BRYANT'S FRUSTRATION ON DISPLAY HIS ISSUES BOIL OVER IN LAKERS' WIN LAKERS 89, NEW ORLEANS 76.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer Midway through the fourth quarter Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. , Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. had expressed his irritation with all of the following sources: referee Violet Palmer Violet Palmer (born July 20, 1964 in Lynwood, California) is an NBA and WNBA basketball referee who toppled gender barriers to become the first female official in U.S. professional sports. , New Orleans Hornets The New Orleans Hornets are a professional basketball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They play in the Southwest Division of the National Basketball Association (NBA). guard Junior Harrington, Lakers guard Tierre Brown Tierre Brown (born June 3, 1979 in Iowa, Louisiana) is an American professional basketball player who played most recently with Fortitudo Bologna, in Italy's Serie A. and one of the Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. rims. That was just the short list on a frustrating night all around for the Lakers, from their star player and coach all the way on down. They were upbraided at halftime by coach Rudy Tomjanovich Rudolph Tomjanovich, Jr. (born November 24 1948, in Hamtramck, Michigan), nicknamed Rudy T., is an American former basketball player and coach. Early life Tomjanovich was born to an American family of Croatian descent. before pulling away late to beat the New Orleans Hornets 89-76 on a night in which Bryant turned over the ball seven times and bricked a windmill dunk in the third quarter. Bryant still led the Lakers with 20 points on 7-of-20 shooting, ending his night for on a two-handed dunk with 5:55 remaining, the second hand applied for good measure. Before that, Bryant got in three disagreements with Palmer before being assessed a technical foul technical foul n. Sports A foul, especially in basketball, that is called on a player, coach, or team for unsportsmanlike conduct or infringement of a rule and does not usually involve physical contact with an opponent during play. , tangled with Harrington fighting for a loose ball and yelled loud enough at Brown for reporters at the opposite end of the court to hear. That might not compare to the aggravation Tomjanovich felt in the locker room between halves. The Lakers trailed 42-41 after two quarters to a 1-11 Hornets team missing Jamal Mashburn Jamal Mashburn (born November 29, 1972 in New York City) is a retired American professional basketball player. A small forward, Mashburn was a prolific scorer in his 12 seasons in the league, with a career scoring average of 19.1 points per game. , Baron Davis Baron Walter Louis Davis (born April 13 1979, in Los Angeles, California) is an American professional basketball player currently starting at point guard for the NBA's Golden State Warriors. He began playing basketball at the age of five. and Jamaal Magloire from its lineup. ``I said at halftime, 'Do we have to experience a loss for it to really hit us?''' said Tomjanovich, who slipped the word ``crabby'' several times into his postgame remarks. Added Lakers point guard Chucky Atkins: ``He's just trying to tell us not to abuse the game because when you go out there and you're not giving your all, you're not playing up to your potential, you're abusing the game.'' After picking up three fouls in the first half, Atkins scored all 17 of his points in the second half. Brian Cook hit a 3-pointer and Atkins connected on an 18-footer in the final minute of the third quarter that put the Lakers (8-6) in front to stay. Bryant was beside himself various parts of the night. He was upset with Palmer after she called him for a first-quarter charge against David Wesley, then grew more furious when Palmer ruled he stepped out of bounds in the second quarter. Their disagreements came to a head with 3:29 left in the third quarter. Bryant was called for another charge by Palmer, this time drawn by Chris Andersen. Bryant protested and Palmer hit him with a technical foul, Bryant's second of the season. ``The thing that's important for me is to make sure I stand up for my teammates,'' Bryant said. ``Some of our big guys have been getting a lot of bad calls and getting bad raps. ... I don't want them to feel like they're alone out there. Sometimes you've got to lay into (the referees) a little bit.'' Bryant's bad luck continued a few minutes later when he took an outlet pass from Atkins alone on the break and spiked his dunk off the back rim. He was not laughing afterward. ``Kobe Bryant's a guy that does so many good things on the court,'' Atkins said, ``that something like that happens, then that lets you know that he is human.'' Bryant's explanation: His sore left foot was feeling so good, he jumped too high on the dunk. But he was feeling optimistic afterward about the progress of the plantar fasciitis plantar fasciitis n. Inflammation of the fascia on the plantar surface of the foot, usually at the attachment to the heel, often making it painful to walk. he has been battling for nearly three weeks. ``For some reason, we've been able to stay on top of it, still play the game and have it get better,'' said Bryant, who has played 44 minutes or more in each of the last six games. Bryant also tussled with Harrington as they ended up on the floor fighting for the ball, and he yelled at Brown, the Lakers' backup point guard. Brown failed to locate Bryant for a corner 3-pointer after throwing a bad pass the previous possession, leading Bryant to voice his displeasure. ``I didn't see all that,'' Tomjanovich said. ``I had my own concerns, being crabby crab·by adj. crab·bi·er, crab·bi·est Informal Grouchy; ill-tempered. crab  bi·ly adv. . I didn't see everything out
there.''
The Lakers committed six offensive fouls in the game and ended the first half on the wrong end of an 11-2 run. For their part, the Hornets suffered through a 1-for-14 shooting performance from Lee Nailon. Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 ross.siler(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Kobe Bryant tries to pass around New Orleans forward P.J. Brown during Sunday's victory. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer Box: GAME RECAP |
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