Five things to take from Lakers' 103-100 loss to Thunder

By Mark Medina

May 20, 2012, 12:30 a.m.

Some things to break down from the Lakers' 103-100 Game 4 loss Saturday to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

1. The series is over. Of course, the Lakers are going to say they're confident they can overcome a 3-1 deficit. They'll tout their experience, their poise and the fact that they easily could be up 3-1 in this series. Who cares. Only eight out of 208 teams have overcome such a deficit, and the Lakers are in no position to become the ninth team. For the second time in three games, the Lakers collapsed in the fourth quarter. They'll meet an energetic crowd Monday during Game 5 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. And the Thunder will waste no time ending this series when it smells blood.

2. The Lakers collapsed in the fourth quarter. Lay blame all across the board. Pau Gasol committed a costly turnover by passing up an open shot and having a pass out to Metta World Peace intercepted. After shooting lights out in the first three quarters, Bryant shot two of 10 from the field on looks when he was way off balance and out of the offensive rhythm. The Lakers suddenly went away from Andrew Bynum, who only had two field goals, because he felt persisting double teams in the post. The Lakers went scoreless for a three-minute stretch. It's unfair to lay blame on any specific party, but clearly the Lakers' lack of ball movement and purpose created a cyclical affect at the most inopportune time.

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Los Angeles at Oklahoma City

TIME: 09:30 P.M. EST
VENUE: Oklahoma City Arena

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - After chasing championships for so many years with the Los Angeles Lakers, Derek Fisher now finds himself standing squarely in their way.

Fisher joined up with the Oklahoma City Thunder after getting traded away by the Lakers during the season, choosing to buy out of his own contract with the Houston Rockets and sign with a team he thought had a chance of winning the NBA title.

Fisher has already won five championship rings with the Lakers, but now his new team is a victory away from knocking Los Angeles out of the playoffs. The Thunder get their first chance in Game 5 Monday night in Oklahoma City.

Fisher has had to put his personal friendship with Kobe Bryant on hold during the series. The two greeted each other the first time Fisher came off the bench and checked in during Game 1 but otherwise are adversaries as long as the Western Conference semifinals go on.

"As much history as we have, there's no holding back in terms of trying to advance to win the championship," Fisher said. "Personal friends or brothers or however close you are to somebody, it's about winning. He knows that better than anybody.

"I learned that and accomplished that right alongside with him, and so we feel the same way."

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Lakers blaming one another after Game 4 loss to Thunder

By Mark Medina

May 20, 2012, 7:28 a.m.

The press began to scatter soon after the Lakers' 103-100 Game 4 loss to Oklahoma City, leaving Pau Gasol all alone as he stood by his locker.

Alone with his regret over committing a costly turnover that contributed to the Lakers squandering a fourth-quarter lead for the second time in three games. Alone with his frustration that the public would focus on that specific play when many others beforehand also fueled the unraveling.

But Metta World Peace had waited patiently so he could approach Gasol once he completed his own media grilling. When that moment came, World Peace hugged him.

See, Lakers guard Steve Blake had just picked up Russell Westbrook's loose ball as he slipped on the Staples Center floor and believed they could break a 98-98 tie with under a minute remaining. So Kobe Bryant and Gasol ran a pick-and-roll that set the Lakers' forward with an open shot. Instead of taking it though, Gasol kicked the ball out to World Peace across the middle of the floor.

But Thunder forward Kevin Durant stole the pass and drilled a 26-foot three-pointer, and the Lakers' 3-1 series deficit to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semifinals pretty much became official.

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Kobe Bryant talks of 'tough shots' in Lakers' loss to Thunder

Kobe Bryant says the shots 'didn't fall for me' and calls into question teammates' aggressiveness in a 103-100 Game 4 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

By Mark Medina

May 20, 2012, 1:25 p.m.
Kobe Bryant's stoic expression spoke volumes.

For the second consecutive game the Lakers' All-Star guard had another chance to carry the team to victory. Instead, Bryant's potential game-tying three-pointer hit off the front of the rim.

Once the Lakers' 103-100 loss Saturday to the Oklahoma City Thunder became official, the public address system played "Closing Time." For the second time in three games, that song hardly fit Bryant's performance. During the postgame news conference, his solemn countenance said it all.

His team-leading 38 points came on 12-of-28 shooting, including a two-of-10 clip in the fourth quarter. Bryant hit his last shot as time expired after the Thunder already overcame a 13-point deficit to clinch the Game 4 victory, good for a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference best-of-seven semifinals series.

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Lakers face end of season tonight in Oklahoma City

By Mike Bresnahan

May 21, 2012, 10:56 a.m.
Oklahoma City—

The Lakers' season, defined widely by inconsistency and inability, could finally end Monday night against Oklahoma City.

The Lakers have blown two substantial fourth-quarter leads and trail the Thunder, 3-1, in the Western Conference semifinals.

They're 0-3 at Chesapeake Energy Arena this season, which leaves them with ... hope?

"Every game is a different story, as we experienced throughout the playoffs, so we're tuning in to this one and understanding that our life is on the line," Lakers forward Pau Gasol said Monday. "To be able to stretch this out and have an opportunity, we have to win tonight here in Oklahoma with all the momentum that they have right now."

The Lakers pointed a few fingers after their 103-100 loss Saturday in Game 4. Kobe Bryant said Gasol wasn't aggressive enough and erred with a late turnover. Gasol said the ball didn't move enough, a hint to Bryant, who took 10 fourth-quarter shots and missed eight of them.

Andrew Bynum also seemed upset, declining to disclose names but noting that "I couldn't get the ball. I wasn't part of the game."

Bryant did not speak to reporters after the team's Monday morning shootaround.

Gasol tried to sound optimistic even though only eight teams have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win an NBA series.

"We're confident that if we do things the right way and consistent throughout the 48 minutes, we have a good chance," Gasol said. "Obviously, if we play in spurts, it's probably not going to work out. If we're not solid enough in our coverages defensively, they're going to find a crack and they're going to attack and they're talented enough, athletic enough, gifted enough to be effective against that."

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Game 5: How the Lakers can win tonight

By MARK WHICKER / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Slideshow: How often do the Lakers get the opportunity to "shock the world"? Usually the world is shocked when they lose, or when they throw away games like Game 2 and 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Tonight in Oklahoma City will be one of the Lakers' best chances to surprise people. Virtually nobody in Oklahoma's capital city and precious few in Los Angeles and environs expect the Lakers to pick themselves off the floor and win tonight, especially since it is their third game in four nights.
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Still, the Lakers have played Oklahoma City on even terms for most off the past three games and maybe they have one bright shining moment left. Check out the slides to see how it can be done.

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Mike Brown: Lakers on same page

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Los Angeles Lakers are facing elimination and after their most recent loss Saturday, Kobe Bryant pegged the Lakers' late-game problems on Pau Gasol, but coach Mike Brown insists the team isn't coming apart.

"They've played together too long," said Brown. "Pau knows how Kobe is. Kobe knows how Pau is and they'll do a good job of figuring each other out."

The Lakers head into Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder trailing 3-1, but could just as easy be up 3-1 had it not been for poor execution down the stretch in Games 2 and 4.

Western Conference Playoffs

Get all the news and commentary on the Thunder-Lakers matchup on ESPN.com's matchup page.

Bryant did not speak to reporters after shootaround. Gasol did and focused on the team's predicament rather than any interpersonal relationships that may be fraying.

"We're thinking about winning this one and going from there," Gasol said. "Every game is obviously a different story, as we experienced throughout the playoffs. So, we're tuning in to this one and understanding that our life is on the line and to be able to stretch this out and give us an opportunity, we have to be able to win (Game 5) here in Oklahoma with all the momentum that they have right now."

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Ex-Laker Bob Boozer dies at 75; teamed with Jerry West in 1965-66

By Mark Medina

May 21, 2012, 12:54 p.m.

Bob Boozer, a former Laker and U.S. Olympic teammate of Jerry West, died Saturday due to a brain aneurysm.

His wife, Ella Boozer, told the Associated Press that her husband died Saturday after becoming ill the previous evening while having dinner with friends. He was 75.

The highlights of the 6-foot-8 Boozer's NBA career mostly center on his time with the Chicago Bulls and with the Milwaukee Bucks (with whom he won his only NBA championship before retiring in 1971). But Boozer also has connections with the Lakers, who acquired him from the New York Knicks in October 1965 for Dick Barnett. During the 1965-66 campaign, Boozer served as a role player to West and Elgin Baylor, averaging 12.2 points and seven rebounds through 78 games.

Boozer also played with West on the gold medal-winning 1960 U.S. Olympic team. On a squad that won eight games by an average of 42.4 points, Boozer provided mostly a defensive role off the bench. Boozer, West and the rest of the team were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

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Thunder vs. Lakers: Early Exit from Playoffs Spells End for Pau Gasol in L.A.

The writing's on the wall for Pau Gasol, and has been for some time.

And if the Los Angeles Lakers bow out to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals, he may well be the first shoe to drop.

Whether he truly deserves it or not.

All eyes were on Pau after Game 4, in which his middling statistical performance (10 points, five rebounds, two assists and three blocks) was overshadowed only by the key play he didn't make:

An open 14-foot jumper that he passed up, and a pass, intended for Metta World Peace, that was picked up by Kevin Durant and ultimately converted into a back-breaking three points on the other end.

144765024_crop_340x234 Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Forget that the Lakers had a 13-point lead with just under eight minutes to play. Forget that Kobe Bryant went stone-cold down the stretch as the Thunder narrowed that gap.

This was all Pau's fault...right?

After all, he's been a scapegoat for the Lakers' shortcomings ever since he arrived in what, at the time, appeared to be highway robbery of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Not so much, now that Marc Gasol, the supposed throw-in in that deal, has grown into an All-Star.

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Thunder-Lakers Post-game News Conference

http://www.nba.com/live1/

[aticusCL]

Mike Brown admitted "not knowing" Bynum only had 4 rebounds with 0 offensive boards...

How can you be paid millions to coach and not know this???

No wonder he can't make in-game adjustments; he always waits for the damn box score! (bleep) him!

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