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EB American Tour: LA Lakers 108-104 Regal FC Barcelona
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  A night full of scoring runs provided all the entertainment hoped for, but in the end, Regal FC Barcelona could not avoid a 108-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday in a run-and-gun third game of the Euroleague Basketball American Tour '08. Barcelona overcame most of an early 21-point lead with an impressive outside shooting display, but even with seven different players downing three-point shots, still could not match the Lakers point for point. Barcelona finished 15-for-35 from beyond the arc, hitting more than seven times as many triples as the Lakers, but it did not overcome a disadvantage inside the arc. Kobe Bryant led the winners with 28 points on 10-for-14 shooting and had five teammates reach double digits, too. Former Barcelona player Pau Gasol added 13, as did Andrew Bynum, while Vladimir Radmanovic contributed 12, Trevor Ariza and Chris Mihm 10 each. Juan Carlos Navarro lived up to his bomb-throwing billing and exploded for 34 points, including 7 three-pointers, plus 7 assists and 6 rebounds, for Barcelona. Ersan Ilyasova and Jaka Lakovic followed with 15 points each. Another late run of 4-15 by Barcelona cut the difference to 101-97 with under a minute left, but the Lakers managed the finish, which ended appropriately enough with Navarro's seventh triple at the buzzer.
 After a welcome message from Pau Gasol to the fans, Barcelona played a first couple minutes that belied the team's likely jetlag. A triple from the wing by Lubos Barton put the guests ahead 3-2. Navarro then lofted a classic "La Bomba" floater in the lane and sank a smooth triple as Barcelona took a 3-8 lead. A three-point hook shot-plus-free throw by Gasol started the Lakers' response, an 11-0 run that featured a Bryant fastbreak triple and made it 15-8 for the hosts. Andre Barrett stopped the bleeding with his first long-distance blast, and when Ilyasova became Barcelona's fourth three-point striker, the visitors were within 19-18. Another response by the Lakers saw Gasol score half the points in 10-1 run to end the quarter with the game's first double-digit lead, 29-19.
The Lakers continued to dominate the first part of the second quarter as Lamar Odom and Ariza teamed up on a collection of fastbreaks that extended the Lakers run to 21-3 and its lead to a seemingly out-of-reach 40-21. But it wasn't out of reach. Lakovic came on the floor then for Barcelona, and after Navarro hit another runner, blasted a triple. That lit a fuse that saw him and Navarro each connect twice more from downtown in a 1-19 run that left a 41-38 scoreboard and forced a Lakers timeout. Bryant steadied Los Angeles with a long fadeaway jumper, but Navarro downed his own and fed David Andersen for another to make it 43-42. After Andrew Bynum hit free throws for the Lakers, Andersen threw an alley-oop assist that point guard Victor Sada, who just came on the floor, dunked to get a rise out of his own bench and the crowd. The Lakers called on Bryant then, and he responded with the last 8 points of the half to lengthen the difference to 53-44. By that time, five different Barcelona players had made 9 of 20 three-pointers as compared to 1 of 6 for the Lakers.
Bryant continued his takeover with the first 7 points of the third quarter, including his team's second triple, while Radmanovic hit free throws and a dunk as Los Angeles surged ahead 64-50. The Lakers' run bridging halftime was 19-4. Barcelona again responded, this time concentrating inside as Navarro dished 2 assists to Daniel Santiago, who also dunked a rebound and helped with a pair of blocked shots. When Ilyasova downed his second baseline jumper in as many minutes, the Los Angeles lead was cut to 70-60. Gianluca Basile became Barcelona's sixth player to make a three-pointer and Ilyasova drained free throws to trim the difference to single digits, but the Lakers continued to score just as easily, with an alley-oop dunk by Bynum and a three-point bank shot-plus-free throw by Bryant. A pair of fastbreak dunks before the quarter ended were enough to restore the Lakers dominance at 83-68.
 Los Angeles kept running and Barcelona kept bombing in the early part of the fourth quarter, and after Navarro hit his fourth and fifth long-range blasts, the difference fell to 89-78 and the Lakers took a timeout. The running and gunning continued as Barcelona tried to find ways to come back, but none were forthcoming. A couple Barcelona turnovers that the Lakers turned into showtime dunks at the other end resulted in a 97-82 scoreboard with under five minutes to play. Even though Gasol and Bryant had played little since the middle of the third quarter, the Lakers were still defending a double-digit advantage. After Sada added his name to Barcelona's three-point list, Barça took a timeout and planned a final run - and it came. While the Lakers relaxed, Andersen and Ilyasova scored inside before Navarro bombed yet again and hit 1 of 2 free throws to suddenly make it 101-97 with just under a minute left. However, the Lakers then got a three-point drive-plus-free throw from Chris Mihm that closed the door on a miracle for the guests, but left a good image of European basketball's talent and resilience for the fans in Los Angeles.
Regal FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Pascual
"I think everybody had fun and it was a close game, but as a coach, I am just looking at all the easy baskets we gave the Lakers. When you commit 27 turnovers to a team like that, you know that you are also giving away fastbreaks that they aren't going to miss. It was a close game in the end, and I know they didn't play their starters that long, but maybe we could have forced them to do so if we had protected the ball better and not given away so many passes and points earlier. We shot really well from outside, yes, but our percentage inside the paint was horrendous, and we missed some really easy shots. All those things added up to the Lakers being in control most of the time. Otherwise, I am happy the way my team never game up, which is something we knew already, but to see them do it here with everything against them was nice."
Regal FC Barcelona guard Juan Carlos Navarro
"It was a fun game for the fans as well as the players, and I think we represented Barcelona well, even though we couldn't get the win. For the guys who haven't played here at the Staples Center before, it was special, and they showed they are capable players against one of the best teams in the NBA. It was good to see a lot of our guys making shots from the longer three-point line, too. Our problem was preventing their easy fastbreaks by taking care of the ball better. Overall, though, it was great to play this game, to play against Pau is always fun, and I am glad we came here."
Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol
"We tried to make it fun for everyone, but they made us work hard and we had to keep playing strong to pull out the win. It was a good game for us and for me, seeing my old team here and playing well. Juan Carlos is my best friend and he's a great player and I think he fits well anywhere if he gets the minutes and the confidence. He didn't quite get to play at his best last year in Memphis. He was kind of that shooter who comes off the bench, and if he gets hot, he gets hot, but if he doesn't, he sits down again. So it was tough on him last year, but he's a player who if he gets his confidence, he's a heckuva player and can do a lot of damage."
Los Angeles Lakers center Chris Mihm
"They're a very talented team, but the European style of basketball is different from the NBA. I think it's a much more physical style of play over here. We were able to kind of do what we wanted down low, but boy they really set a lot of pick-and-rolls, were constantly moving and setting screens, so it was a good game for us in a lot of ways."
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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Euroleague.net
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