Game blog: Lakers defeat Kings in Las Vegas

By Rob Miech (contact)

Published Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008 | 6 p.m.

Updated Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008 | 9:21 p.m.

Final: Lakers 94, Kings 89

It was a smooth evening, until 10 seconds remained at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Kings missed a desperation shot to try to get close to the Kings, and C.J. Giles of the Lakers came crashing right … at … me …

To save the computer and to brace his fall, I tried keeping my hands up, especially my left one.

He bent the hand back but kept himself from crashing over the baseline media table.

He had ripped my note pad with his left hand, to brace himself on the table. He had slashed the part on my running notes where he nailed a strong hook shot for a 92-85 lead.

On the Lakers’ previous play, Coby Karl swooped in for a spinning fling to keep Los Angeles ahead.

If both make the squad, they can look back to those consecutive possessions, late in a tight game, as reasons why.

Now, it’s time to ice the left hand.

The Kings cut their deficit to 84-78 in the waning minutes, but Karl and Brandon Heath hit jump shots for the Lakers.

They led, 88-81, and had possession when Heath, a guard out of San Diego State who had some sterling performances on this court against UNLV, was nabbed for a carry-over violation.

The fourth quarter started with a loud round of applause, but not for anything on the court.

Lakers p.a. announcer Lawrence Tanter told the crowd that the Dodgers had beaten the Phillies, 7-2, in the third game of the National League Championship Series in Los Angeles.

That cut the Phils’ advantage to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Oh, back to hoops.

How did Sacramento coach Reggie Theus know it would be a rough evening for his Kings?

When guard Bobby Brown raced down on a fastbreak, tried to slip a pass to Francisco Garcia and it went flying out of bounds. Lakers ball.

That quashed a four-on-two fastbreak for Sacramento. Garcia just looked at Brown with arched eyebrows and his palms up.

And with 62 seconds left, the Kings trailed by five points when Noel Felix passed to Jason Thompson on a break on the left side. Problem was, Thompson had tripped and hit the deck.

The ball flew out of bounds, again. Felix finally walked over to Thompson and helped him up.

Excedrin, anyone?

Joe Crawford’s jumper from the right side put the Lakers up, 80-71, to force a timeout by Theus with 6:39 left.

Out of that rest, Tanter told the crowd that the San Diego Chargers had just defeated New England, 30-10.

Another explosion of applause.

End of third quarter: Lakers 71, Kings 65

The Lakers began slinking away from the Kings late in the third quarter, with a 15-7 run that gave Los Angeles a 70-63 lead with 2:10 left.

Derek Fisher started it with a jumper, Pau Gasol had a tip-in, Lamar Odom sank a free throw and Andrew Bynum powere in a hook shot to start the roll.

Kobe Bryant even got into it, dribbling against John Salmons on the left side and then spinning strong to the baseline, sinking a bank shot.

Thankfully, the Kings called a timeout to catch their breaths.

On a “Kiss Cam” shown on the spiffy new center-court scoreboard, new IBF and IBO light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson was shown sitting next to his young son Chance.

Dawson, wearing a New York Yankees cap, lightly kissed his son on his forehead.

Earlier, as Salmons spotted up for a 3-point shot from the left corner, with Bryant two steps off him, Kings teammate Mikki Moore yelled, “There it is Johnny!”

Johnny drilled it for a 56-55 lead.

Trevor Ariza started the second half with the standout move of the game, so far.

He stole a Sacramento inbounds pass in the first 20 seconds of the third quarter and zipped in for a strong one-armed dunk over Kings forward Francisco Garcia.

That tied it, 49-49.

Then the Lakers played tight defense, getting the Kings to commit a 24-second violation.

Bryant missed a long jumper from the right side … and the game continued at a sloppy pace.

And Jerry Buss didn’t bring a spare pair of pants, so he’s still sitting there in his blue-jean floods.

Halftime: Kings 49, Lakers 47

Chris Mihm’s steal and easy sail-in for a layup cut the Lakers’ deficit to 46-45 with 2:37 left until halftime.

That followed Lakers center Pau Gasol’s jumper, which followed a sweet spin move in the lane and layup by Jason Thompson of Sacramento.

With 5:16 left, Kobe Bryant re-entered the game and was called for a foul two seconds after play resumed.

Then Francisco Garcia sank a long jumper from the right baseline, as Bryant was late in getting back on defense, to tie it 39-39.

It wasn’t a first half that Bryant, who lost the ball on one drive and launched a wild short shot on a drive from the right side on another, will remember past, oh, 9 p.m. tonight.

Sloppiness abounded, which savvy Las Vegas sports fans might have foreseen; the vast majority of seats in the second deck were unoccupied in the Thomas & Mack Center, and scores of lower-bowl seats were empty.

Lamar Odom was called for a charge by official Eli Roe with 8:37 left in the second quarter, which was followed by an official timeout as the Kings clung to a 31-30 lead.

After Roe made the call, Buss glared at him. Peered at him. Then he barked a few words, which caught Roe’s attention. Roe looked at Buss, then looked away.

He must have caught a glimpse of those floods and thought, not worth it. At least Roe didn’t laugh.

End of first quarter: Lakers 28, Kings 27

Lamar Odom gives the Lakers a rare lead on a long 3-point shot with 20 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

By many decibels, Kobe Bryant received the biggest ovation when the starting lineups were called. But he had a tough start, missing a couple of jumpers and getting worked by Beno Udrih.

Beno who?

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound guard from Slovenia who actually owns two NBA championship rings -- with the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and 2007.

About to start his fifth NBA season, Beno shook Bryant enough to cause Bryant to fall to the floor. Then Beno sank a jumper to give Sacramento an 11-7 lead.

We'd continue with the action but were distracted, for about three minutes, by Lakers' owner Jerry Buss sitting courtside, opposite his team.

Wearing a blue dress shirt, Buss mostly sat with his arms crossed. By far, his jeans were shorter than anyone else's pants in the swank seats. The floods showed almost all of his white tube socks, highlighted by black casual shoes.

Trailing 9-7, Lakers coach Phil Jackson calls a timeout 2 1/2 minutes into the game. He's bickering with an official, pointing to the court. He looks like he's in mid-season form, but he's not.

Jackson wears a purple dress shirt under a dark suit. No tie? This definitely is the exhibition season.

We didn't think Luke Walton or Sasha Vujacic would start or get into the game early for the Lakers. Ten minutes before the opening tap, both were in the media lounge, wolfing down spicy chicken, pasta and salad.

Oh, and that anthem? The real one, right before the game? Had about half a dozen technical difficulties. What was that pre-game line about the Mack?

At least the wrap-around ad board and center-court scoreboard, with the huge screen and bright, colorful graphics, looks sweet.

UNLV hoops fans will love the updated systems.

Pregame

Show up to an arena three hours before tip-off and you’re liable to see and hear some exciting stuff.

Then there’s tonight’s preseason basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, scheduled to start at 6:30, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

A dreadlocked gofer leaves some television cables on the court at 4:37 p.m. Lakers shooter Coby Karl, the first player on the court (at 4:29) to shoot around, nearly trips over them.

Los Angeles assistant coach Kurt Rambis, rebounding for Karl, becomes bit irritated. He tells the kid that the cables should be removed from the court. Pronto. As in, right now. The kid complies.

He should have seen Rambis, who wears contacts these days, in his Spencer Tracy horn rims. That would have made him move in nano seconds.

Two minutes later, one of Karl’s errant shots bounced right toward this very computer I am now typing on. Right at the “Q” on the keyboard! Another Laker nabbed it as it descended to within 18 inches.

Thanks, Trevor Ariza.

But let’s back up.

At 4:11, Los Angeles radio personality Vic “The Brick” Jacobs shows up wearing what looked a purple-and-gold poncho and some sort of hat that looks like an upside down tortilla bowl.

A thick gold chain dangles from his neck.

The Lakers’ basso profondo p.a. announcer Lawrence Tanter, in his distinctive white hair and white goatee, ambles by Jacobs without a glance. This isn’t Tanter’s first encounter with Jacobs’s wild clothes.

At 4:15, a fan stands between Jacobs and his sidekick for a photograph.

Ten minutes later, television play-by-play announcer Joel Myers, fresh in from Lubbock, Texas, and the Texas Tech-Nebraska football game, yells across the court at Jacobs.

“Just in from Lubbock. Overtime.”

“Was the wind blowin’?”

“In West Texas, it always blows.”

“Home of Buddy Holly!”

“Yep.”

Lisa Estrada, the chief of the Lakers girls, leads her troops from one baseline tunnel to another. “Girls, can I get you to walk faster?” Estrada says. “Just to get you going.”

Four minutes later, the female trio singing the National Anthem practices for the sound technicians. The Thomas & Mack Center has the BEST acoustics, the girls’ handler yells up to a black room.

They sing the anthem again, facing the other way. Note to self: always, ALWAYS, bring ear plugs.

Just then, a ball rolls under my table, resting next to my bag. If I had brought a needle … if only I had brought a needle. Nobody looks for it. I cup it, spin it. Feels good.

I release it back to the court.

Heading back to a room for stats, I pass Reggie Theus, former UNLV star whose No. 23 hangs high in the Mack rafters and current coach of the Kings.

What’s it like coming back to this building?

“Fantastic,” Theus says. “I helped build it, in sweat equity!”

In the Lakers’ tight locker room, it’s crowded. D.J. Mbenga executes a series of push-ups. Did we say it’s crowded?

Jacobs walks in to chat with Lamar Odom. “L.O.,” Jacobs says, “just in from the L-O-V-E train.” Odom laughs. Time to leave.

Coach Phil Jackson sits on a leather couch outside the room and smiles widely. On a white grease board to Jackson’s left, something like “If you believe it, you achieve it” is written in blue.

At 5:35, Luke Walton beams about the Arizona Cardinals’ victory over the Dallas Cowboys. He couldn’t believe it.

“They blocked a punt,” Walton says, “and returned it for a touchdown!”

Eight minutes later, Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant appears for a few warm-up shots. Dozens of fans aim their cell-phone cameras at him

He leaves 10 minutes later, hugs a familiar security official, high-fives a few fans as he trots back down a narrow tunnel.

Thankfully, it’s close to game time.