Lakers-Pistons Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Feb 02 2013 3:38PM

Kobe Bryant will go down as one of the NBA's all-time leading scorers. The Los Angeles Lakers, though, need their superstar to keep sharing the ball.

With Dwight Howard's status in question, as well as Pau Gasol's spot in coach Mike D'Antoni's rotation, Bryant and the Lakers will try to build off their first road win in six weeks Sunday when they visit the Detroit Pistons.

If he keeps up his current pace of 27.9 points per game, Bryant would need 23 more games to move past Wilt Chamberlain for fourth in league history with 31,420 points. However, it might take Bryant a little longer to achieve that feat as he's scoring just 16.6 per game during the Lakers' 4-1 run. With his new pass-first approach during that stretch, Bryant is taking 12.8 field-goal attempts per game - 8.3 fewer than his season average - while averaging 11.2 assists.

"You're just trying to do whatever it takes to win," said Bryant, who had 17 points, a season-best 12 rebounds and eight assists in a 111-100 victory at Minnesota on Friday.

"Trying to figure things out, even if you're adjusting your game as dramatically as I have, it's just doing whatever it takes to get your team to win."

The Lakers (21-26) improved to 15-4 when Bryant takes fewer than 20 shots and ended an eight-game road losing streak which dated back to Dec. 22. They're now 1-3 without Howard in the lineup after the All-Star center missed Friday's game to receive platelet-rich plasma treatments in his right shoulder.

Howard returned to Los Angeles for that procedure, but he's expected to rejoin the team in Auburn Hills - the third stop on the Lakers' season-high seven-game trip.

If Howard can go, it's uncertain what D'Antoni will do with Gasol, who has not been pleased with being relegated to the bench for the first time in his career. In Howard's place, and starting for the first time in seven games, Gasol finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds Friday.

"It's been a rough season so far, no way around it," Gasol said after his third 20-point game of the season. "Just stay with it, keep playing. You never know when things can change direction."

While a productive Gasol could help the Lakers move up from No. 10 in the Western Conference, the Pistons (18-29) are hoping Gasol's fellow Spaniard will help them improve from 10th in the East.

Jose Calderon, acquired from Toronto on Wednesday in a three-team deal that sent long-time Piston Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye to Memphis, could make his Detroit debut after missing Friday's 117-99 victory over Cleveland due to visa issues.

Coach Lawrence Frank said Calderon, averaging 11.1 points and 7.4 assists, will start at point guard when he's available, pushing Brandon Knight to shooting guard.

"Great player - done a lot of good things over his career, and definitely a big help for us coming in," said Knight, who had 20 points and 10 assists Friday. "We'll get used to playing with one another and see how it works out."

It hasn't worked out well lately for the Pistons in this series. They've lost six of seven after falling 108-79 at Los Angeles on Nov. 4, when the Lakers posted their first victory of the season following an 0-8 preseason and 0-3 start.

Detroit, though, won 88-85 in the Lakers' last visit to Auburn Hills on March 6 even after Bryant's 19-foot fadeaway at the buzzer forced overtime.

Gasol helps Lakers hold on to beat Pistons 98-97

By NOAH TRISTER
Posted Feb 03 2013 5:38PM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) In a season full of turmoil and frustration, this would have been a particularly exasperating loss for the Los Angeles Lakers.

One of the most accurate free throw shooters in NBA history had missed two, giving the Detroit Pistons one more chance at a game-winning shot. Kyle Singler lobbed the ball toward the basket, and rookie Andre Drummond stretched his 6-foot-11 frame and tried a one-handed dunk with Pau Gasol defending.

No good. The Lakers held on for a 98-97 victory.

"Every game is like a playoff game for us right now," Los Angeles coach Mike D'Antoni said. "And some crazy things happen in playoff games."

Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds and was the last line of defense on Detroit's final alley-oop attempt Sunday. The Lakers blew an 18-point third-quarter lead but overcame their late free throw struggles to win for the fifth time in six games.

Los Angeles has won two in a row without Dwight Howard. The All-Star center sat out again with a right shoulder problem.

Kobe Bryant's driving three-point play with 1:09 remaining gave the Lakers a 98-95 lead, and they held on despite missing four free throws in the final 16.8 seconds.

Steve Nash - a 90.4 percent foul shooter for his career - missed two free throws with 2.7 seconds left. Down by one, the Pistons inbounded from midcourt with 1.2 seconds to play. They tried a lob to Drummond, but with Gasol contesting the play, Drummond couldn't convert.

Drummond looked surprised that no foul was called on the play.

"I have no comment," Drummond said afterward when asked if there was contact.

Detroit was still without guard Jose Calderon, who the Pistons acquired from Toronto on Wednesday. The Spanish-born Calderon has not been available to play because of unresolved visa issues.

The Lakers trail eighth-place Houston by 3 1/2 games in the Western Conference playoff race. Bryant scored 18 points but shot poorly from the perimeter. After an airball with the score tied at 95, he decided to drive to the basket the next time down. Bryant muscled through a foul and scored a basket that was counted on a continuation call.

Detroit's Will Bynum cut the lead to one, and after Gasol missed, Drummond missed a baseline fadeaway that would have given the Pistons the lead. Earl Clark missed two free throws for Los Angeles with 16.8 seconds left, but Bynum's driving shot over Gasol went off the glass and rattled in and out.

That set the stage for Nash, whose two misses dropped him percentage points behind Mark Price for the top free throw percentage in NBA history for players with at least 1,200 attempts.

"I feel bad that it could've cost us the game and that I choked two up there," Nash said. "A win is a win, but I take a lot of pride in being a fourth-quarter player and making shots, particularly free throws."

The Lakers scored 10 straight points early in the third to take a 72-54 lead. Bryant highlighted that run with a one-handed dunk while Detroit's Brandon Knight tried in vain to prevent an easy basket.

"We were moving the ball well in the first half, but we got comfortable in the second half again. That's been a problem," Gasol said. "Drummond changed things, but a lot of that was because of Bynum. He's so fast that he gets into the lane and opens a lot of things up for Drummond."

The Pistons rallied quickly, with Drummond showing off his athleticism around the basket. Drummond's two-handed dunk over Gasol made it 76-70, and the Lakers led 78-72 after three.

"We weren't moving the ball, we were over-dribbling the basketball and we weren't guarding anyone," Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said. "Then we started to get some stops, got energy into the game and obviously Dre had a huge impact the second half."

Bynum had 18 points and 10 assists for the Pistons, and Greg Monroe added 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Clark had 17 points for Los Angeles. Nash had 11 points and 10 assists.

Detroit's Rodney Stuckey was called for his third foul in the first quarter, then picked up a technical to boot. The Pistons turned the ball over nine times in the half, and they finished the second quarter with a terrible defensive breakdown. Bryant was inbounding around midcourt with 0.4 seconds left in the half, and Clark somehow slipped free for an alley-oop dunk at the buzzer that gave Los Angeles a 62-51 lead.

The Lakers did a better job defending that situation on the final play of the game.

NOTES: Knight became tangled with Metta World Peace of the Lakers with 1:43 left in the first half. That got a rise out of the crowd, which no doubt remembered World Peace's role in the infamous "Malice at the Palace" brawl on the Pistons' court in 2004. World Peace was assessed a flagrant foul this time, but the situation didn't escalate. ... Bryant had five assists, snapping his streak of five straight games with at least eight.

Notebook: Lakers 98, Pistons 97

Dana Gauruder, for NBA.com
Posted Sun Feb 03, 2013 5:00 PM - Updated Sun Feb 03, 2013 5:00 PM

THE FACTS: Pau Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons, 98-97, at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Sunday. The Lakers squandered an 18-point, second-half lead but held on when the Pistons missed two shots in the final 3.8 seconds. Kobe Bryant had 18 points and five assists, including the go-ahead three-point play with 1:09 remaining. Greg Monroe led the Pistons with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Will Bynum had 18 points and 10 assists. Lakers All-Star center Dwight Howard felt soreness in his ailing right shoulder and did not play.

QUOTABLE: "It's good, it's refreshing for me. It's satisfying for sure to play this kind of role again, to have the kind of role on this team that I've had for awhile."
-- Gasol, who lost his starting job last month before Howard was injured, on his second straight strong outing.

THE STAT: 126. The Pistons were mainly a jump-shooting team when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals six consecutive times from 2003-08. Under coach Lawrence Frank, they have evolved into a power team. They have scored 126 points in the paint in the last two games, including 64 against the Lakers. Detroit came into the game averaging 45.4 points in the paint, 2.4 more than its opponents.

TURNING POINT: Bryant airballed a 20-foot attempt with 1:41 remaining, so it wasn't surprisingly he wanted to redeem himself on the next possession. He drove in from the right wing and scored while getting fouled by Kyle Singler for his decisive three-point play. The Lakers didn't score again, but Bynum missed a layup with 3.8 seconds left and Detroit rookie Andre Drummond failed to convert an inbounded lob pass from Singler in the final second.

QUOTABLE II: "With the time that I'm getting, it's only natural that you get comfortable. Your teammates tell you what you need to do before the game. I'm just fitting into my role and it feels good to have a role on this team."
-- Lakers forward Earl Clark, who scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half.

HOT: Gasol, who lost his starting job to Clark last month, had 22 points and 12 rebounds against Minnesota on Friday when the Lakers snapped their eight-game road losing streak. He kept the offensive roll going on Sunday, making 10 of 18 field goals and 3 of 4 free throws. He also added three assists.

NOT: Steve Nash had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists but it still wasn't a memorable game for him. He committed four turnovers and nearly blew the game by missing two free throws with 2.7 seconds left. Nash was 40 for 42 from the line this season before those misfires.

ROOKIE WATCH: Drummond had another strong game with nine points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and two steals. Singler had 11 points and six rebounds but shot 4 for 12 from the field.

NOTABLE: Bryant passed Hakeem Olajuwon for seventh place on the all-time field goals list and has 10,757 for his career. ... The Lakers are 2-1 on their current seven-game road trip. They don't play another home game until Feb. 12. ... Hip-hop star Coolio performed at halftime. ... Los Angeles has won seven of the last eight meetings. ... Metta World Peace committed his 20th career flagrant foul in the second quarter. ... Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni is hopefully Howard, who has a torn labrum, can play sometime this week. "The pain is not going to go away," D'Antoni said. "It's a little bit of a tear and if it gets totally bad, we'll have to do something (surgically). But the way it is right now, he'll just have to deal with it." ... Pistons coach Frank traded texts with Bill Parcells Saturday night after Parcells was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Frank has known Parcells since he was a team manager at Indiana under coach Bob Knight. "I thought it was a year overdue but I know how honored he is to be part of such an esteemed group," Frank said. "He's one of the all-time great coaches." ... Point guard Jose Calderon, acquired by Detroit from Toronto on Wednesday, was ineligible to play because of visa issues. The Pistons hope the situation is resolved before they play at New York on Monday night.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Tuesday @ Brooklyn, Thursday @ Boston, Friday @ Charlotte. For the Pistons, Monday @ New York, Wednesday vs. Brooklyn, Friday vs. San Antonio.

• Lakers: Hill
• Pistons: Calderon

• Lakers: --
• Pistons: Stuckey

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #15 Bennett Salvatore, #29 Mark Lindsay, #31 Scott Wall
• Attendance: 18157
• Duration: 2:16