Lakers breeze to 99-85 victory over Spurs

A matchup of the Western Conference's best teams turned out to be a mismatch. Kobe Bryant scored 22 points before sitting out the fourth quarter, Pau Gasol added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers routed the San Antonio Spurs 99-85 Sunday. The win was the fourth straight and 14th in 17 games for the Lakers (35-8), whose .814 winning percentage is the best in the NBA although the defending champion Boston Celtics (37-9) lead them by a half-game in the overall standings by virtue of their 124-100 victory...read full article

LAKERS: A great deal of work remains

There was no formal practice Thursday, but that didn't mean the Lakers rested after their two-game trip to Texas. There remains a great deal of work to be done before they can breathe a sigh of relief, or as close to one as they can manage at this point. First, there's the Orlando Magic, followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Clippers, Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs. Rest is a relative term as far as the Lakers are concerned. "You have to be ready because there is no break," 7-footer Pau Gasol said after the Lakers' 112-111 loss Wednesday to the...read full article

After Tonight's Game The NBA Orders Pau Gasol To Take Gender Test

After tonight's victory for the Los Angeles Lakers over the Golden State Warriors. David Stern decides to have an NBA official determine the gender of Pau Gasol. The reason for the test, according to Stern: "This is a man's league." Stern was very upset with Gasol for three reasons—it's constant whining to the refs, it's version of the tennis grunt when taking a shot, and lastly for hanging on the rim after a dunk. Usually, the league administers a urine test and of course always with advanced notice, but Stern was too pissed off, so he decided that it...read full article

Gasol's 4th-quarter surge leads Lakers

Pau Gasol had 33 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, Kobe Bryant added 21 points and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit for their seventh victory in eight games, 114-106 over Golden State on Wednesday night. Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, whose home loss to New Orleans on Tuesday snapped a six-game winning streak for the Western Conference leaders. Los Angeles struggled for the second straight night before Gasol took charge against Golden State's undersized frontcourt, scoring six points during the...read full article

Gasol, Lakers outlast fiesty Warriors

Pau Gasol scored 33 points to lead five players in double figures and the Los Angeles Lakers claimed a 114-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. Gasol made 12-of-21 shots from the field and added 18 rebounds for the Lakers, who bounced back one night after having a six-game win streak snapped during a 116-105 setback to the New Orleans Hornets.
Reigning MVP Kobe Bryant scored 21 points, Trevor Ariza added 17 off the bench and Andrew Bynum contributed 18 and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles. Jamal Crawford poured...read full article

Lakers forward Gasol would love to be an All-Star

Pau Gasol would be honored to be selected to play for the Western Conference All-Star team. It would be nicer if the fans voted him onto the team, but if the coaches do it, he still would be pleased beyond measure. "To be in the game with  all the best players in the league, you always would appreciate it," he said before the Lakers played host to the Utah Jazz on Friday. "It's tough to get voted in, to get all the fans to make a constant effort to get their votes in. I think it has a different value if the fans vote you in." Gasol was selected once...read full article

Gasol making case for All-Star spot

Since the fan vote alone probably won't be enough to make Pau Gasol an All-Star starter, the Lakers big man has started stuffing the ballot box himself. "Yeah, once or twice," he admitted, chuckling. "Just to give me a couple extra votes." Gasol currently is sixth in the balloting for Western Conference forwards, more than 600,000 votes behind leader Tim Duncan, of San Antonio, and more than 200,000 back of second-place Amare Stoudemire, of Phoenix. Voting for the Feb. 15 All-Star game will continue through Jan. 11 for paper balloting and...read full article

Pau Gasol, the best

LA Lakers' Pau Gasol was chosen the best European player in 2008 according to a poll carried by Italian paper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"It took 30 years for a Spaniard player to be considered the best European player and it could be just Pau Gasol, world champion, two-silver, one-bronze Olympic medal winner winner, and runner-up in NBA 2008 season, the chosen one," Italian paper La Gazzetta dello Sport published. Pau Gasol, 28, waited for seven years in America before moving to LA Lakers and being considered a star. He won with the American votes; in the end, he got...read full article

Lakers' Pau Gasol boxed out in All-Star balloting

The 7-footer is sixth among Western Conference forwards in fan voting for starting spots, though his chances of being selected as a reserve appear good.

All-Star votes continue to be tallied, and, no shocker, Kobe Bryant leads the Western Conference. Pau Gasol, however, lags far behind the top West forwards. He was sixth at last glance, trailing Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki and Ron Artest, but comfortably ahead of Bruce Bowen and Shane Battier. "It's tough...read full article

Lakers' Pau Gasol tries to flex for success

Forward doesn't want to be called soft again.

Pau Gasol rocked back and forth on his giant feet, smiling, pleasant, distracted.

"You have somewhere else to be?" I said.

"After this interview, yes," he said.

"Where?" I said.

"The weight room," he said.

I gasped. I froze. I could not have been more shocked had Pau Gasol told me he...read full article

Pau Gasol scores 34 points to lead Lakers

Lakers get back to winning. Top pick Derrick Rose has 25 points for the Bulls.

Memo to the Eastern Conference: One in a row.

OK, so The Lakers didn't beat Boston, Detroit or even Cleveland, but they jumped all over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, 116-109, a welcome sight for them after all their issues with the Pistons last Friday. Pau Gasol had 34 points, Kobe Bryant had 21 and the Lakers returned to the winning side after a long weekend of "What happened?" queries.

Chicago is a middle-of-the-road team from the East, lucky to even to be called a Boston Lite or Mini-Detroit, but the Bulls play with enough punch to earn a "gritty" tag from Bryant the day before the game.

It wasn't quite enough to push away the memory of an 11-point home loss to Detroit, but the Lakers will...read full article

Lakers' Pau Gasol makes a stand on defense

He shuts down Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki in the second half, a key part of the Lakers' come-from-behind victory.

Reporting from Dallas -- Even Pau Gasol has bought into the new Lakers' defense . . . surprisingly. Gasol never has been known for his defense, for being a stopper, for being something other than a skilled offensive player.

But there Gasol was Tuesday night, grinding it out against Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, putting the clamps on the Mavericks' All-Star forward during the Lakers' 106-99 victory over the Mavericks. "Definitely, defense was a big challenge tonight for me, to be able to step out and make it tough for him and I think I was pretty successful," Gasol said. "It's a big key when you stop Dirk on their team."

It was Gasol's job to contain his counterpart at power forward, and he did. Nowitzki finished with 14 points, but he missed 12 of his 17 shots. Gasol had a lot to do with that. Nowitzki was one for nine in the second half, his last basket coming with 10:14 left in the third quarter. He missed all five of his shots in the fourth quarter. Gasol played a major role in that happening. "Pau is really a great player, both at center and power forward," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "He was a good matchup for us tonight. Dirk's a great shooter and we were able to contain him at least somewhat, and Pau had a big hand in...read full article

Pau Gasol sees Andrew Bynum as a complement

The duo of seven-footers hope that in time they can dominate the paint together.

It wasn't a demand -- not like the ones Shaquille O'Neal once made. Rather, it was a point of emphasis by Pau Gasol. Gasol is 7 feet and 250 pounds and Andrew Bynum is 7 feet and 285 pounds, a duo that will form a Twin Towers for the Lakers that can be devastating, but only if the Lakers utilize them in the low post.

"We have to play like we have two seven-footers that dominate the paint. That's how you take advantage. If you don't do that, then you might as well not have it," Gasol said.

When O'Neal played for the Lakers, he demanded the basketball and let it be known that if the big dog wasn't fed, he wouldn't guard the porch, which was code that O'Neal wouldn't play defense if he didn't get the ball on offense.

Gasol isn't saying that.

Gasol and Bynum each take high-percentage shots, are good passers and can make life easier on their teammates with an inside-out game.

The two started for the first time together in the exhibition season Sunday night and had some...read full story

Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol get acquainted

Pau Gasol doesn't smile blissfully on the way to work every day. He swears it's true.

The veteran forward-center is experiencing his first training camp with the Lakers after six and a half seasons in Memphis.

Preseason predictions have the Grizzlies near the bottom of the Western Conference, again. The Lakers, on the other hand, are the popular choice to win the West, if not the NBA Finals.

Not that Gasol is celebrating.

"Probably I did last year for the first month or so [after the trade], but I'm a guy that I always look forward no matter what, no matter how good things are, no matter how bad things are," he said.

His midseason acquisition energized the Lakers and helped them get through the rough-and-rumble West in the playoffs. He never played with Andrew Bynum until now. He likes what he sees.

"We're starting to develop our relationship on the court," Gasol said. "He's a young, talented man with a lot of potential. Hopefully he'll be able to explode this year and be able to produce a lot and...read full article