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Bryant, big 3rd quarter push Lakers past Hawks

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer Nov 2, 1:29 am EST

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LOS ANGELES (AP)—Kobe Bryant(notes) is quite familiar with the exquisite pain of playing against Ron Artest’s(notes) defense. He’s grateful that frustration now belongs to his opponents—including Joe Johnson(notes), the first top scorer to get locked down by the Lakers’ new defensive stopper.

Bryant had 41 points and eight rebounds, Andrew Bynum(notes) added 21 points and Artest extinguished Johnson’s outstanding start in the Lakers’ 118-110 victory over the Hawks on Sunday night.

Although Bryant took charge offensively while Los Angeles ran away with 18 consecutive points in the third quarter, Kobe directed the credit to Artest, who jumped into his defensive assignment after Johnson scored 18 points in the first quarter.

“We picked up our intensity, and it all started with No. 37,” Bryant said of Artest. “He picked up the energy level defensively, and I told him the game was on him. I felt like the energy really changed the whole complexity of the game, and we all kind of rallied behind him.”

Lamar Odom(notes) had 11 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the defending NBA champions, who bounced back from a loss to Dallas with an overwhelming second half in Atlanta’s first defeat. Bryant capped the 97th 40-point game of his career with eight points in the final minutes to hold off the Hawks’ last rally.

“Joe started early, but Kobe is able to keep it going,” Bynum said. “He just made Kobe mad, which is not very smart.”

Johnson scored 27 points for the Hawks, who opened a four-game road trip with an embarrassing third quarter before a late run made the score respectable. Los Angeles made a 22-3 run in the third, with Bryant scoring 19 points in the quarter.

“I really couldn’t get a good look (in the second half), and Artest wasn’t helping because he was faceguarding me,” Johnson said. “But we just didn’t have great ball movement like we had in the first half. Everybody just started playing kind of one-on-one, and that’s typical of a young team on the road. Everybody thinks they’ve got what it takes to get us back in the game.”

The Lakers’ home loss to the Mavericks on Friday night left coach Phil Jackson concerned about everything from their pick-and-roll defense to their overall intensity. Jackson postulated that Los Angeles’ ring ceremony earlier in the week distracted from his team’s focus, and he wasn’t pleased by either of the Lakers’ last two practices.

“We can’t complete a full game yet,” Jackson said. “Our focus isn’t there yet for a full game, obviously.”

Los Angeles also played its third straight game without forward Pau Gasol(notes), who’s growing frustrated with the slow pace of his recovery after straining his right hamstring three weeks ago.

But starting with a dunk by Bryant midway through the third quarter, the Lakers got into their ideal offensive flow for the first time this season while holding Atlanta scoreless for more than five minutes.

The run was highlighted by a four-basket sequence that had the crowd on its feet.

After Bryant made a graceful behind-the-back pass to Artest for a fast-break dunk, Odom threw an alley-oop pass to Bynum for another slam. Artest then got loose for a breakaway dunk, and Odom capped it with a midcourt steal and a pass to Bynum for an uncontested jam that put Los Angeles up 90-70.

“That all goes back to Ron and what he was able to do with turnovers and deflections,” Odom said. “That’s going to be a big part of any success we have.”

Bryant, Odom and Bynum all returned to the game after Atlanta trimmed a 24-point deficit to 14 midway through the fourth with help from rookie point guard Jeff Teague(notes), who made another strong impression with 12 points in the final quarter of the Hawks’ fourth straight loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Jamal Crawford(notes) added 17 points and Mike Bibby(notes) had 15 for the Hawks, whose struggles against top opponents have been a focus of coach Mike Woodson’s improvement plans this season. But the Hawks couldn’t keep up with the Lakers’ transition game, and they grew increasingly sloppy with each big play by Bryant and the Lakers in the third quarter.

“We were so sluggish with the basketball and throwing it all over the gym,” Woodson said. “They had a lot to do with it, because they got up in us defensively and we went the other way.”

Gasol, the Lakers’ second-leading scorer and leading rebounder last year, will accompany the Lakers on their two-game road trip to Oklahoma City and Houston, but still might not be ready to play.

NOTES: Johnson scored 14 of the Hawks’ first 17 points in the first eight minutes, and he added a four-point play on a foul from Bryant moments later. … Gasol missed just one regular-season game last season. … Courtside fans included Ryan Seacrest, David Beckham (about 2 1/2 hours after the Los Angeles Galaxy’s playoff game ended), the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp and actor Andy Garcia.

Updated Nov 2, 1:29 am EST
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169 Comments

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  1. Ray S
    169. Posted by Ray S Tue Nov 3 5:43pm EST

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    Anybody here commenting on the game or how magnificent the Lakers are? Is it all about bashing? When someone is great there is always someone there to knock him down. Is this board made entirely of Celtics fans with their phoney point guard surrounded by aging talent? Is it cheeting when Kobe shows up at every game with 110% intensity? Sure, I don't know if the Artest experiment is going to work, especially with his style of "defense", but he is definitely no Dennis Rodman and that worked for Jordan and Pippen on their way to six rings. And I will argue that Gasol makes a better side-kick than Pippen (although I get that they play/ed different positions), and Bynum is better than ANY center the Bulls ever had. So where am I going with this??? When it's all over, Kobe will finish with SEVEN rings with the Laker logo. How many rings will Labron have with the Cavs logo on it? You never know, Labron might look good in purple and gold after his next contract with the Nets/Knicks/Kings/Clippers expires. Don't forget, there once was a time when they said there was no way the Lakers could sign Shaq......
  2. BUSTER
    168. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 10:51pm EST

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    Anthony.....LMAO im not here to prove anything to you...I could give a ratss butt what you believe or not.
  3. Anthony
    167. Posted by Anthony Mon Nov 2 9:30pm EST

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    Buster I guarantee it you've never played. And even if you did, your one of those cats who talk a big game but can't back it up. Lots of people seem to have that problem.
  4. BUSTER
    166. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 8:18pm EST

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    im out this is 2 funny.....you trying to makeenemies out of ron and kobe on a blog....they sure seem cool to me.....LMAO...If you notice Kobe gave all the credit to Ron last night and his D.....Later people
  5. BUSTER
    165. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 8:15pm EST

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    Anthony dude ....LMAO..........Competitive players say a lot of things when they play vs eachother...Ive played this game plenty and hated people on the court and would be pals off........Its called competing...and for your Info, Artest recently said Kobe is the best ever, if you piss him off he will put 40 in your face......................Kobe has a lot of respect for Artest always has....Why you think Artest was so happy to become a laker? for Fisher? Lmao ...he turned down lebron james and said no thanks, i will play with Kobe.
  6. BUSTER
    164. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 8:07pm EST

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    later laker fans im out.
  7. Anthony
    163. Posted by Anthony Mon Nov 2 8:07pm EST

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    Well this is Ron Artest describing your best player in last years playoffs:

    "My team, we're not like that... we're gonna win fair and square or lose fair and square. We're not gonna fight or initiate anything"

    Talking about the elbow incident if you don't recall. Just some food for thought is all. Also Ron Ron said Brandon Roy is better than Kobe. Now hes Kobe's teammate. Wonder how Kobe feels about that?
  8. BUSTER
    162. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 8:05pm EST

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    If you consider artest and kobe dirty players.......Anyone can also Consider Rondo a Dirty player , simple as that. Take for instance the CPaul scuffle last night........Why the hell was Rondo talking chit to Cpaul when he was just giving congrats to PP? Clearly this guy is a trouble maker.
  9. BUSTER
    161. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 7:59pm EST

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    All i remember Kobe saying about artest is, " we have gone through alot of battle"and just 2 competitors competing out there ........Dont remember kobe ever trashing artest about it.
  10. BUSTER
    160. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 7:57pm EST

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    anyways enough about Artest....I will say any player can get a reputation for being a dirty player, some more than others.
  11. Anthony
    159. Posted by Anthony Mon Nov 2 7:55pm EST

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    So Kobe was lying about Artest then right?
  12. BUSTER
    158. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 7:52pm EST

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    Kobe would have been suspended if he grabbed hinrich' by the arm and swung him to the scorers table....Or if he went for a lay up and Socked someone in the face while in the air....LMAO..................bandwagons for are people who follow players to other teams, not for supporting a player on their team....
  13. BUSTER
    157. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 7:50pm EST

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    Kobe would have been suspended if he grabbed hinrich' by the arm and swung him to the scorers table....Or if he went for a lay up and Socked someone in the face while in the air....LMAO
  14. Anthony
    156. Posted by Anthony Mon Nov 2 7:45pm EST

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    I guarantee it you were complaining last year when the Lakers and the Rockets went at it. Artest was ejected what 3 times? Kobe was complaining the whole time. Now all the sudden you love Ron and now hes a clean "bullying" defender. Thats jumping on the bandwagon my friend.
  15. Anthony
    155. Posted by Anthony Mon Nov 2 7:43pm EST

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    Woah woah woah. Rondo one of the dirtiest players ever? If you want to get into team bashing I can do that. Don't get me started on the way Kobe plays the game. Slapping hands, grabbing jerseys. But hey if its not called then its not a foul. I remember Kobe complaining in last years playoffs about Artest's dirty tactics. You as a Laker fan should know that.
  16. BUSTER
    154. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 7:37pm EST

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    a series Rondo should have been Suspended multiple times...yet was given a free pass.
  17. BUSTER
    153. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 7:35pm EST

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    Anthony....any player can have a play or 2 that may look dirty................I dont need to check out videos.....................If you want to see more dirty Plays I can pull up a mess on Rondo dirty plays, probably one of the dirtiest players ever...Even some on last years finals Hitting players in the face purposely and trying to make it look like an accident.
  18. Anthony
    152. Posted by Anthony Mon Nov 2 7:30pm EST

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    Artest not a dirty player, take a look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD796H08J7w

    If that wasn't dirty, I'm not sure what is
  19. BUSTER
    151. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 7:22pm EST

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    think*
  20. BUSTER
    150. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 7:20pm EST

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    cavsland....should be a competitive game..............................I dont anyone would compare Bruce bowen with Artest..........bruce bowen was never 265 pounds for one......And second bruce bowen would take some cheap shots at players when they wern't looking.......I doubt anyone thinks Artest is a Dirty player....Tough yes, but not dirty.
  21. Anthony
    149. Posted by Anthony Mon Nov 2 7:11pm EST

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    the same "bullying" defense that Artest plays is the same kinda defense that made everyone hate Bruce Bowen. Double standards anyone?
  22. <i>cavslandrocks</i>
    148. Posted by cavslandrocks Mon Nov 2 6:58pm EST

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    no...didn't see this one....Artest can be relentless on defense...should be interesting if he defends LeBron on Christmas...
  23. Dee Leoni
    147. Posted by Dee Leoni Mon Nov 2 6:27pm EST

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    Hey Roger O - is this ALL you ever talk about?? About Kobe "allegedly" raping that gold digger out in Colorado?? You know what I think?? I think secretly your DREAM is to be raped by Kobe himself!!! It seems that you are OBSESSED with Kobe and these rape allegations that were never proven in a court of law!!! And Roger this is just like saying that you are HOMOSEXUAL.......I have no proof of this but I just feel like saying it.......just like YOU when you just go ahead and say that Kobe is a rapist.......you have no proof you just feel like saying this..... well I feel like saying this:

    HEY EVERYONE!!!! ROGER O IS GAY!!!! ROGER O IS THE BIGGEST QUEER SINCE THE 3 DOLLAR BILL!!!! THAT'S RIGHT ROGER YOU ARE GAY!!!! AND IF YOU EVER WANT TO TALK ABOUT WHAT I AM SAYING TO YOU RIGHT NOW, JUST LET ME KNOW AND I WILL BE ONLY TOO HAPPY TO MEET YOU SOMEPLACE AND DISCUSS WHAT A F*CKING QUEER YOU ARE........
  24. BUSTER
    146. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 6:25pm EST

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    Cavsland......The refs didnt call it because it didnt happen, he just played tough D......Artest is hated by most refs...You think they wouldn't call it on him?. if he actually fouled him?
  25. BUSTER
    145. Posted by BUSTER Mon Nov 2 6:18pm EST

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    cavsland......Did you actually watch the game? ....If so you would have seen, the face guarding comment was Way Over Exaggerated by Joe.....Artest just played his aggressive style D.....I don't remember once Artest Putting his hand in his face, the way battier does with Kobe.................Just typical Artest bullying D....thats the way D should be played.
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Top Performers

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 Atlanta
J. Johnson Joe Johnson
8-16,  27 Pts
9 Rebs, 4 Assists
 LA Lakers
K. Bryant Kobe Bryant
15-29,  41 Pts
8 Rebs, 3 Assists

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