LA Lakers over Denver Nuggets 107-101. The Nuggets played some D. Well they didn't play D like the Detroit Pistons and they benefited from some very shaky Laker offense. But they played with enough desperation to put a scare in the Lakers. In the end, though, it was to be won by the Lakers who won their first playoff series since the 2004 Western Conference Final against the Minnesota Timberwolves and their first sweep......

Lakers 124, Heat 118, OT - Unlike the Golden Globe acceptance speeches, nobody was upset when this went a little long. Boasting a budding rivalry that didn't even need Shaq or Pat Riley, the Lakers survived the Heat in a game featuring plenty of lead changes and ties. Dwayne Wade had a game high 35, but it wasn't enough against a Lakers squad that spread the ball around (seven players scored in double digits).......

No Shaq (bum knee). No Pat Riley (bum hip). No personal connections to the past on display tonight. Still, the budding rivalry of Kobe vs. Dwyane Wade is more than plenty when the Lakers and Heat play. The two best shooting-guards in the basketball face off tonight at Staples Center (7 on TNT) in a game with enough juice to make you turn away from the drunken acceptance speeches at the Golden Globes, at......

Kings 3, Blue Jackets 0 - Columbus lost their fifth road game in a row, and Mathieu Garon did everything he needed to make this one the third shut out during that stretch. He collected 26 saves for the Kings, while teammates Michael Cammalleri, Sean Avery, and Lubomir Visnovsky each notched goals. Next up, Detroit visits Los Angeles on Saturday. Clippers 110, Heat 95 - The Clippers were still without an injured Sam Cassell, but......

You made Shaq leave LA. You made Payton leave LA. You even made Coach Jackson leave LA (temporarily, as life is an ebb and flow, etc.) The Big Fella moved to Miami and the Glove ended up there with him. Pat Riley came out of coaching retirement and right now LAist is sitting in front of our plasma screen watching Gary Payton nearly cry from winning his first ring. That 81-point game of yours......

As we all continue to bask in Kobe Bryant's latest amazing accomplishment (81 points? Are you kidding me?), LAist can't help but contemplate the bigger question that hasn't been asked about this season's Lakers. With the team currently very much in the playoff race as we approach the halfway mark of the season, which of the Lakers stars deserves more credit — Kobe Bryant or Phil Jackson? The argument for Kobe is a simple......

After years of wandering in the coaching wilderness, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been hired as an assistant coach for the Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar's primary responsibility will be to work with first round draft pick Andrew Bynum, as well as big men Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm. This represents another stop on what has been a long journey for Kareem. He has been so desperate for a coaching job that he once took a position as a......

It appears Shaq has taken exception to Jerry Buss' comments that the big man needed a trade for motivation to lose 60 pounds. "I didn't need motivation," O'Neal said. "I needed a real owner. ... I needed a real owner like Micky Arison. You can quote me on it." A real owner? Micky Arison? What has Micky Arison ever done that's so great? Unnecessarily handing over nearly 10% of his team to Pat Riley......

According to the Los Angeles Times, Rudy Tomjanovich is the leading candidate to become the next coach of the Lakers. While Tomjanovich is no Phil Jackson, this is good news for Lakers fans. In today's NBA, there is no coaching job more strenuous and complex than the Lakers', and Jerry Buss could not get away with handing the keys to the franchise over to a less-experienced coach like Jim Cleamons, Kurt Rambis, or Brian Shaw.......