Heat-Lakers Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Mar 03 2012 6:59PM

With Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade all under one roof, a matchup between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers is typically one of the season's most anticipated contests.

What transpired at last weekend's All-Star game has only amplified the rivalry.

The basketball world will be transfixed on Sunday's matinée between the Lakers and Heat at Staples Center after Wade gave Bryant a concussion and a nasal fracture with a hard foul in last weekend's exhibition showcase.

Bryant is again expected to wear a mask to protect his tender nose after being hit across the face and bloodied by Wade on a drive to the basket in the Western Conference's All-Star game victory. He had headaches and nausea shortly after getting hurt and his concussion was diagnosed Tuesday.

Wade has said that he apologized to Bryant multiple times for the foul and insisted that it wasn't intentional. Bryant has acknowledged that Wade didn't intend to injure, but it's uncertain how his teammates will respond to Wade's act.

The drama between Bryant and Miami's All-Stars, however, wasn't limited to Wade's foul.

In the closing seconds with the West leading by two points, James opted to make a dangerous cross-court pass instead of putting up the last shot. His pass was intercepted and Bryant immediately walked over to James to tell him he should have shot, according to reports.

James again passed up the opportunity to take a potential game-winning shot in Friday's 99-98 loss to Utah. The eight-time All-Star dished the ball to Udonis Haslem, who missed a long jumper just before the buzzer.

"I just try to make the right plays and do what it takes to win basketball games," said James, who finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. "At the end of the day, games are not lost on one shot at the end or me not taking a shot. But I know the chatter will begin."

The loss snapped a nine-game winning streak by the Heat (28-8) and dropped Miami one game back of East-leading Chicago.

The Lakers (22-14) are percentage points behind the Los Angeles Clippers in the Pacific Division, and Bryant - the league's leading scorer at 28.8 points per game - hasn't seemed to be affected by his recent injuries. The 14-time All-Star has combined for 69 points on 24-of-47 shooting in leading the Lakers to two victories since the break.

In Friday's 115-107 win over Sacramento, Bryant had 38 points and eight rebounds while Andrew Bynum had 19 points and 15 boards. The victory was a little sloppy, however, as Los Angeles had a 20-point fourth-quarter lead cut to five.

"We stopped doing the things that got us such a big lead," Pau Gasol said. "Against Miami, we can't afford to let up at any time."

It was a sluggish start that sealed the Lakers' fate in their first meeting with Miami on Jan. 19.

The Heat jumped out to a 52-37 halftime advantage and led by as many as 23 in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles mounted a late rally but lost 98-87 - the Lakers' fourth straight defeat in the series.

The Lakers, who lead the NBA in rebounding at 45.8 per game, were outrebounded 44-38 and Bryant was outplayed by James. Bryant had 24 points on 8-of-21 shooting to James' 31 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, four steals and three blocks.

"It's a good measuring stick for us to see how much we've improved since last time," Bryant said of Sunday's rematch.

Wade, who has totaled 64 points in his last two games, didn't play in the first meeting because of a sprained right ankle and the Heat could be without fellow All-Star Chris Bosh this time.

Bosh, who averages 18.4 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds, has missed Miami's last two games due to a death in his family. He had 15 points and eight boards against the Lakers in January.

Kobe scores 33, Lakers beat Wade's Heat 93-83

By GREG BEACHAM
Posted Mar 04 2012 8:14PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Although Kobe Bryant hates to disappoint everybody who thinks his 33-point performance in a win over the Miami Heat was payback to Dwyane Wade for breaking his nose in the All-Star game a week ago, that particular Hollywood fable just isn't true.

"He knew I was going to be ready regardless," Bryant said.

Yet the legend of the Masked Mamba will only grow after the Los Angeles Lakers finally struck a few blows of their own in this previously one-sided matchup with mighty Miami.

Bryant produced his third straight dynamic 30-point game while wearing a clear protective mask over his still-tender nose, while Wade managed just 16 points before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 93-83 victory Sunday.

Metta World Peace scored 17 points while leading a solid defensive effort for the Lakers, who have won 17 of their last 18 home games and eight of 10 overall. Andrew Bynum had 16 points and 13 rebounds as Los Angeles never trailed in the final 44 minutes against Miami, snapping a four-game skid in Bryant's head-to-head matchups with Wade's Heat.

"We did extremely well," said Bryant, who had just 24 points in the Lakers' loss in Miami six weeks ago. "I felt like we matched their energy and their physicality, which was a problem for us in Miami."

Just one week after Wade also gave Bryant a concussion with that hard foul in Orlando, Bryant scored 18 points in a dynamic first quarter. He added enough big baskets in the second half to keep the Lakers ahead with help from his starting frontcourt of Pau Gasol, Bynum and World Peace, which combined for 44 points and 30 rebounds while Chris Bosh remained out of Miami's lineup.

Although the Staples Center crowd roundly booed Wade during pregame introductions and the first few times he touched the ball, Wade apologized profusely after the All-Star game to Bryant, his fellow U.S. Olympian. Bryant insisted he bore no grudge, saying Wade would never injure him on purpose.

Bryant has spent much of the last week in dark rooms to ease his injuries, and he plans to keep the mask when the Lakers make a three-game road trip next week.

"I got hit in the face a couple of times tonight, and it hurt even with the mask," Bryant said.

LeBron James had 25 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who lost on the final two stops of their three-game trip after nine consecutive victories. Only Mike Miller's jumper with 21.4 seconds left saved Miami from its lowest-scoring performance of the season.

Mario Chalmers scored 15 for the Heat, who played their third straight game without Bosh after the All-Star forward attended his grandmother's funeral on Saturday.

"We all know that Chris is a big part of our team, but guys have to step up in his absence," James said. "We could have definitely used him the last couple of games, but we gave ourselves a chance to win in Utah. Today was a little bit different. They played exceptionally well. That's a really good team. They're 17-2 at home for a reason. We gave it everything we had, and when you do that, you can be satisfied."

Wade didn't seem satisfied after going 7 for 17 and committed five turnovers before fouling out with 5:14 to play, committing three fouls in rapid succession for an early end to a rough day. Wade and James were both out of sync for long stretches, as evidenced by their combined 2-for-5 performance at the free-throw line from a duo that averages more than 15 foul shots per game.

Wade fouled out for just the fifth time in his regular-season career and the first time in 259 games since Oct. 29, 2008.

"I don't foul out much," Wade said. "I guess I had the red flag on me today, but you're not going to get me to comment on the referees. I like my money in my pocket."

Driving to the hoop and hitting fallaway jumpers with equal grace, Bryant went 8 for 10 and earned a handful of standing ovations in the first quarter. Los Angeles led 50-38 at halftime, with the Heat exceeding their lowest-scoring half of the season by just one point.

"We couldn't quite get over that hump in that initial five-minute burst," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They came out with a great deal of energy. Bryant was very efficient and very aggressive to start, and from that point, we were just playing catch-up the entire game."

The crowd jeered Wade off the court after he committed three fouls in less than three minutes, picking up his sixth when he foolishly tried to reach over the 7-foot Bynum's back to stop an alley-oop pass.

Notes: Before the game, Spoelstra confirmed Bosh will rejoin the Heat when they return to Miami for Tuesday's visit from New Jersey. Without the 6-foot-11 All-Star, the Heat's starting lineup featured nobody taller than 6-9 Joel Anthony to defend Los Angeles' two 7-footers. ... Wade is the first Heat player to foul out of a game all year. ... Fans near courtside included Denzel Washington, Lil Wayne, David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Terry Crews, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, KISS guitarist Paul Stanley and Jets QB Mark Sanchez.

Notebook: Lakers 93, Heat 83

Posted Sunday March 4, 2012 8:08PM

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Shorthanded at the tip without starting forward Chris Bosh and missing a key contributor down the stretch after Dwyane Wade fouled out for just the second time in his career, the Heat couldn't overcome 33 points from Kobe Bryant and a strong all-around game from Metta World Peace, leading to a 93-83 loss Sunday afternoon at Staples Center.

QUOTABLE: "Kobe continues to be efficient night in and night out. But I thought that not only was he efficient on the offensive end of the floor, but I thought defensively he was pretty good too."
-- Lakers coach Mike Brown

THE STAT: A week after Wade broke Bryant's nose with a hard foul late in the All Star Game, the Miami guard played as if his mind and body were elsewhere. He finished with 16 points on 7-for-17 shooting and committed five turnovers. More telling of his off-day, Wade fouled out with 5:14 remaining in the game and the Heat trailing, 79-72. It was the first time Wade fouled out in the previous 258 games. He was also the first player for Miami to foul out in the last 89 games, the longest active streak in the NBA. Wade was whistled for four fouls in the fourth quarter alone. He wore a towel around his head while sitting on the bench the remainder of the game and afterward said he took a couple shots to the head during the third quarter.

TURNING POINT: The Heat trailed by as many as 14 points earlier in the third quarter, but cut the deficit to two when Bryant mishandled a pass at the top of the key and Mario Chalmers scored on a breakaway lay up. Bryant answered back with a turnaround jumper over Shane Battier, back-up guard Steve Blake sank a 3-pointer and World Peace laid in a lob from Blake to push the lead back to nine. The quarter ended with the Lakers leading, 71-62, and Pau Gasol and LeBron James engaging in a shoving match. All that did was make the arena even louder.

HOT: Bryant has scored 31, 38 and now 33 points since wearing a face mask as a result of the broken nose. He opened the game by hitting his first five shots and scored 18 points in the opening quarter on 8-for-10 shooting against four different Miami defenders. Bryant, who shot 37 percent in his three previous games against the Heat, finished 14-for-23. ... World Peace also had one of his best performances of the season. A game after scoring 15 points against the Kings, he finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and a season-high four steals while spending a majority of the time guard James. World Peace came in averaging 5.3 points.

NOT: Without Bosh, a seven-time All Star who missed his third straight game following the death of his grandmother, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra chose to insert Udonis Haslem in the starting lineup for the first time since the 2009 playoffs. He didn't make Spoelstra look good, missing all five of his field-goal attempts while going scoreless in 20 minutes of play. The remaining big men weren't much better for the Heat. Joel Anthony went scoreless until notching seven points in the final quarter, and backup forward Juwon Howard was 0-for-5 with three points.

GOOD MOVE: Battier probably should have started the game, but at least Spoelstra had the foresight to start him in the second half. Battier had the energy and quickness to give Gasol problems on the offensive end. He had five points, two assists, a steal and a rebound in the third quarter to help the Heat claw back from the 14-point deficit. His 3-point basket with 7:42 remaining in the third cut the lead to 56-49.

BAD MOVE: Other than not starting Battier, the other questionable move was listing rookie forward Mickell Gladness as inactive. The Heat were out-sized in the middle against 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, and Gladness had a better shot at slowing them down than the 39-year-old Howard. Despite the significant height advantage, Bynum and Gasol did a poor job controlling the defensive boards. The Heat finished with a season-high 18 offensive rebounds, compared to 17 on the defensive end. ... The other eyebrow raiser from the bench was Brown getting called for his fourth technical foul of the season after his team made a clean defensive stop with 3:01 remaining and holding a nine-point lead.

QUOTABLE II: "We weren't as efficient as we normally are. But, you have to give them credit, they've improved defensively and they did a good job pounding and continuing to use their size at the rim."
-- Spoelstra

NOTABLE: James had three turnovers after finishing with none the previous two games. ... In honor of the Nocha Latina event that pays tribute to the Latin heritage, Miami wore El Heat uniforms and L.A. wore Los Lakers. For the Heat, it represented the sixth different uniform they've worn this season. ... The Lakers improved to 17-2 at home

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Tuesday @ Detroit, Wednesday @ Washington, Friday @ Minnesota. For the Heat, Tuesday vs. New Jersey, Wednesday vs. Atlanta, Saturday vs. Indiana.

• Heat: Bosh, Gladness
• Lakers: Morris

• Heat: James
• Lakers: Brown, Gasol

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #47 Bennie Adams, #44 Eli Roe
• Attendance: 18997
• Duration: 2:38