Lakers at Warriors
THE STORY: Just days ago, the Los Angeles Lakers had their sights set on the top spot in the Western Conference, a feat that appeared unobtainable for a majority of the season. Yet losses in their last two games have since deflated those aspirations. The Lakers will now focus on maintaining the conference’s No. 2 seed when they travel to face the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSNBayHD
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (34-44): Despite another losing campaign, the Warriors managed wins in their last two against a pair of playoff-bound teams, mainly due to Monta Ellis. The Warriors beat Dallas 99-92 on Saturday courtesy of Ellis’ 32 points, and followed it up with a 108-87 victory over Portland on Tuesday as Ellis scored 30 points. David Lee dominated the paint with 29 points and 20 rebounds. Golden State will be aiming for its fourth straight win at home, but it won’t come easy as the Warriors have dropped 12 straight to the Lakers, last beating their Pacific Division foes on March 23, 2008.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (55-22): The Lakers were riding high last week, running off nine straight victories, including a 96-85 win over Utah on Friday. The victory pulled the Lakers to within 1 ½ games of San Antonio for the best record in the NBA. But Los Angeles wasn’t able to maintain the momentum, while the Spurs have won their last two to build the gap back to 3 ½ games. The Lakers, who have five games remaining, hold a two-game edge over No. 3 Dallas. The Lakers lost to the Jazz for the second time in five days, 86-85 on Tuesday, as Kobe Bryant scored 20 points and Andrew Bynum had a career-high 23 rebounds.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Bynum has pulled down 39 rebounds in his last two games. Bryant has struggled from distance in his last five outings, shooting 5 of 24. Lee has turned it on of late, averaging 22.8 points and 12.8 rebounds in the past five games. Warriors starting forward Ekpe Udoh has only two rebounds in the past 35 minutes.
KEY STATISTIC: 26.9 - Bryant’s career scoring average when facing the Warriors, his fourth-highest mark against any team.
SEASON SERIES: The Lakers are aiming for the four-game season sweep, averaging 113.0 points in the three wins. Bryant had 39 points to outduel Ellis with 38 points in the Lakers’ 115-110 triumph on Jan. 12.
KEY INJURIES: GOLDEN STATE: G Acie Law (wrist); C Andris Biedrins (ankle). LOS ANGELES: F Devin Ebanks (leg).
LAST WORD: "The perception of this tall, lanky guy and how he plays the game may appear that way, but he somehow has a knack of getting those 20 points and 10 rebounds, night in and night out. He's a pretty amazing athlete and the tenacity is there.” - Lakers coach Phil Jackson, on forward Pau Gasol, who was recently called soft by New York’s Amar’e Stoudemire.