April 2nd: Lakers: L.A. tuning up for the postseason. Lakers & Houston @ 3:30pm.

 
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:41 am    Post subject: April 2nd: Lakers: L.A. tuning up for the postseason. Lakers & Houston @ 3:30pm.

Lakers: L.A. tuning up for the postseason
By Rich Hammond, Staff writer

:EL SEGUNDO — With five victories in their last six games, the Lakers seem to be hitting their stride at the right time, with the playoffs fast approaching. But that doesn't mean there isn't room to improve.

Specifically, the Lakers still need to get past their season-long trends of starting slowly in the second half and playing poorly at home, and they will get plenty of practice at perfecting the latter.

Six of the Lakers' last eight games are at home, starting this afternoon against Houston, and it will be a chance for the team to build on its strong effort in Friday's victory over Seattle.

That game was notable because the Lakers, who often have been slowed by poor third quarters, started the second half down four points but outscored the Sonics 29-17 in the quarter.

"The third-quarter demons are gone," Kobe Bryant said. "We had a exorcism and everything. We'll be OK unless the demons sneak back in."


Last edited by Phil on Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:43 am; edited 1 time in total
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:43 am    Post subject:

Houston Rockets (32-40) At Los Angeles Lakers (39-35), 3:30 P.m.
(Sports Network) - The Houston Rockets have won two in a row and will begin a six-game road trip this afternoon against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center.

Houston made it a two straight wins on Friday with a 105-103 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Yao Ming tied a season high with 38 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Rockets at the Toyota Center. Luther Head added 20 points and seven boards and Rafer Alston had 19 points and eight assists for the Rockets, who have won three of their last four games.

Cellar dwellers in the Southwest Division, the Rockets will visit Seattle, Portland, Golden State, Sacramento and Utah during the road swing.

The Rockets are 3-2 in their last five road games and 17-17 as the guest this season.

Meanwhile, the Lakers are seventh in the Western Conference and posted their fifth win in six tries on Friday against the Seattle SuperSonics.

Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 43 points and grabbed five rebounds, as Los Angeles registered a 106-93 victory at Key Arena. Kwame Brown scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Lakers.

Los Angeles is currently 2 1/2 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for sixth place in the Western Conference.
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:46 am    Post subject:

Bruins Impress Abdul-Jabbar
By Mike Hiserman and Robyn Norwood
April 2, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS — Given some time off from his employer — the Lakers — to see his alma mater play in the Final Four, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar liked what he saw Saturday at the RCA Dome.

"They look real good," he said of UCLA at halftime of the Bruins' 59-45 victory over Louisiana State. "Coach [Ben] Howland has done a tremendous job getting them to play how he wants them to play, within his system.

"Any coach or player who comes to UCLA has a tremendous burden to overcome with Coach [John] Wooden's legacy, so it's nice they could achieve what they've been able to achieve. I'm happy to see that."



Abdul-Jabbar had some extra-kind words for Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who had game highs with 17 points and nine rebounds, and was a consistently disruptive force on defense, even though he often drew the assignment of guarding Glen "Big Baby" Davis, a player more than 100 pounds heavier.

"He's a tremendous athlete," Abdul-Jabbar said. "He's a good player and he'll get better too. He just needs some more game experience."
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 12:07 pm    Post subject:

Lakers Inching Closer to No. 6 Playoff Seed

LOS ANGELES - Superstar Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers hope to inch closer to sixth place in the Western Conference, as they welcome in the Houston Rockets on Sunday.
Bryant scored 24 of his 43 points in the second half and Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom contributed 12 apiece as the Lakers posted a 106-93 triumph over Seattle on Friday for their fifth win in six games.

Los Angeles is holding the seventh spot in the Western Conference postseason race, 1 1/2 games ahead of eighth-place Sacramento (37-36) and just 2 1/2 behind sixth-place Memphis (41-32), which has lost three in a row.

With his next 40-point outburst, Bryant will tie the single-season franchise record of 23 such games set by Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor, who accomplished the feat during the 1962-63 season.

All-Star Yao Ming had 38 points and 11 rebounds and rookie Luther Head added 20 points as the Rockets shot 56 percent from the floor but barely escaped with a 105-103 victory over Washington on Friday.
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:42 pm    Post subject:

Bryant too much for Rockets to handle in Lakers' 104-88 win

By Ken Peters, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant scored 22 of his 43 points in the third quarter to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 104-88 on Sunday afternoon.


The 40-point game was Bryant's 23rd of the season, tying a Lakers record set by Elgin Baylor in the 1962-63 season. Bryant has scored 40 or more four times in his past seven games.

Smush Parker had 15 points and 10 assists for Los Angeles. Lamar Odom added 21 points, and Kwame Brown had 10 points.

Yao Ming had 33 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets, but took only eight shots after halftime and scored 13 points. He finished 16-for-25 from the floor.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:44 pm    Post subject:

Home Record Getting Better
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
April 2, 2006

If the Western Conference standings were based solely on home records, the Lakers would reside in ninth place and require a late-season push just to make the playoffs.

Although home defeats to the likes of Phoenix and San Antonio are understandable, Staples Center has also played host to more Laker horror shows than anyone could have expected, including losses to lowly Atlanta and Seattle.

"We had a problem playing against teams that were doing well at the time, and other teams that I guess we thought we were better than, we were not coming out and performing up to our ability," Laker forward Lamar Odom said Saturday. "But I think in the last part of the season, we've been handling the teams we should handle."

The Lakers have won four of their last five games at home, including victories over Sacramento, Milwaukee and New Orleans, all teams in the playoff hunt.

Clinging to seventh place in their conference, 1 1/2 games ahead of eighth-place Sacramento, the Lakers close the regular season with six of eight games at Staples.

"We want to send a message to our home crowd that this is something that we value," Kobe Bryant said. "We want to protect our home court."
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