Lakers Return To Staples With Win Over Nuggets
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Kobe Bryant had 18 points and eight rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter and Lamar Odom teamed with four Los Angeles Lakers reserves to help preserve a 17-point lead and hold off the Denver Nuggets for a 102-95 exhibition victory Saturday night.
Odom and reserve Devin Ebanks each had 14 points for the Lakers, who returned to Staples Center for the first time since beating the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA finals on June 17 to win their second straight championship and 16th in franchise history.
Six Nuggets scored in double digits, including former UCLA star Aaron Afflalo with 20. Carmelo Anthony, the subject of non-stop trade speculation ever since he thumbed his nose at a three-year, $65 million extension the Nuggets offered him in June, was rested by coach George Karl after getting 30 points and 24 rebounds Thursday night in a 100-95 victory over the Clippers.
The Lakers led 85-68 after three quarters and all of the starters were on the bench for the start of the fourth. The Nuggets seized the opportunity, cutting it to 89-84 with a 16-4 run, capped by Ty Lawson's 3-pointer and Renaldo Balkman's layup with 7:38 remaining.
The Lakers got the lead back up to double digits before the Nuggets crept back to 94-91 on a tip-in by Eric Boateng, a three-point play by Lawson and a pair of free throws by Afflalo with 5:08 to play. But Shannon Brown responded with a 3-pointer at the other end to help snuff out Denver's rally.
The Lakers shot 57.5 percent in the first half and outrebounded Denver 25-13 en route to a 63-51 lead. The half ended with a spectacular long-range hookup from Bryant to Odom, who outraced Nene down the floor and found himself right under the basket for a last-second layup after Bryant's high-arching heave from the backcourt barely cleared Nene's outstretched arm. Odom started the play by rejecting a shot by Balkman for his only block of the game.
Afflalo went to the bench 4 1/2 minutes into the second quarter after picking up his third foul, and was still on the sideline when he received a technical foul from referee Mike Callahan about 4 minutes later for complaining too loudly after a blocking foul was called against teammate J.R. Smith in a collision with Derek Fisher.
Smith, who averaged a foul for every 11.8 minutes he spent in the backcourt last season, is one of many players along with Afflalo who are trying to deal with the NBA's tougher rules against excessive taking and whining to the referees. Somehow, Bryant has managed to get through his first three preseason games without a technical foul. He had 14 last season.
"It's going to be a huge adjustment because it's definitely going to affect games and the way you play. Now you've got to control your emotions out there," Smith said. "I'm not surprised about the rule. I mean, the refs are getting tired of us complaining—and sometimes, I think we do go a little too far. You're trying to win a game and it's in the heat of emotion. I think something had to be done about it, but I don't think it was directed at anybody individually."
