Lakers Universe - Los Angeles Lakers 2006-2007 Regular Season, standings, team leaders, schedule and news

2006-2007 Los Angeles Lakers regular season, NBA Pacific Division standings, team leaders, complete schedule. Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom statistics

Los Angeles Lakers Regular Season Record: 42 - 40
Pacific Division Standing: 2nd / Streak: won 2
Western Conference Standing (for Playoffs): 7th
Lakers pictures of the week 2006-07
Pictures of the week:
Kobe scored 50 (LA Daily)
Top Players Stats
  Pts Reb Ast G
Bryant 31.6 5.7 5.4 77
Odom 15.9 9.8 4.8 56
Walton 11.4 5.0 4.3 60
Parker 11.1 2.5 2.8 82
Evans 8.4 2.9 1.0 76

Team Leaders
 Points: 31.6 Bryant
 Rebounds: 9.8 Odom
 Assists: 5.4 Bryant
 Blocks: 1.6 Bynum
 Steals: 1.5 Parker
 Fg %: 59.1 Brown
 3pt %: 40.0 Cook
 Ft %: 86.9 Bryant
Pacific Division Standings
W L pct gb
PHO 61 21 .744 -
LAL 42 40 .512 19.0
GSW 42 40 .512 19.0
LAC 40 42 .488 21.0
SAC 33 49 .402 28.0

Schedule, Next games
Sun 22 @ Phoenix
Tue 24 @ Phoenix
Thu 26 Phoenix
Sun 29 Phoenix
Wed 2 @ Phoenix (if nec.)
Fri 4 Phoenix (if nec.)
Sun 6 @ Phoenix (if nec.)
2007 playoffs - tickets

More:

All the scores
this page features all the scores & highlights of the Lakers 2006-07 season

2006-07 Schedule
has the full list of games to play and the results of games played

Roster 2006-07
this page has all the news, draft picks and players gone for the new season.

L.A. Lakers Tickets
Tickets for Lakers home and road games

2006-07 LAKERS NEWS AND NOTES

4/18: The Lakes won their final game of the season, deciding that way their fate in the 2007 NBA playoffs: another match up against the Suns.

With the 117-106 win at Sacramento Los Angeles got the 7th place by owning a tiebreaker with the Warriors who will have to face the top seeded Mavericks.

In a season full of ups and downs (more downs than ups) the Lakers get to the playoff with a couple of positive notes: Kobe Bryant won his second consecutive scoring title with 31.6 points per game and the team won two games and is pretty healthy

It is not much but it is what the Lakers have these days. Parker was replaced by Farmar again... Highlights...

4/15: Riding on another Kobe 50-point performance, the Lakers finally clinched a playoff spot. The win 109-98 against Seattle and a Clipper loss assured Los Angeles a first round series. Winning their last game, they will face the Suns, if they lose and the Warriors win their 2 remaining games, the Lakers will face Dallas. Both bad scenarios but at least it will be at the Playoffs.

Kobe had his 10th game of at least 50 points this season, becoming only the second player in NBA history to do it. Chamberlain had 45 of those games in 1961-62 and 30 in 1962-63. Unless Carmelo Anthony scores 200 points in the next 2 games, KB24 will also win his second scoring title.

Phil Jackson got tired of Smush Parker and started rookie Jordan Farmar (9 points) and Kwame Brown was back at center despite not being a 100 %...

4/13: As expected, the Lakers lost at Phoenix, 93-85. What wasn't that bad is that L.A. stayed in the game until the end but the NBA's leading scorer Kobe Bryant didn't have a good night, looked tired after his 48-minute 50-point performance the night before and had just 17 points on 7-for-26 from the field. The Lakers trailed most of the time but in the fourth quarter they cut the Suns lead to five several times, the last at 88-83 with 1:58 to play.

The loss (the 8th in the last 10 games) leaves the Lakers in the 7th place, just 1/2 game away from the Clippers and Warriors and the playoff birth still not assured. Though Jackson's team owns the tie breaker against both teams it needs to win the 2 remaining games not to depend on the other teams losing theirs. L.A. will face Seattle on Sunday and the Kings on Wednesday. Warriors and Clippers each have 3 games left...

4/12: Kobe Bryant scored 50 points again, but that wasn't enough for these free falling Lakers who lost the one game they should have won. The loss 118-110 against the Clippers leaves them hanging in the 7th place but just 1 1/2 game above the Clippers and Warriors, with 3 games left, a tough challenge at Phoenix on Friday and a real low moral.

The Lakers recovered from an 11-point deficit but then blow out a 17-point lead and lost the fourth quarter 32-17. The Clippers were led by Corey Maggette's career-high 39 points and Elton Brand's 32.

Kobe Bryant became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964-65 to score 50 or more points 9 times in one season. He shot 17-of-33 from the floor and made all 15 of his free throws. He also had nine rebounds while playing all 48 minutes...

4/9: Suddenly the Lakers, who where trying to conserve the 6th place in the playoff race, desperately need to win some of their remaining 4 games just to stay in the playoffs. A new loss against the Nuggets, this time 111-115, leaves L.A. in the seventh spot just 2 games ahead of the Clippers and the rising Warriors.

Los Angeles defense was so bad at Denver that Phil Jackson sent a zone defense that is clearly out of his book. It actually worked, momentarily stopped the Nuggets penetrations and converted a 13-point deficit with nine minutes to play into a 105-104 lead with 4:20 to play. Then the Lakers missed a couple of free throws, a couple of baskets and finally a potentially tying 3-point shot by Kobe and it was over. Bryant had 23 points and 10 assists but shot 9-for-30. Anthony scored 33 points and Iverson 24...

4/8: The Lakers had a vision of how the first round of the playoffs could be. They lost at the hands of the running Suns 107-115. The loss sent them down to the seventh place in the Western Conference with a 40-37 record, 1/2 game below the Nuggets (40-36) and with a possible match up with Phoenix. They will play Denver on Monday on a game that could send them back to the 6th place or open to 1 and a 1/2 the difference with the Nuggets. Last season, the Lakers took the Suns to 7 games in the 1st round but they had also had a late season streak of 11-3, reaching the playoffs in good shape while currently L.A. have lost 5 of the last 7 games.

After three quarters the Lakers trailed by only one, 74-73, but couldn't contain Phoenix in the fourth where the Suns scored 41 points. Kobe had 34 points and 7 assists, Steve Nash 25 and 11 for his career-high 50th double double in the season...

4/6: Kobe Bryant had 46 points, including 31 in the second half, 6 assists and 5 rebounds to lead Los Angeles Lakers to a much needed victory 112-109 at Seattle.

Point guard Smush Parker started against the Sonics despite his critical remarks toward Coach Phil Jackson about not playing him in the fourth quarters, but was benched for good with 4 minutes left in the third after scoring only 3 points on 1-for-5 shooting in 24 minutes. Rookie Jordan Farmar played most of the remaining time. Lamar Odom had a good game with 20 points (9 of 11 from the field), 4 rebounds and 7 assists. Walton, Turiaf and Cook also scored in double digits. Although the win helped the Lakers stay 1/2 game away from Denver in the playoff race...

4/4: In the chase for the final 3 spots of the Western Conference the Lakers are going down while the Clippers and Nuggets move up, threatening L.A. 6th place. After losing to Denver yesterday, today they lost against the Clippers 90-82. With their 7-1 winning streak their neighbors are now just 1 1/2 games below while the Nuggets go to just 1/2 game of distance. Kobe Bryant had 29 points and 7 rebounds but didn't shot well (13-for-34) while the Clippers had 5 players in double figures and were up 57-42 by halftime.

Maurice Evans 3-pointer (his only points) with 5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter got the Lakers within one, 78-79, but then the Clippers scored the next 7 points and the Lakers never got closer than 4 after that...

4/3: The Lakers goals for the final games of the season are to stay healthy, reach the 2007 playoffs with some momentum and stay away from the teams chasing the 6th spot in the Western. None of that happened in this game where they lost at home against Denver 105-111. L.A.'s defense looked inconsistent allowing the Nuggets to get just 1 1/2 game below them and starting center Kwame Brown sprained the same ankle that made him miss 28 games this season.

Odom had the Lakers' first triple-double this season with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. It was his 11th triple-double, the third since he joined the Lakers. Bryant won the scoring battle between the league top scorers (39 pts, C. Anthony had 31) and also became the youngest player in NBA history to score 19,000 points, accomplishing it at 28 years, 223 days old...

4/1: With just 9 games remaining in the season the Lakers victory 126-103 over the Sacramento Kings is really good news. Not only because the return of Maurice Evans and Brian Cook leaves only Chris Mihm and Vlade Radmanovic on the injury list but because the team didn't needed 50 point from Kobe to win.

The Lakers shot a season-high 61.7% and enjoyed their largest margin of victory since a 122-96 victory Feb. 23 over Boston, which was also the last time before they had five or more players in double-figure in points.

Kobe Bryant had just 19 points but he returned to his pass-first mode, took just 14 shots and dished a season-high 13 assists. His team is headed to an almost inevitable confrontation with the Spurs in the first round of the Playoffs...

3/30: Despite Kobe Bryant's 53 points, the Lakers had another loss at home, this time at the hands the Houston Rockets 107-104 in overtime. It wasn't an embarrassing loss like the one against Memphis on Tuesday but it was a clear reflection of what the Lakers are these days: a team completely dependant on what Kobe does. If he has a perfect game they win, if he is human nobody will step up and they will lose. A couple of plays by Kwame Brown and Ronnie Turiaf are good but not enough to win and Walton, Odom and Parker seem lost and without confidence to take their shots.

Kobe was 11-for-30 in the first 3 1/2 quarters and L.A. was trailing 88-76. He took charge in the final 4 minutes, scored 17 points that including a dramatic 3 pointer that saved L.A. in regulation. The he made 8 of the Lakers 9 points in OT. Finally with L.A. leading 104-100 he fouled T-Mac who was attempting a 3-pointer, then was called for traveling with his team down by 1 and missed a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left. His teammates, were just watching and trying to give him the ball... It was Kobe's 20th 50-point game...

3/27: The Lakers winning streak ended, and it did it in a bad way, against a bad team. Actually it was against the worst team of the NBA because Memphis came with a 17-54 record, 42 games below the Mavericks. And they came without 3 of their best players (Mike Miller, Chucky Atkins and Damon Stoudamire). But the Grizzlies managed to defeat the Lakers 86-88.

Nobody with a Laker uniform shot well, and that included Kobe Bryant, who turned cold shooting 7-for-26 to get his 23 points and to complete the sad image L.A. gave in this game, the final play was designed for Smush Parker who missed badly a possible game-winning 3-pointer. With nothing remaining the ball fell into Kobe's hands who attempted a shot that was completely blocked but Pau Gasol...

3/25: Kobe Bryant scored "just" 43 points and his historic streak of 50-point games came to an end. But the Lakers, rejuvenated by Kobe's points keep winning. With a 115-113 victory over the Warriors, Los Angeles extended its longest winning streak of the season to 5 games.

Kobe started the game well in his way to another 50, with 9 points in the first 2 minutes and 17 by the end of a first quarter that L.A. won 35-25. The lead was as big as 19 points in the second, but Golden State contained Kobe to 4 points in the period and the big lead slowly disappeared and although Bryant won't match Chamberlain's 7 game streak, the team welcomed every one of his points to win the game and keep the spirits high for the last 12 games of the season and most likely face the Spurs in the Playoffs...

3/23: Watching the Lakers these days is like watching history. Kobe Bryant continues with his incredible streak, he scored 50 points against New Orleans and became the second player in NBA history to score 50 or more for 4 consecutive games. The Lakers, riding in Kobe's shoulders extended their winning streak to four with a victory 111-105 over the Hornets.

KB24 made 16 of 29 shots and is averaging 54.3% in these 4 games. It was the 19th game of his career with 50 or more points, including a franchise record of 7 this season.

With this game Kobe surpassed Michael Jordan and Elgin Baylor, the only other players with three 50-plus point games, and just Wilt Chamberlain stands in front of him (which is much to say) with a 7-game streak during the 1961-62 season. Chamberlain also had another streak of five consecutive 50-plus games in 1962 that included his famous 100-point game. Kobe could match it Sunday against Golden State...

3/22: Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in the Lakers victory 121-119 at Memphis, and joined Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Elgin Baylor as the only players to score 50 or more points in 3 consecutive games. Kobe had scored 65 against Portland, 50 against Minnesota. Leaving history aside, this amazing scoring streak has also returned the Lakers to the winning path with 3 victories that dissipate shadows of the 7 consecutive losses.

Pau Gasol led Memphis with 35 points and 15 rebounds. Miller added 33 points and seven assists but Kobe was unstoppable with 20-for-37 from the field, including 3 three-pointers, and 17 of 18 from the free-throw line. Odom added 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Michael Jordan was the last player with 3 consecutive 50 plus games. He did it 20 years ago, in April 1987. Baylor, the other Laker in this short list, did it in December 1962. And the incredible Wilt Chamberlain did it twice, the first time with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1961, he had 7 (yes, seven) consecutive games, the other time with the San Francisco Warriors, 5 consecutive games.

3/18: Kobe Bryant is on fire and the Lakers are enjoying it. It was one more victory for the L.A. and one more highlight in Kobe's career. With his 50 points, KB24 became the first Laker player in 44 years to score at least 50 in consecutive games and Los Angeles are benefiting from it with their second win, this time 109-102 against Minnesota.

The bad results and the urgency of the late-season playoff run have changed Phil Jackson's plans for the games, and he's sending Kobe to be aggressive from the start without waiting for his teammates anymore. It was working well and Kobe's buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter gave L.A. a 87-68 lead. But the 19-point lead almost disappeared and the T-Wolves got to 95-92 with 2:55 remaining in the fourth. Kobe scored 8 points after that to seal the score.

It was Bryant's 17th career 50-point game, including 5 this season and it sent him to the top of the scorers table with 30.0 points, leaving Carmelo Anthony's 29-8 just a step below...

3/16: With his teammates sidelined (Walton and Cook) or back on the court but still trying to get in shape (Brown and Odom) Kobe Bryant scored for all of them, got 65 points (second best in his career) and almost single handed stopped Phil Jackson's longest losing streak leading L.A. to a 116-111 overtime win against Portland.

Kobe's heroics included 24 points in the fourth quarter with 3 three-pointers in the final 1:40 to send the game to overtime and an amazing movement and another three-point shot with 40 seconds left in the extra time to break the final tie. He made 23 of 39 shots, including 8 of 12 from three-point range and 9 of his team's 18 in the overtime. It was the second-highest scoring game of Bryant's career and his third with 60 or more points. It also was his 16th game with 50 or more points, the 4th this 2006-2007 season.

For most players, a 60-point performance is a one-in-a-career achievement but Kobe is one of 4 players in NBA history who have scored 60 or more points at least twice. Wilt Chamberlain did it an incredible 32 times, Michael Jordan 5 times, Elgin Baylor did it 4 times and Kobe 3 times.

3/15: Despite the return of Luke Walton and Lamar Odom, the Lakers couldn't stop the falling and lost at Denver 113-86. This way the Nuggets tied L.A. for 6th in the West and Phil Jackson got his first 7-game losing streak of his career.

Kobe had 25 points and 9 assists, Walton added 13 points and Odom nine. Kwame Brown, who returned to the starting line-up scored 11. For Denver, Anthony had 26 points and Iverson 14 and 13 assists.

Los Angeles looked good and led by 11 in the second quarter, but the first half ended tied at 51 and they were outscored 36-21 in the third and 26-14 in the fourth. With 3 of the top 5 scorers of the league on the court (Anthony 1st, Bryant 2nd, Iverson 5th) the note was given by Linas Kleiza and his career-high 29 points that included 5 of 6 3-pointers...

3/11: Only two month ago the Lakers snapped Dallas 13-game winning streak. It was clear this wasn't going to be the situation this time, but when L.A. started 20-13 some fans thought it could be possible. After that things went downhill, at full speed and ended with and embarrassing 36-point defeat against the Mavericks, 108-72.

The worst home defeat in franchise history in L.A. extended Dallas winning streak to 17 (5th best in NBA history) and gave Jackson the second 6-game losing streak of his career. It was a whole disaster for the Lakers, among other things they shot .368 from the field and .125 from 3-point distance, Kobe had 25 but shot 6-for-19, starters Bynum and Parker (ejected) had 2 points each.

The only consolation is that medical reports say that when the team face Denver on Tuesday in a crucial game that if lost will put the Nuggets only .5 below L.A. for 6th in the West, Walton will be ready to play and Odom, who decided not to have surgery on his shoulder will be also available...

3/9: With a seriously limited roster the Lakers keep offering awful performances and piling up defeats. This time the beneficiary was Philadelphia who got a 108-92 win. Kobe tried to put the game in his shoulders from the beginning and almost got it. He had 21 points in the 57-51 L.A. halftime lead. But that was all for him and for the team who played so horrendously that Phil Jackson is considering starting Brown again instead of Bynum (2 pts, 33 min).

Despite it was the 11th loss in 14 games for the Lakers, they incredible keep hanging in the 6th place in the Conference, mainly thanks to the teams below them that have also lost their games lately. But things are not getting easy (starting with Dallas 16-game winning streak on Sunday) and lets face it, if a miracle occurs and the Lakers are still 6th when the season ends (19 games left) they will face the Spurs and playing like this they have no chance at all. Tee best playoff scenery would be to end 5th of 4th and face Utah, avoiding that way a 1st round against Dallas, San Antonio and Phoenix, by far the top 3 teams on the NBA. Turiaf and Walton will be ready soon and Radmanovic is at least a month ahead. The return of Odom and Mihm looks very improbable.

3/7: With the suspension of Kobe Bryant, the Lakers faced Milwaukee with only nine player including only one (Smush Parker) from the original lineup the team wanted before the season. The Lakers stayed close in the 50-44 first half, but showed signs of fatigue from the previous day double overtime and gave up 60 points in the second to lose against the Bucks 110-90.

Kobe got his second one-game suspension this season, again for striking a player in the face while flailing his arms after getting his shot blocked. The same move that left Manu Ginobili bleeding a month ago sent Minnesota's Marko Jaric to the floor and was sure to be punished again by the NBA because it was almost identical. Maurice Evans led the team with 22 points.

3/6: In a season that's slowly turning into a nightmare, the Lakers added another bad night, wasted lots of opportunities to at least get a win and lost 107-117 at Minnesota in double overtime.

Los Angeles led by 13 twice in the first half, still led by 6 with 2:35 to play in regulation and was ahead with seconds to go in the fourth and in the first overtime, but they couldn't defend nor make their free throws or execute the final play, and then ran out of gas in the second overtime where they were outscored 12-2. Kobe had a good game with with 40 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists but he also was forced to play 53 minutes in the first of back to back nights. Smush Parker, who missed key free throws, had 24 points. Odom will wait to see if he needs season-ending surgery and Walton is scheduled for March 15...

3/4: Playing without Odom, Walton and Radmanovic, the Lakers lost 94-99 at the hands of Phoenix.

But Los Angeles wasn't ready to surrender before the game started and what everybody expected to be a blow out by the league's second-best team, turned out to be a contested match where the Lakers slowed down the Suns' frenetic pace and got to the final minutes with a 3-point deficit. But it wasn't enough. Although Kobe Bryant had 31 points, he didn't shot well (11-for-28). Brian Cook had a big game with 22 points and 14 rebounds but nobody else scored more than 8 points... The first half ended tied at 46 but in the third quarter the Suns used a 9-0 run to go up 65-57. The Lakers never tied it again but kept fighting until the end. Steve Nash led his team with 23 points and 10 assists...

3/2: The Lakers lost 108-116 against Sacramento. After the Kings started 10-0, Los Angeles never led and dropped their sixth loss in the last seven home games... After missing 27 games because of a severely sprained right ankle Kwame Brown played 20 minutes off the bench, he had no points and three rebounds... But to continue the Lakers weird season, Lamar Odom sustained a left shoulder injury after being fouled by Sacramento center Brad Miller with 2:47 to play. Posterior exams revealed a torn labrum that could have ended his season. He had a similar injury in the same shoulder in March 2005 and missed the Lakers' last 17 games. Ultimately he underwent surgery that required a four-month recovery period.

2/27: Kobe Bryant went straight from bed to the basketball court to help his team get their 3rd consecutive win, this time against one of the NBA best teams, the Utah Jazz 102-94.

It was a good victory because the Jazz lead the Northwest with a 37-19 record, because it was at Utah where they had a 22-6 record (2nd best in the NBA) and finally because they are a possible first-round playoff matchup.

Kobe played with a a soaring throat and a tightened back and despite shooting 7-for-21 he managed to lead the team with 35 points that included 21 free throws made. Odom had his best game since returning from his injury (19 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists) and Parker added 24 points. Former Laker Derek Fisher led Utah with 23 points...

2/25: The Lakers won two games in a row, which is really good news lately. They defeated Golden State 102-85 with the highlight note of Maurice Evans career-high 26 points. Los Angeles returned to play good defense (maybe the lack of it was the key of the 6-game losing streak) and held the league's second-highest-scoring team more than 20 points below their scoring average... The absence of Radmanovic and Walton gave Evans his fourth starting role of the season and he took advantage of it making eight of 13 shots and eight of nine free throws in 36 minutes. Kobe added 26 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. After two very welcomed victories against and after two weak teams, the Lakers will have a reality check against the Northwest leader Utah Jazz.

2/23: The Lakers got a much, much needed victory over the Celtics, 122-96. It's always a pleasure to defeat Boston and although this Celtic teams is of the worst in their history (this season they lost a franchise record of 18 consecutive games and have an NBA worst 13-41 record) the win was enough for the moment to end Phil Jackson's career-worst 6-games losing streak... When the Celtics took an early 13-4 lead, Kobe Bryant changed his now-usual game plan of passing the ball in the first quarters and then take care of things when everybody is involved. He scored the Lakers next 13 points, including 3 consecutive 3-pointers for a total of 22 points in a quarter L.A. won 34-30. Then he returned to his play-maker role, ended with 38 points, 9 assists and 5 steals. He went to the bench for good with 1:24 remaining in the third period and his team ahead 94-71.

The Lakers, who are playing without players who would have been starters or have significant minutes (Chris Mihm, Kwame Brown and Luke Walton) got the news that Radmanovic injury that is going to keep him out 8 weeks wasn't provoked by just and innocent fall but it was an snowboarding accident during the All-Star Weekend. Be sure Jackson isn't happy about it...

2/21: Phil Jackson didn't how it felt to lose 6 games in a row, and although he says he does not care about it he has to be really worried about his team and the way it seems unable to defend anyone. The Lakers lost 108-112 against Portland to complete Jackson's first 6-game losing streak in 16 seasons.

Kobe Bryant didn't shoot well (8-for22) and had 25 points but how much his team needs him was obvious when he sat for a small rest with 8 minutes remaining and his team up 87-86. He returned 3 minutes later and the Lakers were trailing 98-89 after the Blazers took the lead for good with a 10-2 run... Kobe scored 9 points after that the final output was already decided. Maurice Evans had 23 points from the bench and Jarrett Jack 30 for Portland...

Lakers pictures of the week 2006-072/18: Kobe Bryant proved to be the best entertainer and won his second All-Star MVP. With 31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals and a collection of dunks he led the West to an easy 153-132 victory, the first in 3 years.

Amare Stoudamire added 29 points, Carmelo Anthony 20 and Shawn Marion 18 for the West, who got a big early lead and never saw it contested. Lebron James, the previous MVP led the East with 28 points and Dwight Howard added 20.

Las Vegas became the first city without an NBA franchise to host the All-Star weekend and Kobe, who was booed in his hometown of Philadelphia when he received his previous trophy in 2002, was cheered as a local player here. With a touch of originality Boston's Gerald Green won the dunk contest and Miami's Jason Kapono won the 3-point contest with a record-tying final performance (made 19 of 25 attempts for 24 points)...

2/15: The Lakers were defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time in 5 days, this time 114-108. Lebron James had 38 points, Kobe Bryant had 34 and made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 34 seconds left but then missed another with 8 seconds left and the Lakers down by four...

L.A. have managed to stay afloat most of the season with an unusual amount of injuries that ended starting center Chris Mihm season before it started, then sidelined Odom for 21 games and they are currently in their 11th game without Luke Walton and the 23rd (and counting) without Kwame Brown. But they reach the All-Star break in their lowest point of the season, with a 5-game losing streak that matches the longest of coach Phil Jackson's career...

2/13: Being at home was no relief for the Lakers who with a defeat 107-106 against the Knicks extended their losing streak to four games, the worst this season.

In a thrilling finish Eddy Curry put his team ahead 105-104 with 46.8 seconds left, Kobe Bryant changed the lead again with a jumper 16 seconds later and with 7 seconds remaining the Knicks transformed a missed 3-pointer in an alley-oop to Curry for the final score.

Unusually, the Lakers designed the final ball for Odom, who was supposed to go straight to the hoop but was well defended and ended shooting an airball that gave New York their 23th win (23-29), matching their victory total of last season under coach Larry Brown.

Since winning at San Antonio on Jan. 17, the Lakers have dropped 10 of 14 games...

2/11: Coach Phil Jackson expected they would go 6-2 on their 8-game road trip, but his team couldn't do better than 3-5. The final note was a defeat at Cleveland 99-90.

Kobe Bryant clearly outplayed Lebron James but the Lakers were outscored 35-23 in the fourth quarter... Kobe had 36 points on 12-for-24 shooting and James had 18 points on five-for-16 shooting but James supporting cast did their job, Pavlovic had 21 points, 13 of them in the fourth quarter... This way the Lakers returned to L.A., with a bad streak and the news that center Kwame Brown will be out at least another 4 (or 6) weeks and Luke Walton won't be able to play for another week. They have two home games left — against New York on Tuesday and Cleveland on Thursday — before the All-Star break...

2/9: Despite a poor performance (although not so poor as the night before against the Pistons) the Lakers, specifically Kobe Bryant, had a chance to tie the score with 1.9 seconds left, but his long 3-pointer fell short and hit the front of the rim and the Raptors won 96-92. Toronto forward Chris Bosh had 29 points on 12-for-16 shooting and although Kobe kept his team alive with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, starters Vladimir Radmanovic and Andrew Bynum combined for two points on one-for-seven shooting in 31 minutes.

2/8: Since the 2004 Finals the Lakers have always had problems facing Detroit. And to make things worse the addition of Chris Webber seems to have fit perfectly in an already excellent team. They built a 28-17 lead in the first quarter (led by Webber's 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and no turnovers in the period) and never saw the game in danger after that. It was another victory for the Pistons, this time 78-93. Bryant had 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting and made eight turnovers, one short of his career high.

2/5: With a 90-83 victory at Atlanta, the Lakers got rid of an strange streak. They hadn't swept the mediocre Hawks since 1999-2000. The Lakers won 3 championships in that span while Atlanta couldn't win a playoff game.

The show wasn't promising much with a 16-14 partial score in the first quarter, but Kobe paid the prize of the tickets after he reentered the game with 8:10 to go in the fourth, with the Lakers up by 3 and scored his team's next 9 points with 4 baskets, one more difficult than the other. Then Smush Parker made a 3-pointer (his only points of the game) to virtually seal the destiny of the match. Kobe ended with 27 points.

Odom struggled to get his 15 points, making just 4 of 17 attempts, but he collected 18 rebounds and led the team with 6 assists...

2/3: Last time the Lakers faced Gilbert Arenas, he scored a Wizards' franchise best 60 points. This time the overly anticipated rematch between two of the league best scorers went to Bryant who had 39 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the Lakers clear victory 118-102 at Washington.

Arenas had 37 points but shot 9-for-29 for a 31% (Kobe 14-for-26, 54%). While former Laker and current All-Star Caron Butler wasn't much of a help with 15 points on 5-for-18 shooting, all Lakers' starters scored in double digits: Parker 20 points, Odom 19, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, Radmanovic 12 points and Bynum 12 and 13 rebounds... With the victory the Lakers are 2-2 in the middle of an 8-game road trip an erased the memories of a sad performance against Indiana the previous game...

2/2: It was a bad night for Kobe and mostly a bad night for everyone dressed in purple and gold and the Lakers lost for the fourth time in the last five, 84-95 at the hands of the renewed Indiana Pacers.

Bryant had 22 points but missed 18 of his 25 attempts and nobody else scored enough except for Parker who had 20 points... Despite their inconsistency, L.A. managed to turn a five-point deficit into a 70-61 lead late in the third quarter. But the Pacers, who are now 5-2 since an eight-player trade with Golden State brought them Mike Dunleavy, Todd Murphy, Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod, used a 17-2 fourth-quarter run to pull away and won the period 32-14... Kobe Bryant will be a starter in the 2007 All-Star Game. He will be the only Laker there...

1/31: Kobe Bryant returned after the suspension and mounted his own show at Boston. Points, dunks, rebounds, assists, 3-pointers a buzzer beater, all contributed to a 111-98 victory over the Celtics, to end the Lakers first 3-game losing streak of the season and to add one more defeat for Boston, who tied their franchise worst with 13 consecutive.

The Celtics are currently a woeful team with a 2-19 record since Paul Pierce went down with an injury but the Lakers have had troubles with bad teams all season so the victory was really welcome... Kobe had 43 points (including 7 three-pointers), 8 rebounds, 8 assists and did everything needed in the second half, provoking something nobody has heard of before: Celtics fans chanting "Kobe" and "MVP", an almost surreal image...

1/30: With Kobe Bryant suspended by the League for striking Manu Ginobili in the face with an unnecessary movement at the end of Friday's game, the Lakers were without 3 of their natural starters (Brown is still out and Walton has a sprained knee) and started their 8-game trip with a loss, 99-94 at New York... Kobe's suspension was a surprise, but it was fair because he should had been ejected from that game and it's necessary for him to learn when to avoid that kind of movements when it's a risk for other players... About this game, Vujacic started in Bryant's place and scored 2 points. Odom had 25 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, but it wasn't enough. The Lakers pulled to within 96-94 with 45.8 seconds left, but then missed 3 three-point attempts in the Lakers' final 3 possessions. It was the first 3-game losing streak of the season...

1/28: The Lakers did what everybody expected giving Kobe Bryant the ball at the end of overtime. Kobe made his shot with 7 seconds remaining, but after that San Antonio did what nobody expected allowing Michael Finley to take the final shot. Finley, who is an excellent shooter but is far from being his team first option made a 3-pointer that gave the Spurs a 96-94 win.

The Lakers, as usual, were a big headache for one of the league top teams, but allowed San Antonio to stay in the game and saw their 9-point lead disappeared in the final five minutes of regulation. Radmanovic saved them at the end with a 3-pointer to send the game to extra-time where L.A. got an early 4-point lead. But again they couldn't hold to it and after 5 lead changes in the final 1:30, the Lakers lost at home before starting an 8-game road trip...

1/26: The Lakers lost against an awful team, again. The Lakers were defeated by Charlotte, again. Only this time the Bobcats needed only one overtime to get the win 106-97 at L.A... So bad were the rivals that with a couple of seconds left in regulation and the Lakers down by three, Kobe Bryant made a simple move an suddenly he was wide open to take a 3-pointer, a rarely seen situation. Kobe made it and send the game to overtime, but the history this season is that his team can't keep the composure against the worst teams in the league. Lamar Odom (12 points, 7 rebounds) returned from a sprained right knee but Luke Walton sprained his in the 2nd. quarter and didn't return... At 28 years and 156 days, Kobe Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 18,000 points. Wilt Chamberlain did so at 28 years and 166 days, followed by Michael Jordan at 28 years and 359 days...

1/22: The 24 turnovers committed by the Lakers couldn't prevent Kobe Bryant to celebrate the anniversary of his 81-point game with a victory 108-103 over the Warriors.

He had 42 points that kept the team afloat amid the lost balls and Luke Walton who had missed all his previous 8 attempts of the game, came up big in the final minutes making two crucial baskets, the first one tied the game at 101 with 1:44 to go and the second provided the go ahead points after he rebounded a missed 3-pointer from Kobe with 1:11 remaining. Center Andrew Bynum had 10 points, 4 blocks and a career-best 15 rebounds and the Lakers avoided their first 3-game losing streak of the season...

1/20: Despite another bad loss against the Hornets, 103-113, the Lakers reached the midpoint of the season in better standing than everybody expected. With 41 games gone, they have a 26-15 record, the fifth best in the NBA and better than all the Eastern Conference teams... As Lakers followers are used to lately, their team can proudly face the Spurs but can't figure out what to do against the worst offense in the league (New Orleans). Kobe had a game to forget with 3 points in the first half and shooting 7-for-22 to get his 23 points. After trailing all the third quarter, L.A. got a 1 point lead 2:30 into the fourth but the Hornets answered with seven points in a row and that was all...

1/18: Defeating the Spurs was one thing, but facing Dallas the next day was too much for the Lakers, who were blown out by the Mavericks 114-95...Kobe Bryant had an ok game with 26 points and 5 assists but his teammates didn't show up. Only reserves Jordan Farmar (17) and Sasha Vujacic (10) scored in double figures... L.A. won the first quarter 28-26 but that was all for the night, Dallas scored 69 points in the next two quarters, building a lead that was as big as 28 points by the end of the third... The Mavericks 33-8 record is the best in the NBA and they have won 19 of the last 20 games, their only loss was a week ago against the Lakers...

Lakers pictures of the week 2006-071/17: Kobe Bryant scored 34 points, took 6 rebounds and dished 8 assists in the Lakers victory 100-96 at San Antonio, the second win against the Spurs this season... But Kobe had help, and the same way it has been all season, there's always someone raising to the occasion. Supported by Kobe's experience in the final moments the Lakers survived the Ginobili "hurricane" that erased L.A.'s 10-point lead. The Lakers recovered control, went ahead 96-93, Ginobili missed a 3-pointer and then with 9.9, and after missing in the previous possession, Ronnie Turiaf had the confidence to try again, when nobody expected it, banking in a six-foot jump hook over Tim Duncan and making the maths impossible for the Spurs...

1/15: The Lakers didn't wanted another embarrassing loss against Shaquille O'Neal's team and did everything needed to defeat the Heat 124-118 in overtime... Miami played without Shaq and coach Pat Riley, the Lakers didn't have Odom and a couple of centers, but it was an entertaining game, where the L.A. had 7 players in double digits including Kobe Bryant and Brian Cook with 25 points each... Smush Parker had 17 points and was decisive (for bad and for good) both at the end or regulation and overtime. He couldn't control a rebound with 24 seconds left in the 4th quarter and the play ended with Miami tying the score at 110. Then with just 27 left in OT and the Lakers up by 3 he stole Dwyane Wade pass and made 2 free throws to virtually seal the score...

1/12: The Lakers returned to the winning path with a 109-106 victory over Orlando, the team with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference...Kobe Bryant played slowed by a groin strain and was in pass-first mode for the first 3 quarters, but the team stayed in the game led mainly by Smush Parker points, who had a career-high 26 points. In the fourth Kobe took over and scored 16 of his 28 points in the final 6:44, including the Lakers last 10 points. He also added 8 rebounds and 7 assists... Dwight Howard had 25 points and 10 rebounds, but he also missed 9 of 16 free throws as Orlando went for an awful 64.1% (25 of 39)...

1/10: Dikembe Mutombo, replacing injured Yao Ming, not only grabbed 19 rebounds. The 40-year old veteran blocked 5 shots, two of them to Andrew Bynum, to surpass the young center's teacher Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for second in the all-time list of blocked shots. The Lakers lost against the Rockets 102-77, collecting their lowest point total of the season, and for the second night in a row they saw the game slip away in the third quarter where they were outscored 25-12. Phil Jackson was ejected for the first time in almost 6 years and to make things worse, Kobe Bryant suffered a minor groin strain in the second quarter and had to left the game with 3:33 left...

1/9: History repeats for the Lakers. After a big win against the team with the best record (Dallas), they couldn't sustain the momentum and lost at the hands of the worst team of the league, the Grizzlies, 128-118... A 57-52 halftime lead became a 19-point deficit after Memphis outscored the Lakers 46-22 in the third quarter. Led by Pau Gasol's 25 points, the Grizzlies had seven players in double figures.... Starters Kobe Bryant (25 points), Brian Cook and Smush Parker sat on the Los Angeles bench for the final period, where Memphis led by as many as 24 points...

Lakers vs. Mavericks 1/7: The Lakers gave Phil Jackson his 900 win on a day nobody expected it. They defeated the Dallas Mavericks 101-98, ending the 13-game winning streak of the NBA's current best team... All season Jackson's team has looked good against the good teams and bad against the bad teams, and this was no exception. L.A. stayed at the level of the game, getting to the end of the third quarter with a 10-point deficit, 77-67, just to outscore one of the NBA elite teams 33-21 in the final period... Kobe Bryant led his teammates with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, but the highlight of the game came from Sasha Vujacic, who made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 28 seconds to go...

1/5: Kobe Bryant almost didn't score (8 points) but his team didn't noticed it. He had 10 assists and five of his teammates scored in double figures in the 123-104 victory over Denver. Smush Parker led the Lakers with 23 points. Andrew Bynum added 19 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots. Luke Walton had 18 points, and Brian Cook and Maurice Evans had 16 points each. Allen Iverson, facing the Lakers for the first time as a Nugget wasn't particularly good on offense with just 16 points on 5-for-17 shooting. L.A. opened the first quarter 21-9 and never saw the game compromised after that.

1/4: It turned out to be a personal battle between Kobe Bryant and Mike Bibby. Kobe won it and also did it his team. After blowing a 21-point lead, L.A. survived and defeated Sacramento 132-128 in overtime. Kobe was 1 assist shy of a triple double with 42 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists while Bibby had 38, 7 and 6. Both led their teams in the crucial moments.

12/31: The Lakers defeated Philadelphia 104-94 led by Kobe Bryant's 35 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists and some clutch 3-pointers down the stretch made by reserves Sasha Vujacic, Vladimir Radmanovic and Maurice Evans. Despite a particularly bad second quarter in which they went 5:33 without a field goal and missed 10 consecutive shots, Los Angeles managed to win the first half 46-38. The bad news are that starting center Kwame Brown suffered a sprained ankle that will keep him out of the courts for a while. 76ers reserve Kyle Korver had a season-high 29 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.

12/29: It was a night with big numbers everywhere in the Lakers loss 124-133 at the hands of Charlotte Bobcats in a triple overtime game. Kobe Bryant had 58 points, the third-highest point total of his career, but he also was part of a couple of key negative plays in the final possessions of the game (committed a foul on a 3-point attempt with 1:14 left, then missed a long jumper and fouled out with a charge on the next possession). The Bobcats playing the first game with 3 overtimes in franchise history had four players with at least 20 points (Wallace, Okafor, Carroll and Felton), Okafor added 25 rebounds and Felton 15 assists.

12/27: The Lakers wanted the bad image of the previous game against Miami to disappear, and Orlando, with one of the best records in the West but in the middle of a losing streak, presented the perfect scenario.

Kobe Bryant had 27 points and 7 assists but Smush Parker gave them the needed impulse in the right moment, scoring 18 of his season-high 20 points in the the third quarter, where L.A. took the lead for good on their way to defeat the Magic 106-93... Phil Jackson said he would be happy with a 3-3 on this road trip, and they are 3-2 so far. It was the eight game without Odom (4-4)...

12/25: The NBA is trying to establish a rivalry, playing Miami vs Lakers every Christmas Day since Shaquille O'Neal left L.A. in bad terms, but it is not working. Miami played without Shaq, the Lakers without Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant had probably his worst game of the season and the Heat won again, this time 101-85... Defended by Bryant, Dwyane Wade was spectacular with 40 points, 11 assists, 4 blocks and 4 steals while Kobe made only four of 17 shots from the floor (16 points), including 0-for-4 behind the 3-point line, cooperating with the Lakers awful 3-point stat of 5-for-23, 21.7%...

Lakers vs. Nets 12/22: Phil Jackson is giving minutes to the Lakers young players and he's not being disappointed. The bench scored 42 points in the Lakers victory 99-95 at New Jersey... Maurice Evans (12 points) is showing he can score and defend, Andrew Bynum (10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks) is trying to get his starting job back and Jordan Farmar (10 points, 5 assists) is getting the unthinkable: a rookie leading Phil Jackson's team. Kobe Bryant, physically limited by the flu and a respiratory infection, scored 21 points and dished a season-high 11 assists but could not contain Vince Carter who scored 31 points in the first 3 quarters. In the fourth, Carter was held to 2 points with Evans defending him while Kobe and Farmar handled the ball and the Lakers resisted every attempt of the Nets to take control of the game...

12/20: The Lakers were well on their way to their first 3-game losing streak of the season, starting the 4th quarter with a 77-67 deficit and unable to find an answer in Minnesota. But the reserves stepped up to the challenge, helping the team defeat the Timberwolves 111-94... With the starters cheering from the bench, Sasha Vujacic (8 points), Maurice Evans (15 points), Vladimir Radmanovic (17 points), Jordan Farmar (7 assists) and Andrew Bynum (9 rebounds, 4 blocks) played most of the final period, where the Lakers outscored the T-Wolves 34-7. Kobe Bryant, who scored 24 points, got a needed rest and came back to the game with 3:25 to play...

12/19: The absence of Lamar Odom and 3 overtimes in the last 2 games seemed to much for Kobe Bryant and teammates, who started a 6-game road trip with a defeat 94-89 at Chicago... The Lakers had things under control with a 62-51 lead and 8 minutes to go in the third quarter, but after that they looked really tired. Kobe seemed to be the most affected by the accumulation of minutes and had a poor game, making 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting before fouling out for the first time since Dec. 1, 2005. After setting franchise records for 3-points made and attempts (19 and 44) the previous game, the team went only 3-for-19 (15.8%) against the Bulls. Matched up with Ben Wallace, one of the best defenders in the league, Kwame Brown had 18 points and 12 rebounds...

12/17: Gilbert Arenas scored 60 points, overshadowing Kobe's night of 45 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Wizards defeated L.A. 147-141 in overtime... Aside from setting a franchise record for points with the NBA best total so far this season, Arenas became the only player other than Chamberlain (many times) to score more than 60 to the Lakers... L.A. trailed most of the game but a 3-pointer by Brian Cook tied it with just 5 seconds left. Arenas missed the potentially winning-shot but then in overtime he scored 16 points (14 consecutive) to kill the Lakers hopes. Radmanovic had his best shooting game as a Laker with 27 points, including 5-for-9 on 3-pointers that were part of the Lakers new franchise record of 44 three-point attempts (they shot 19-for-44, 43,2%, Bryant made 7 of 11)...

12/15: Kobe Bryant did his job and also injured Lamar Odom's job, ended with 53 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists and led his team to a hard victory 121-101 over the Rockets in double overtime... Despite the absence of Tracy McGrady, things were looking bad for the Lakers in the first half, with a 21-point deficit and Yao Ming blocking almost every attempt in the paint (35 pts, 15 reb, 8 blocks). Kobe made just 2 points in the first quarter, where the Lakers were outscored 29-10, but took control after that and L.A. slowly reduced the margin. Houston disappeared in the second OT where Kobe scored 7 points including an impressive one-handed reverse dunk after ducking under Yao, Parker added 5 and L.A. ended the game with a 13-2 run... It was Kobe 14th career-game of at least 50 points and the Lakers improved to 13-3 at home, the best in the NBA...

12/13: In their first full game without Lamar Odom (his sprained knee ligament will keep him out from 4 to 8 weeks) the Lakers did a good job against one of the NBA top teams but they ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and couldn't avoid the loss 101-110 at the hands of the Mavericks... Odom, who was averaging 17.5 points and leading the team with 8.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists a game, was replaced by Radmanovic, but no one could match Dirk Nowitzki who led his team with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists. Kobe had 33 points, including 17 in the third when the Lakers got to tie the game but Dallas shot 60 % for the game, 61.1 % in the fourth...

Lakers vs. Rockets 12/12: The Lakers defeated the Rockets 102-94 but had a big loss on the way with Lamar Odom being sent to the hospital to check his knee. It wasn't as bad as it could have been but the Lakers star will be out at least until January with a sprained ligament... After Odom landed bad on his right leg just three minutes into the game, the Lakers controlled the the first half and then exploded in the third outscoring Houston 30-13, but the Rockets reacted in the fourth with a 19-0 run with the Lakers starters in the bench, forcing them to return to finish the game with an 8-2 run in the final 2 minutes. The Rockets missed 4 free throws in that final span...

12/10: Kobe Bryant led his team with 34 points but all the Lakers starters scored in double digits to defeat San Antonio 106-99. It was the first time since 2003 that the Lakers get a victory at home against the Spurs, one of the best teams around the league...The Lakers entered the 3rd quarter with a 46-48 deficit and got out with an 83-70 lead. Kobe scored 12 points in the period... Lamar Odom just missed a triple double and Kwame Brown, after a going scoreless with 1 rebound and 1 assist in the 1st half, emerged in the 2nd with 11 points, 4 rebounds and a couple of key plays (a block and a dunk) at the end...

12/8: Kobe Bryant was sidelined by his sprained ankle but his teammates did a good job replacing him and the Lakers got a 106-95 victory over the Hawks... Luke Walton showed how he has grown and led the team with 25 points (10-for-13). Maurice Evans added 22 points and Jordan Farmar 15. All career-highs. This time Kwame Brown had a solid game with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists and Odom added 15 rebounds and 7 assists... The Lakers started slowly without their main scorer and fell to 24-32 in the second quarter but Farmar took control on a 12-point run and everything went without surprises after that...

12/6: Led by Chris Paul, the Hornets defeated the Lakers 105-89 and got rid of a 5-game losing streak...Kobe Bryant who played with an sprained ankle and was clearly limited on his movements, scored 24 points. The Hornets, a team full of injuries completely dominated the Lakers on the post, outrebounding them 49-31. Despite having the league leader in three-point accuracy (Luke Walton), L.A. made only three of 19 behind the 3-point line... The Lakers will have to improve really soon because after playing Atlanta on Friday they will face Houston twice, San Antonio and Dallas...

12/4: The Lakers were on their way to beat the Pacers 101-87 when Kobe Bryant landed on Indiana's center Jeff Foster, sprained his right ankle and had to be helped off court... It was early in the third quarter, with L.A. leading 65-45 and Kobe had scored 21 points by then. He has a "day-to-day" status... The Lakers kept in control of the game until the Pacers reduced the margin to 7 (90-83) with 3 minutes left but were outscored 14-4 after that with 3 baskets by Brown and 3 points by Parker...

12/2: The Lakers are trying to re-establish themselves as the best team in town, and stayed on the right path with a victory over the Clippers 97-88. The season series is 2-0 and it was the second win in two weeks. The Lakers are at the top of the Pacific Division with an 11-5 record while the Clippers are at the bottom with an 8-8... Kobe Bryant led the team with 29 points and former Clipper Vladimir Radmanovic who is still recovering from sprained ligament in his shooting hand added 10 points...

Lakers vs. Jazz11/30: For those who still doubted the player with the number 24 was the same with the 8 last season, Kobe Bryant scored 52 points while the Lakers took revenge from a loss last week and defeated the Jazz 132-102.

Kobe showed he has his usual speed and aggressiveness back and with his 30 points in the third quarter, tied his own franchise record (he had 30 points in the 3rd quarter of his 62-point performance against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005). He was 19-for-29 in 34 minutes, including 9-for9 from the field and 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the third quarter of his 13th career 50-point game...

11/28: The Lakers lost 105-109 at the hands of the Bucks and brought memories of Rudy Tomjanovich days with 3-pointers flying everywhere...

In a night where Michael Redd scored 45 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, L.A. made 11 three-point shots but attempted 37, breaking a franchise record of 36 set by Tomjanovich' Lakers in December 2004...

Unable to execute the offense properly, the team tried to live or die behind the 3-point line and following that tone, Kobe Bryant missed a potential game-tying three with 5 seconds to go...

11/26: Kobe Bryant shot just 8-for-24 but he added 10 assists to his 19 points and 5 other Lakers scored in double digits in L.A. victory 99-93 over the Nets at the Staples Center... In the third quarter Phil Jackson's team, which is now 8-1 at home, transformed a 7-point deficit into a 7-point lead. Odom added 21 points but the win was based basically in a 12-for-25 shooting from three-point range and a solid team effort that included 11 points in 16 minutes from rookie Jordan Farmar and 13 points and 9 rebounds from center Kwame Brown who still makes his contributions from the bench...

11/24: Despite the 108-114 loss at Utah, the Lakers still look much better than last year and with a 8-4 record dominate the Pacific Division... Utah Jazz came to this game at the top of the West with an 11-1 record. And the Lakers discovered why they are there. Utah totally outrebounded L.A. 45-27, 15-6 at the offensive end end. The Lakers had a 89-82 lead early in the fourth quarter but with a Kobe Bryant that looked tired by then Utah won the period 32-20 including a final 7-1 run. The highlight of the night was a tremendous block by Bryant when Deron Williams was attempting a breakaway dunk with 3:23 to play...

Lakers pictures of the week 2006-0711/21: The Clippers are not the old Clippers anymore, they are a good team now and are trying to set a new rivalry with the Lakers, but Kobe Bryant, who seems to be back on track, scored a season-high 40 points and the Lakers defeated their neighbors 105-101.... Kobe scored 20 points in the first quarter and 10 in the final 5:30 minutes. Kwame Brown who is the other Laker that is trying to reestablish himself, had 10 points, 14 rebounds (7 offensive) and also had a couple of key plays in the final 3 minutes, when the game was decided...

11/19: 19-year old Andrew Bynum wasn't intimidated by the presence of Ben Wallace and contributed 12 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocked shots to the Lakers victory 82-72 over the Bulls... The only Bull with more than 13 points was Andrés Nocioni, who with his 6 three-pointers and 30 points kept Chicago in the game until a 12-1 run by the Lakers opened the score to 74-63 with 4:47 remaining. Odom added 23 points, Kobe 18 and the Lakers improved to 7-3, much better than what everybody expected before the season...

11/17: Last time Bryant faced the Raptors he made history with his 81 points. This time 31 were enough for the Lakers to defeat Toronto 107-100. It was just a victory where the Lakers survived to their own 18 turnovers by shooting 54.8% and outscoring the Raptors 8-2 to close the game... Four days of rest were great for Kobe who in the same game added 11 rebounds, 7 assists and became the youngest player to reach the 17,000 points, at 28 years and 86 days. He did it faster than Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal...

Lakers pictures of the week 2006-0711/12: Based on an excellent team effort and a not-so-usual coordination between Bryant (21 pts, 6 ast) and Odom (21 pts, 16 reb), the Lakers built a big lead (23 points at the beginning of the 3rd) and won Phil Jackson's 500th game as Lakers' coach. It was a 91-81 victory over the Grizzlies... Mike Miller's six 3-pointers kept Memphis on the game and the margin was reduced to 6 (81-87) with 53 seconds left but Bryant scored the final 4 points of the game after that. Kwame Brown played for the 1st time this season and made a good tandem with Bynum. The Lakers will have 4 days of rest and then will play 11 of the next 12 games at the Staples Center...

11/10: The Lakers were up by 1 with 7 minutes left in the second quarter but they didn't have a chance after that. The Pistons won 97-83 led by Tayshaun Prince's 31 points and sustained by their 50-percent shooting from 3-point range (9-for-18, the Lakers shot 6-for-21, 28.6%)...After giving signs of returning to his old self with 32 points two nights before, Kobe Bryant showed that there is a long way to go. He ended with 19 points against Detroit but he scored 2 through the first 3 quarters and his 4th quarter effort couldn't bring L.A. closer than 11... To complete Phil Jackson bad day the team received the news that center Chris Mihm will undergo ankle surgery and will sit out the rest of the regular season...

11/8: Kobe Bryant scoring power is back, but the Lakers couldn't contain Zach Randolph, who dominated the paint and with 36 points led Portland to the victory over L.A. 101-90. Kobe scored 32 on 12-for-19 shooting but he and Odom each had 6 turnovers and although the Lakers were close a couple of times in the second half, they never got the lead and Portland won for the 17th time in the last 21 games against the Lakers at the Rose Garden, including the last four in a row...

Andrew Bynum, Lakers vs Timberwolves11/7: Andrew Bynum set career highs for points and rebounds, again. With his 20 points, 14 rebounds and a couple of key plays, the 19-year-old center led the Lakers to a 95-88 victory over the Timberwolves. Kobe Bryant kept himself in "low profile" but gave signs that he's slowly returning to his is usual shape. Despite shooting only 7 times he scored 17 points and dished 6 assists. Odom made only 5 of 13 from the field but his hook with a minute to go stopped the Wolves final impulse that had reduced a 20-point deficit to 3. At the other end Bynum blocked Mike James and that was it for Minnesota...

11/5: With Kobe Bryant still out of offensive rhythm in his second game back from off-season knee surgery, the Lakers couldn't sustain their winning streak and lost 101-107 at Seattle. The Lakers started good, making their first 7 shots and won the first period 31-29, but the Sonics outscored L.A. 66-41 in the second and third quarters. Kobe moved the ball well and dished 9 assists but the current NBA scoring champion shot 4-for-10 from the field and missed all four of his 3-point attempts and ended with 15 points. Seven Lakers scored in double digits but none more than Bryant. Ray Allen scored 32 for Seattle...

11/3: Kobe Bryant returned, wearing his brand new number 24 for the first time, and the Lakers kept on winning. It was 118-112 against the Sonics. Kobe had 23 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists after sitting out on the Lakers' first two games because of soreness in his knee following off-season arthroscopic knee surgery. The 20-point lead the Lakers built in the first quarter had disappeared by the end of the third which ended 88-86 for Seattle. But the Lakers showed personality at the end with key plays from Turiaf (2 blocks in the same play) and Odom (5 free-throws in the final seconds) to close the game. In a Lakers start of the season full of unexpected contributions, the career-high of the night was for Luke Walton who scored 20 points...

11/1: Once again without Kobe Bryant, it was Ronnie Turiaf's turn to lift the Lakers. The second year player, who had a open-heart surgery last year, had career highs in points and rebounds (23 and 9) to lead the team to another solid victory 110-98 against the Golden State Warriors. Odom had another big game and was close to a triple-double with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists and Jackson was. Kurt Rambis was the coach, replacing Phil Jackson who stayed home still recovering from hip replacement surgery...

Lakers vs. Suns Pictures 10/31: The Lakers didn't need their best player to defeat Phoenix. Nor its starting center, and not even the backup center. With Kobe, Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm sidelined with injuries, the Lakers surprised everybody with a 114-106 victory over the Suns at home. It looked easy for Steve Nash (15 pts, 13 assists) and teammates who made their first 9 shots and outscored L.A. 39-20 in the first 10 minutes of play, but Lamar Odom took control of his team with 34 points, matching his career high, and 13 rebounds. The 19-year old starting center Andrew Bynum had an excellent performance with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in 24 minutes, all career highs for him...

10/27: Kobe is in doubt for the opener on Tuesday. He couldn't play on the exhibition games where the Lakers had a 4-4 record. These are the results:

Oct 10th - vs. Utah Jazz - Win 94-79
Oct 12th - vs. Seattle Supersonics - Win 104-101
Oct 15th - vs. Phoenix Suns - Loss 91-99
Oct 17th - vs. Sacramento Kings - Loss 91-96
Oct 19th - vs. L.A. Clippers - Loss 90-91
Oct 20th - vs. Hornets - Win 113-106
Oct 22nd - vs. Phoenix Suns - Win 94-91
Oct 26nd - vs. Denver - Loss 126-108

10/23: With Brown and Mihm out for the start of the season, the Lakers will have to start Andrew Bynum at center.

10/23: Although he's still nursing his knee, and he hasn't played in the exhibition games, Kobe Bryant is expected to be ready for the season opener against the Suns.

8/2: The NBA released the Lakers 2006-2007 regular season schedule.

10/16: The Lakers begin training camp on October 2, probably at the team training facility in El Segundo

10/11: With the addition of Vladimir Radmanovic, the Lakers now have the 3-point threat they were needing. This is the possible starting line up of the 2006-07 Lakers:

Smush Parker - guard
Kobe Bryant
- guard
Radmanovic
- forward
Lamar Odom
- forward
Kwame Brown or Chris Mihm - center.

Eventually the Lakers also could go with a larger lineup:

Kobe Bryant - guard
Lamar Odom - guard
Vladimir Radmanovic - forward
Chris Mihm - forward
Kwame Brown - center

7/13: When the Lakers 2006-2007 Regular Season starts on late October you will find in this page all the news, stats, team leaders, standings, highlights and schedule related to Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and all the Lakers players...

In the meantime you can review the changes in the 2006-07 roster and the Lakers performance in the 2005-2006 season and playoffs

More related sections:
2006-2007 Schedule has the full list of games to play and scores of games already played. All the scores and highlights includes the highlights for each game. Roster 2006/07 has all the news, draft picks and players for the new season. L.A. Lakers Tickets
has tickets for Lakers home and road games.