Kobe Bryant wasn't about to look ahead. Not with a groin injury
and a showdown with LeBron James approaching.
Los Angeles Lakers forward
Trevor Ariza (left) goes up for a shot against Chicago Bulls
forward Andres Nocioni in the first quarter in Chicago on
Tuesday.
How far can the Los Angeles Lakers go? All he knew is they were
headed to Cleveland following Tuesday's 103-91 victory over the
Chicago Bulls.
"My responsibility on this ballclub is making sure we stay
focused and don't get too far ahead of ourselves," said Bryant,
whose team visits the Cavaliers tomorrow.
Sasha Vujacic scored 19 points, and Lamar Odom added 17 points
and 16 rebounds to lead the Lakers over Chicago.
Slowed by a groin injury, Bryant scored 18 points but was a
nonfactor for long stretches against the team he targeted as a
possible destination during the offseason.
Odom started an 11-point run with a layup and capped it with a
dunk as the Lakers turned an 86-83 lead into a 14-point advantage
with 3:24 left in the game. In between, they took advantage of
three turnovers, and got an alley-oop dunk by Andrew Bynum and a
layup and 3-pointer by Jordan Farmar.
"Balance, that's been the case the whole season," Odom said.
In the other National Basketball Association games, Sacramento
defeated New Jersey 106-101 and Toronto edged the Los Angeles
Clippers 80-77.
In Chicago, Bryant seemed fine when he converted an alley-oop in
the opening minute, but he missed his next seven shots and was
7-for-19 overall. His skid ended with a jumper and a layup with
just over 2 minutes remaining in the first half.
Bryant then scored the Lakers' first six points of the third
quarter, starting with a thunderous reverse dunk in transition
about 40 seconds into the period, but he needed help and got
it.
Vujacic played a big role for the second straight game and
rewarded the Lakers with another big fourth quarter. This time he
scored nine in the final period, after delivering 14 in Sunday's
win over the Clippers.
"(Coach Phil Jackson) showed me he has confidence in me,"
Vujacic said. "That was the key thing for me. I'm having fun,
playing basketball the way I used to play. I'm enjoying it."
Luke Walton and Bynum finished with 12 points apiece, and the
Lakers had six players score in double figures. Bynum also grabbed
10 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Luol Deng led Chicago with 26 points after missing all six shots
in the first quarter, and Kirk Hinrich finished with 17 points and
eight assists. Andres Nocioni scored 14 points, but rolled his
right ankle late in the game. He said it hurts "just a little bit.
It's fine."
Ben Gordon was a nonfactor, though, with eight points on 3-for-9
shooting.
"It's just frustrating," he said. "You can use any word you
want, but it's just frustrating."
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily December 20, 2007)
