Spurs at Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are still dealing with the death of franchise icon Kobe Bryant but also look to record a victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Lakers experienced a week-long emotional frenzy because of the tragic death, including a Friday night tribute to honor Bryant and the other eight victims who died in the helicopter crash Jan. 26.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said the club will continue to honor the memory of Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who also died in the crash, for the rest of the season. "It's never going to feel normal. It's never going to feel the same," Vogel told reporters Monday. "But we got our first win since this happened. There's going to be a lot of important steps for us along the way." The Spurs fell to 8-15 on the road by losing 108-105 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday in the opener of the annual Rodeo Road Trip. This season's trek is eight games and it doesn't get any easier for San Antonio on Tuesday with the Lakers being a solid 16-6 at home this season.
TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: TNT, Spectrum SportsNet, TSN1
ABOUT THE SPURS (22-27): San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was disappointed with losing but complimented his team's effort in the close call with the Clippers. "I thought we played really great," Popovich said afterward. "We played a really good team and we played for 48 minutes, (played) hard." Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points after having eight in Saturday's 114-90 win over the Charlotte Hornets while shooting guard DeMar DeRozan tallied 26 and is averaging 31 over the last four contests.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (37-11): Forward LeBron James was excited to start a new week after enduring one that he called the "toughest of our lives" for himself and most of his teammates. "There is no way any one individual can do it on their own, the week that we all had," James told reporters after Monday's practice. "We had to lean on somebody to gain strength. That's the only reason we were all able to get through it together." James is coming off his 11th triple-double of this season and 92nd in his career as he had 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 129-113 road victory over the Sacramento Kings.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Lakers are 2-0 against the Spurs this season and have won seven of the past 10 meetings.
2. San Antonio G Bryn Forbes is 2-for-8 shooting in each of the past two games.
3. Los Angeles G Avery Bradley established season highs of 19 points and five 3-pointers against the Kings.