March 21st: Bryant Makes Every Shot Count in Victory.

 
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Phil
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:34 am    Post subject: March 21st: Bryant Makes Every Shot Count in Victory.

Bryant Makes Every Shot Count in Victory
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
March 21, 2006

BOSTON — On his way to a quiet Sunday night at the movies in Boston, Kobe Bryant was heckled by a Celtic fan.

"The guy told me, 'Paul's going to lock you up,' " Bryant said.

"Paul" would be Celtic forward Paul Pierce, and there was little locking up of Bryant on Monday. He scored 43 points on 18-for-39 shooting in the Lakers' 105-97 victory over the Celtics at TD Banknorth Garden.

The moral of the story is to not irk Bryant, particularly when he's on his way to see "V for Vendetta."

After a slow start, he was good enough to pull the Lakers a half-game ahead of Sacramento for seventh in the Western Conference, although the Bryant shot-count debate was partially re-ignited, and even though "V" also stood for victory.

He took more shots in only two other games this season — 46 in his 81-point effort against Toronto and 41 in early January against the Clippers.

"Kobe fought his way through it," Laker Coach Phil Jackson said. "It was one of those games where I think the numbers of shots he took was too high, but he thought he was going to get fouled and he took the shots because he felt the pressure on him."

He scored the final 14 Laker points after Luke Walton's free throws with 8:14 to play put the Lakers ahead, 93-80.

The Laker lead, as large as 19, shrunk to five on three occasions in the closing minutes, but Bryant answered each time. He hit a 22-footer with 2:15 to play, a driving layup almost a minute later and then two free throws with 49.6 seconds left, answering each Celtic challenge.

Jackson had already lectured Bryant's teammates earlier in the quarter.

"I got on them after a timeout and said they've got to get the ball, they've got to do other things," Jackson said.

And what happened?

"They went back out and found another way for Kobe to get the ball and score," Jackson said.

Said Bryant: "I do what I've got to do. I don't even care whether it's 50 shots, 60 shots, five shots. I've got to do what I've got to do to help us win."
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Phil
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:37 am    Post subject:

Bryant fires back
Bryant scores 43 points in Lakers' victory
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

BOSTON - The only other nights this season that Kobe Bryant has taken more shots than he did Monday against the Boston Celtics came when the superstar guard scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors and 40 in the second half against the Clippers.

There wasn't anything nearly as memorable that came with Bryant scoring 43 points but needing 39 shots to do so in the Lakers' 105-97 victory over the Celtics except for the fact that his team wouldn't go home from this three-game trip empty-handed.

No other Laker scored in the last eight minutes as Bryant scored his team's final 12 points. He fought through the frustration of another night spoiled by the referees and ensured the Lakers would not give another game away.

"I've got to do what I've got to do," said Bryant, who went 18 of 39 for the game. "I don't really care whether it's 50 shots, 60 shots, five shots. I've got to do what I've got to do to help us win."

It was Bryant's 20th 40-point game of the season, exceeding the 19 he had in the 2002-03 season and closing within three of Elgin Baylor's franchise record.

"Kobe fought his way through it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "It was one of those games where I think the number of shots he took was too high but he thought he was going to get fouled and he took the shots because he felt the pressure on him."
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:38 am    Post subject:

Lakers win in Boston, 105-97

By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register


Boston Celtics’ Tony Allen (L) and Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant chase a loose ball in the fourth quarter.

BRIAN SNYDER, REUTERS

BOSTON – Kobe Bryant sucked some blood from an open cut on his arm, glared at referee Greg Willard a few last times, and walked away from a 105-97 victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday night.

To score 43 points in the game, Bryant had worked about twice as hard as he did the night he scored 81. The Lakers again showed flashes of brilliance in building an early lead, but they also flitted dangerously close to being the one-man team Coach Phil Jackson wants left behind; Bryant took 39 of the Lakers' 90 shots, making 18.

"I've got to do what I've got to do to help us win," Bryant said.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:41 am    Post subject:

A cruel twist dooms Celtics
Pierce sprains ankle; Lakers can't be caught
Early in last night’s game, Paul Pierce hit the floor with a sprained right ankle, and without their captain at full speed, the Celtics felt the agony of defeat.
Early in last night’s game, Paul Pierce hit the floor with a sprained right ankle, and without their captain at full speed, the Celtics felt the agony of defeat. (Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis)

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff | March 21, 2006

After Paul Pierce fouled out with 38.2 seconds remaining, he took a seat on the Celtics' bench and began the painful process of unlacing and removing his right sneaker. For almost the entire game, the size-15 Nike kept Pierce in the game by preventing his mildly sprained right ankle from swelling.
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Pierce suffered the sprain with 5:10 remaining in the first quarter when he stepped on Smush Parker. He returned less than two minutes after suffering the injury, though he clearly could not move as fluidly or aggressively as usual.

With Pierce hobbled and the Celtics playing their fourth game in five nights, there were no last-minute heroics, unlike what has transpired in recent games against the Lakers. Though the Celtics lost, 105-97, the sellout crowd at TD Banknorth Garden witnessed a stoic performance from Pierce and an inspired outing by Tony Allen that nearly propelled Boston to its largest comeback victory of the season.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:43 am    Post subject:

Not saving his shots for the end

Lakers 105, Celtics 97 Bryant shoots 39 times to score 43 points and salvage the 3-game trip.

12:46 AM PST on Tuesday, March 21, 2006

By BRODERICK TURNER / The Press-Enterprise

BOSTON - After the Lakers had lost two close games in a row, Kobe Bryant took it upon himself to make sure they salvaged their three-game trip.

Bryant scored 43 points, and the Lakers stayed the course this time when the game started to go awry, holding on for a 105-97 victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday.

The Lakers had lost close games at New Jersey and Cleveland by not playing good enough defense, and with Bryant trying to save each game with a difficult three-point try in the final seconds.
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Bryant took 39 shots from the field Monday, making 18, and seemed to shoot more because he wasn't getting to the free-throw line.

"I've got to do what I've got to do," Bryant said. "I don't even care whether it's 50 shots, 60 shots ... I've got to do what I've got to do to help this team."

The Lakers, who lost to the Cavaliers on Sunday after blowing an 18-point lead, led Boston by 19 and didn't let all of their lead slip away, watching it trimmed to five late in the fourth quarter before Bryant made four free throws to seal the game.

"We played well the entire trip," Bryant said, adding that it was a win "we desperately needed."
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:44 am    Post subject:

Bryant, Jackson are men on a mission
Phil Jackson says Kobe Bryant and the Lakers aren’t championship stuff but they’re not to be overlooked in the playoffs.
Phil Jackson says Kobe Bryant and the Lakers aren’t championship stuff but they’re not to be overlooked in the playoffs. (Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis)

By Peter May, Globe Staff | March 21, 2006

Kobe Bryant went to the movies Sunday night. Someone there recognized him -- duh -- and offered the following: ''Paul is going to lock you up." Bryant got a chuckle out of that, because he knows, as does Paul Pierce, that no one really ever locks up Kobe. (We'll leave it at that.) And no one did last night, for sure.
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The Lakers' supernova needed 39 shots to score 43 points, but, as he put it bluntly after Los Angeles's 105-97 victory, ''I gotta do what I gotta do to help us win. I don't care if it's 50 shots, 60 shots, five shots. I'm just doing what I need to do. When the game is on the line, put the ball in my hands."
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:46 am    Post subject:


Kobe gets upper hand on Pierce

By Rich Thompson
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - Updated: 07:41 AM EST


The Kobe Bryant vs. Paul Pierce debate was settled for the time being in the fourth quarter of last night’s game between the Lakers and Celtics at TD Banknorth Garden.
Bryant outscored Pierce, 16-2, in the final 12 minutes to lift the Lakers to a 105-97 win against the Celtics in a must-win situation for both squads. Bryant topped his league-high scoring average (34.8) with a game high 43 points, while Pierce’s tally of 26 was just below his sixth-place average of 27.1.


Bryant was aware of his comparisons to Pierce during their simultaneous scoring binges in February and March, and that served as the motivating factor in his systematic dismantling of the Celtics in the fourth quarter. Bryant scored 40 or more for the 20th time this season and is just three shy of tying the Lakers record of 23 set by Elgin Baylor in 1962-63.
“It’s always fun for me to come here,” said Bryant, a seven-time All-Star and the youngest player ever to score 16,000 points. “I really enjoy playing here. It’s one of my favorite cities to play in because the people and the fans are so into it. It’s a great crowd, and they came out to see the matchup with Paul Pierce, and I enjoyed it. I looked forward to the challenge.”
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:47 am    Post subject:

Odom Play, Timing Are Good
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
March 21, 2006

BOSTON — Lamar Odom has strung together some of his best games as a Laker, his timing impeccable, if not downright necessary, with the team trying to make it past April 19. He is averaging 20.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.7 assists over the last six games.

"The biggest change in this ballclub now is the play of Lamar," Kobe Bryant said Monday, when Odom had 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a 105-97 victory over Boston. "He's really understanding the fluidity and how to execute the offense. He's gotten more comfortable and, as a result, he's more consistent. That gives us a big, big boost."


Odom has been a dependable rebounder since the Shaquille O'Neal trade, but his scoring has been inconsistent.

With his points and assists on the rise, he appears to have moved his game to a different level.

"We hope so," Coach Phil Jackson said. "He's played very well since the All-Star break. There's been a couple [subpar] games … but it's not like earlier in the season. Since he's recovered from the injury to his shoulder, I think he's played very well."
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:49 am    Post subject:

Schedule might not be an advantage
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

BOSTON - No matter how rocky things got this season, the Lakers always could point to the closing stretch of their schedule and take some comfort.

As they push toward the playoffs, the Lakers will play one of the friendliest schedules in the NBA, with 10 of their last 13 games at Staples Center, including the final five of the regular season.

In the big picture, it is a distinct advantage for a Lakers team fighting to stay in playoff position in the Western Conference standings. But Lakers coach Phil Jackson was not going to get ahead of things Monday.

"We've got no reason to be more confident," Jackson said. "We may win one or two more than we normally would on the road. But we can't assume we're going to have a sudden turnaround and go ahead and win nine in a row or something like that."
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:58 am    Post subject:

Heart attack near, Phil Jokes

Broderick Turner

12:43 AM PST on Tuesday, March 21, 2006

BOSTON - The Lakers are trying to kill Phil Jackson.

OK, not literally, but with their inconsistent play.

Jackson said losing so many close games has been "excruciating."

"We're on the path to trying to give the coach a heart attack on the bench. Either that or a stroke," joked Jackson, who had an angioplasty in 2003 after having heart problems.

"They're doing a good job of it. These players are trying to exasperate me. I've told them many times, one of these days they are going to look up and I won't be there on the bench."
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Video: Lakers Insider Broderick Turner - Lakers @ Celtics

If he's not, Jackson was asked, would assistant Frank Hamblen, who coached the Lakers last season when Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down, take over again?

"I don't know," Jackson said. "I think Gary Vitti is the one. He's the trainer."

Jackson has tried different ways to motivate this group. At least one has backfired.

"When I make a sarcastic remark after New Jersey's game about 'Why should you guys be affected by losing close games? You're used to doing it now. Now show me you can do it again tomorrow,' " Jackson joked, "they went out and did it! Proved me exactly right."
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