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After two straight road losses to teams on the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves with a 6-14 road record, and 0-2 on the current trip. After the Sunday win against Miami instilled some confidence and hope that this Lakers squad could get two or three wins from the trip, the team and their fans have come crashing down to Earth.
As for last night's game, a 101-106 loss, the regular pattern held true. Good first half by the Lakers only to see the lead squandered and lost to the opposition. Kobe Bryant scored 30 on 9-31 shooting, and also added five rebounds, four assists and four rebounds. The other four starters had 31 shots combined. Pau Gasol had 19 points and 15 rebounds while his frontcourt mate, Andrew Bynum, also added 19 points but only six rebounds. Bynum racked up the frequent flyer miles with a few traveling calls and finished the night with seven turnovers. Mike Brown with the summation:
Obviously a tale of two halves. I thought in the first half we played the right way. In the second half we didn’t. We forced shots, and forcing shots is not a good thing for us. We’re not a team that can create on our own…we have to be an executing team, a spacing team, a team that moves the ball and moves bodies. In the second half we didn’t do it. The ball stuck a lot, we forced shots.
With the March 15th trade deadline looming larger than ever, and two disappointing losses this week, one has to hope that cooler heads prevail and no rushed or panicked trades happen in the next 48hrs.
Elsewhere Around the League, Jordan Farmar hits the game winner against the Clippers, the 76ers rout the Celtics, Love and the Wolves take out the slumping Blazers and the Magic are still resisting the DH12 trade.
↓ Much more after the jump ↓
Lakers News
- Wizards come from 21 down, top Lakers 106-101 | Lakers.com
- Lakers 101, Wizards 106: March 7 Running Diary | Lakers Blog
- Roger Mason, Nick Young rally Wizards past Lakers | ESPN
- Gasol, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak finally discuss trade rumors | ESPN LA
- Rapid Reaction: Wizards 106, Lakers 101 | ESPN LA
- Darius Morris sent to the D-League | ESPN LA
- Lakers suffer meltdown in 106-101 loss to Washington | LA Times
- Lakers: Five things to take from 106-101 loss to Washington | LA Times
- Pau Gasol on Lakers’ slippage: ‘Hard to see’ | OC Register
- Wizards 106, Lakers 101 | OC Register
- Kobe switches to thinner strap to hold his mask | OC Register
NBA.com
- Blogtable: Danny Ainge’s Next Move
- Notebook: Spurs 118, Knicks 105
- Jordan Farmar hits game winner to stun ClippersJordan Farmar hits game winner to stun Clippers
- Notebook: Wolves 106, Blazers 94
- Bulls vs. Bucks | NBA.com
- Hawks vs. Heat
- Notebook: Thunder 115, Suns 104
- Slumping Knicks move Fields to bench; Chandler out
- Notebook: Sixers 103, Celtics 71
ESPN
- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade lead Heat past Hawks
- Tony Parker, Spurs pound skidding Knicks
- Jordan Farmar drains go-ahead 3 with 0.2 seconds left to lift Nets
- James Harden scores career-high 30 off bench, lifts Thunder
Yahoo! Sports
- Parker, Spurs hand reeling Knicks another loss
- Thunder rally from 16 down back, beat Suns 115-104
- Magic still resisting Dwight Howard trade
ProBasketball Talk
- Evan Turner, Sixers defend first place in Atlantic Division
- Pau Gasol remaining calm as trade deadline approaches
- Knicks without Tyson Chandler Wednesday due to hamstring
- It’s not all offense, the Knicks defense has taken step back, too
- Steve Nash may "oversee" Canadian national hoops program
- Reports: Minnesota making push get Crawford from Portland
- Report: Rasheed Wallace works out for Heat, but will he play?
- Timberwolves frustrated with physical play against Rubio
- Report: Kobe, Rondo, Pierce fined for skipping All-Star events
- Cuban says Mavericks not making (but are taking) trade calls
Dime Mag / SLAM Online
- Derrick Rose Speaks On His NBA Legacy | Dime Magazine
- The NBA’s Peyton Mannings: 10 Superstars Who Changed Teams Late In Their Career | Dime Magazine
- The 5 NBA Teams That Must Make A Move At The Trade Deadline | Dime Magazine
- SLAM 157: On Sale Now! | SLAM Online
- Carmelo Anthony Struggling to Adjust to New Knicks Offense | SLAM Online
- Music Video: Stephen Jackson "Cars & Clothes" | SLAM Online
- Pau Gasol: Lakers Only Need a Roster ‘Tweak’ | SLAM Online
- Mike Brown: Kobe Bryant Deserves Serious MVP Consideration | SLAM Online
Blogs and Other Links
- Lakers Blow Another Lead; Fall to Wizards 106-101 | Lakers Nation
- Lakers Will Only Go As Far As the Road Takes Them | Lakers Nation
- Meet the double-double machine no one’s talking about | NBA Playbook
- Lakers/Wizards: Apocalypse Now | Forum Blue & Gold
- Comparing the Nash Effect with the Bryant Effect | 20 Second Timeout
- Nick Young daggers the Lakers | Eye On Basketball
- Bulls G Derrick Rose game-winner vs. Bucks video | Eye On Basketball
- Jordan Farmar game-winner over Clippers video | Eye On Basketball
- Vegas oddsmaker: expect busy NBA trade deadline | Eye On Basketball
- Shook Ankles: Kyrie Irving Proving He’s Wise Beyond His Years | Shaky Ankles
- Shook Ankles: Jrue Holiday Puts On A Mini Magic Show | Shaky Ankles
The Basketball Jones
- Mask suggestions for Kobe Bryant
- Old Man Watson hates teenagers
- Penny Hardaway’s tiny mustache explained
- Ep. 773: No Other Love
- Video: Timberwolves rookies go ice fishing
Multimedia