LAKERS UGLY, YET UNBEATEN L.A. OVERCOMES GAFFES, UTAH LAKERS 100, UTAH 96.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer Somewhere between Andrei Kirilenko Andrei Kirilenko may refer to:
n. The area immediately bordering the official court of play, as in tennis or basketball. seats and the final missed free throws, the Lakers nearly lost the unflagging support of their 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. loyalists 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. . They threw no-look passes to not-looking teammates, turned fast breaks into broken plays, fell behind by 19 points and generally let the Utah Jazz knock the rhythm and beauty right out of their game. Only a late charge, another command performance from 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. , clutch shooting from Lindsey Hunter Lindsey Benson Hunter, Jr. (born December 3 1970, in Utica, Mississippi) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA. He is a guard for the Detroit Pistons in active rotation off the bench. and Devean George Devean Jamar George (born August 29 1977 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. He typically plays small forward but because of his athleticism and defensive activity, can defend many shooting guards as well. and Utah's own meltdown kept the Lakers' unblemished record intact. They survived their own mistakes, held off the Jazz 100-96, and pushed their record to 4-0. ``That was a nice comeback victory for us,'' coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. said. ``It wasn't pretty, but it was good.'' Bryant finished with 38 points, seven assists and six rebounds, but it was his 15-point fourth quarter that saved the Lakers from their first loss - and revived their fan support in the nick of time. The vibe inside Staples Center was decidedly ho-hum until late in the third quarter, about the time Kirilenko stepped to the free-throw line ... about the same time Gonzalez blooped a single into shallow center field off of Mariano Rivera. Public-address announcer Lawrence Tanter said, ``Arizona 3, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of 2,'' and the crowd erupted. The Lakers were down by 10 points at the time. So the loudest cheers of the night were given not for the NBA's defending champions, but for the World Series champions. Hard to argue with - for most of the night, the Diamondbacks did more to earn the love of Lakers fans than the Lakers themselves. Through most of three quarters, they bore little resemblance to the team that had won 26 of their last 27 games, dating back to early April. Not even like the team that opened this season with three consecutive victories, including one in Salt Lake City three days earlier. The Lakers took their first lead of the night 83-82 on a Bryant 18-footer with just under seven minutes to play. He scored 10 of their final 19 points. A basket by George put the Lakers up for good 93-92, and Hunter followed with a 22-footer that gave them a needed cushion. ``Our offense wasn't really in synch, we weren't in the flow of the game,'' Bryant said, ``so my teammates gave me some open space, gave me some open room to operate and see if I could create something to get us going a little bit.'' Karl Malone led the Jazz with 26 points but fouled out with 3:29 to play, the scored tied 90-90. O'Neal finished with 30 points and eight rebounds, and the Lakers were outrebounded 39-30. But the glaring stat was the 19 turnovers, 11 by O'Neal and Bryant. Over and over, the Lakers turned simple plays into misplays, botching fast-break opportunities with poor passing or poor judgment. Their final such mistake nearly cost them the game. With a 93-92 lead and under 3 minutes to play, Bryant took off on the break, with only Kirilenko in front of him, and O'Neal trailing by a couple feet. Rather than dunk or dish to O'Neal, Bryant tried a 360-degree dunk on Kirilenko. He missed, drew the foul, then missed both free throws. A potential 3-point play ended with zero. ``We kind of criticized Kobe gently, nudged him about watching his own commercial perhaps and having visions of grandeur,'' Jackson said. To which Bryant could only offer a taut mea culpa: ``I thought I was on the set of my commercial,'' he said, and left it at that. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal eyes the basket as Utah's Greg Ostertag defends during L.A.'s victory at Staples Center on Sunday. Edna T. Simpson/Staff Photographer Box: GAME RECAP |
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