Lakers’ Bryant, Bynum Lead Way As L.A. Begins Title Defense With Win Over Clippers
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Lakers received their championship rings, raised their 15th title banner to the rafters at Staples Center and then got a sterling performance from Finals MVP Kobe Bryant to beat the Clippers, 99-92, in the season-opener for both teams.
In what was a starry night, Bryant didn’t disappoint as he poured in 33 points, pulled down eight rebounds and had four steals. Andrew Bynum celebrated his 22nd birthday by chipping in 26 points and 13 rebounds, while newlywed Lamar Odom tacked on 16 points and 13 boards for the Lakers.
“This was a fun night with the ring ceremony,” said Bynum. “I can’t wait to put it on. The ceremony energized me.”
Ron Artest, who left Houston to join the Lakers in the offseason, struggled offensively with just 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting.
“Kobe played great and Bynum played great. I’m trying to focus on all aspects of the game,” said Artest. “On a one to 10 scale of feeling comfortable with the offense, it was a 10.”
The Lakers brought out ex-stars Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Norm Nixon, A.C. Green and Michael Cooper, among others from championship runs for a ceremony prior to the game. NBA commissioner David Stern handed out the rings.
Bryant, the Finals MVP from LA's series victory over the Orlando Magic, in June, shot 11-of-26 from the field. He heard the chants of "MVP!, MVP!" during the fourth quarter when the defending champs pulled away to beat the Clippers for a ninth straight time.
It was another tough start to the season for the Clippers, who went 19-63 last season. They will be without No. 1 overall draft pick Blake Griffin for the next six weeks due to a broken kneecap.
Eric Gordon scored 21 points, and Chris Kaman contributed 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Clippers, who trailed by just a point going to the fourth before faltering down the stretch. Baron Davis had just two points on 1-of-10 shooting and dished out eight assists in defeat.
Marcus Camby’s alley-oop jam off a look-away pass from Sebastian Telfair had the Clippers within 76-75 moving to the fourth quarter, but the Lakers used solid defense during a dominating run to pull away.
Ahead by just two points, the Lakers responded with a 15-2 spurt. Odom, who was recently married to reality television star Khloe Kardashian, began the spurt with a three-point play. He had eight points during the spurt, which was capped by Artest’s driving layup with 5:11 remaining.
The Clippers got only as close as the final score.
"They're a terrific team," admitted Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy. "At times we were careless with the basketball and had too many turnovers. We made mistakes, but we played hard."
The Lakers, who played without forward Pau Gasol (right hamstring strain), led by as many as 13 in the opening quarter before settling for a 32-22 advantage after 12 minutes. Bryant had 13 points in the period.
The Clippers whittled the deficit to three during the second, but the champs built another double-digit lead. Bynum’s alley-oop dunk on a pass from Odom ended the half with the Lakers in front, 59-49.
"The bench got off to a ragged start," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "I didn't like a lot of the matchups we were faced with so I stuck with our starters more than I wanted to. The third quarter was a letdown for us, but we came storming back."
The Clippers fell to 18-22 on opening night, while the Lakers moved to 13-4 when opening the season at home...The Lakers have a mark of 35-15 in their last 50 regular season openers. They’ve also won 16 of their last 18 openers...Camby had 14 points and Craig Smith scored 12 for the Clippers, who outrebounded the Lakers, 51-47.
