NO DEFENDING LAKERS IN LOSS SAC. 116, LAKERS 108.Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer As soon as Kevin Martin Kevin Martin may refer to one of several people:
* Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. might as well have been set in stone. The Kings were on their way to scoring the game's first 10 points, to shredding the Lakers for 37 points in the first quarter -- and 65 in the first half -- and to ending the modest three-game winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" of their Pacific Division rivals. The Lakers were on their way to another listless (programming) listless - In functional programming, a property of a function which allows it to be combined with other functions in a way that eliminates intermediate data structures, especially lists. performance on defense, falling behind by 21 points in the third quarter, proving that a three-day break between games was the worst thing the schedule could have handed them. "After a 10-0 run in the first two minutes, you should be able to recover," Lamar Odom Lamar Joseph Odom (born November 6 1979, in South Jamaica, Queens, New York) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays power forward (also plays both forward spots and is a "point-forward") for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers. said. "This game was lost in the first half due to our defense." Lakers 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. took inventory of his players who were unable to practice this week -- Andrew Bynum Andrew Bynum (born October 27 1987, in Plainsboro, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. Bynum is listed as 7'0" and 285 lbs and plays center. , 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. , Maurice Evans There are several people named Maurice Evans:
"I told the team they played kind of like they practiced this week -- inconsistent -- like they were sick," Jackson said. The Lakers were unable to build on their modest three-game winning streak, as they lost for the first time in eight games within the Pacific Division and fell 31/2 games behind Houston for fifth in the Western Conference playoff race. It was undoubtedly one of the Lakers' worst defensive nights of the season, offering little in the way of confidence heading into a Sunday afternoon showdown against Phoenix, the NBA's highest-scoring team, to open a four-game road trip. Even when the opening was there to steal the game in the fourth quarter, as they closed to 104-96 with 31/2 minutes remaining, the Lakers' defense failed them yet again. All they needed was a stop and a chance to get the ball to Odom, who played an inspired fourth quarter. Odom finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the game, carrying the Lakers with 13 points and nine rebounds in the fourth. Odom had just backed down Ron Artest for a basket at the other end. The Lakers, however, were lost in a fog of miscommunication as Bryant and Sasha Vujacic failed to switch and Martin wound up with an uncontested layup off a Brad Miller pass. That was the last straw of a game in which the Lakers trailed from start to finish. Sacramento made its first four shots and took a 10-0 lead, leaving a question for Bryant about whether a beginning like that can carry through a 48-minute game. "It really depends on us and if we allow that to be what sets the tone for the rest of the night," Bryant said. "If we buckle down on defense, we're going to look at that as pretty much as hot as they're going to get. But we haven't gotten to that point yet." ross.siler@dailynews.com (818) 713-3610 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) The Lakers' Ronny Turiaf goes face to face with Sacramento's Corliss Williamson in Friday's game. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion