LA Lakers (3-3) at Memphis (4-3)

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LA Lakers (3-3) at Memphis (4-3)
LA Lakers (3-3) at Memphis (4-3)

Preview - Box Score - Recap

Game Info: 8:00 pm EST Mon Nov 14, 2005
TV: KCAL, FxMS Add to Calendar
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Kobe Bryant will be looking to bounce back from his worst shooting game of the season. That might not be easy to do against the Memphis Grizzlies' stingy defense.
Bryant and the Lakers try to avoid a third straight loss when they take on the Grizzlies for the first time this season.

Los Angeles has averaged 77.5 points in its last two games after posting 106.5 en route to three wins in its first four games.

Bryant is averaging a league-high 31.8 points per game, but missed five of seven shots in the fourth quarter of an 85-81 loss to Philadelphia on Friday. He missed all five of his attempts in the final period of an 88-74 defeat to Minnesota on Wednesday.

Bryant shot 7-for-27 on Friday, missing a jumper with about 5 seconds left. He finished with 17 points.

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"It's a reliance on Kobe," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We have to go somewhere else (for production), and that's one of the things we'll have to work on in practice."

Los Angeles now faces a Memphis team that ranks among the league leaders in scoring defense at 89.8 points per game.

The Grizzlies held Atlanta to 39 percent shooting (33-for-83) in an 85-84 win Saturday, but it was Pau Gasol's tip-in at the final buzzer that sealed the win.

Shane Battier scored a season-high 22 points, but his biggest play was getting just enough of his hand on a missed 3-pointer by Mike Miller to push the ball to Gasol for the decisive tip. Battier was coming off a season-low four-point performance in an 89-70 loss to Cleveland on Friday.

Gasol finished with 20 points after averaging 12.5 in his previous two games.

Memphis improved its free-throw shooting after making less than 60 percent from the line in each of its previous three games. The Grizzlies came in ranked 29th in the NBA at 62.1 percent, but went 20-of-26 (76.9 percent) against the Hawks.

"You see how important every free throw is in a game," Gasol said.

Memphis guard Damon Stoudamire was held out after suffering a sprained left ankle Friday, with Bobby Jackson starting in his place. Stoudamire's status for Monday is uncertain.

Lakers forward Kwame Brown has a sprained left thumb and is probable.

Memphis won all three games against Los Angeles last season, the Grizzlies' first sweep of the Lakers in franchise history.

STANDINGS (through Nov. 13): Lakers - 3rd place (tied), 1 1/2 GB, Pacific Division. Grizzlies - 3rd place, 1 GB, Southwest Division.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Lakers - F Lamar Odom, F Brown, C Chris Mihm, G Bryant, G Smush Parker. Grizzlies - F Battier, F Gasol, C Lorenzen Wright, G Stoudamire or Jackson, G Eddie Jones.

TEAM LEADERS: Lakers - Bryant, 31.8 ppg; Odom, 10.3 rpg and 5.2 apg. Grizzlies - Gasol, 20.3 ppg and 7.1 rpg; Stoudamire, 4.5 apg.

2004-05 SEASON SERIES: Grizzlies, 3-0.

LAST MEETING: April 3; Grizzlies, 102-82. At Memphis, Tenn., Miller scored 22 points to lead the Grizzlies.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Lakers - 2-2 on the road; Grizzlies - 2-1 at home.


Updated on Monday, Nov 14, 2005 4:55 am EST

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Memphis 85, LA Lakers 73
Memphis 85, LA Lakers 73

Preview - Box Score - Recap

By WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press Writer
November 15, 2005

AP - Nov 14, 10:57 pm EST
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Phil Jackson wasn't surprised by Kobe Bryant's second off night in a row.

"We were relying on Kobe and Kobe couldn't shoot the ball because of a hand injury. He was just reluctant to shoot," Jackson said after the Los Angeles Lakers' 85-73 loss Monday night to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Bryant had 18 points, just one more than he scored in the Lakers' loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He went into the game against the 76ers averaging more than 30 points.

Jackson, who did not go into detail about the injury, said Bryant hurt his right hand making a dunk during the Lakers' victory over Atlanta on Nov. 8.

Against Memphis, the Lakers barely topped their shot-clock era scoring low of 70 points, set at Cleveland in 2002.

Bryant said he hit his right index finger on the goal at Atlanta and "it's been sore ever since."


But he put most of the Lakers' troubles on struggling to learn a new offense.

"I thought we'd have ups and downs," Bryant said. "We've got a new system and it takes time to learn it. It's a roller coaster ride, man."

Lamar Odom's assessment was a bit stronger.

"We're doing everything to lose a basketball game right now," Odom said. "We're not sharing the ball and we're not trusting each other defensively or offensively."

Jackson said the Lakers "got locked into trying to do things we can't do."

"We had 19 turnovers and we can't do that," he said. "We tried to push the ball too fast and tried to move the ball on offensive too fast."

Pau Gasol led Memphis with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Eddie Jones added 16 points and Mike Miller had 13 before being helped to the locker room with just under 2 minutes left after banging his right knee scrambling for the ball.


AP - Nov 14, 10:55 pm EST
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Shane Battier had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, and Lorenzen Wright had 12 rebounds.

Chris Mihm had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles.

The victory was the fourth straight over Los Angeles for the Grizzlies, who swept a three-game series last season.

Jones said the victory was largely due to the Grizzlies' tough defense.

"Guys were rotating to the right spots and we really did a great job defending the triangle offense that the Lakers like to run," Jones said.

Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello said the Lakers seemed a bit worn.

"We caught L.A. on the end of a trip, and it's easy to catch a team with their energy level down," Fratello said.

Helped by a 3-pointer from Bobby Jackson and a running layup in tight company by Jones, Memphis launched its first offensive burst of the night with a 10-2 run early in the second period to take a 34-27 lead.

The Grizzlies held a 42-33 advantage at intermission and kept up the pressure in the third period with a 10-0 run that Battier started with a 3-pointer. Miller hit four straight free throws in the run.

The Grizzlies outrebounded the Lakers 17-5 in the third period and began the fourth quarter with a 73-47 advantage.

Notes

The Grizzlies, ranked next to last in the NBA in free throws, hit 76 percent (19-of-25) from the line. ... Battier, who started just once in the 2003-04 season after joining the Grizzlies as a rookie starter in 2001-02, has started all eight games this season. ... In the Lakers' losses to Memphis last season, Bryant averaged 13.3 points on 23.3 percent shooting. ... The Grizzlies said postgame X-rays of Miller's injured knee showed no obvious damage and further medical tests were planned.