Irritated at his team’s shot selection.

Irritated at his team’s selfishness.

And especially irritated the Lakers needed to overcome a 20-point deficit to beat the NBA’s worst team.

“We have to play the right way,” Bryant said. “When we have shots available, we take them. If we don’t, move the ball on. It can’t be about individual touches. It can’t be about that.”

Still, the Lakers won.

Bryant shrugged off a scoreless first half — he attempted only two shots — to finish with 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and the Lakers improved to 4-2 on their road trip heading into Sunday’s game in Miami against the Heat.

Bryant didn’t come out for warmups to start the second half.

But he was there to provide the spark the lackluster Lakers needed in the third quarter. He scored 14 of his points in the final period, including a driving layup with 40 seconds left to push the lead to five and help seal the win.

“In the second half, I got in position where I could catch it and turn and shoot it a little bit,” Bryant said. “They were reluctant to double team because we started knocking down some shots. I think that makes the game a lot easier.”

Steve Nash and Earl Clark each had 17 points and Dwight Howard had 12 points, all in the first half, and 11 rebounds for the Lakers (24-27).

Howard played his second straight game despite nursing an injured right shoulder.

“Continuity,” Howard said when asked of the Lakers’ offensive woes. “We have to do a better job of spreading everything out and moving and getting everybody involved. When we do that, we are pretty good.”

Byron Mullens and Gerald Henderson each had 20 points for the Bobcats, who have lost six straight.

Charlotte led 71-51 in the third quarter, but the Lakers stormed back behind a 9-0 run. They cut the lead to one on a driving layup by Bryant with 6:06 left in the game and Antawn Jamison gave the Lakers their first lead with 4:46 remaining on a left-handed finger roll in the lane.

The Lakers took the lead for good at 92-91 when Jodie Meeks made a 3-pointer with 3:02 left in the game.

Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni wasn’t pleased with the overall effort, but liked that his team bounced back after a 116-95 loss to the Boston Celtics the night before.

“We just got to be able to put our earplugs in, or mufflers on, or blinders on,” D’Antoni said. “It’s like the Kentucky Derby with horses, just get those blinders on and just get out there and run.

“We have so much stuff going on out here that every little thing is blown to bits and whether it is right or wrong or blown out of proportion it is. But, it affects us. It is a distraction. It saps energy. We got to be able to just close that out somehow.”

The Lakers have been unpredictable this season, particularly on the road where they were 8-17 coming into this game.

Before Friday night’s game against Charlotte, D’Antoni was asked if the Bobcats were a dangerous opponent for his team.

“We’re playing, aren’t we? (Then) there’s a danger,” D’Antoni said with a laugh. “If they play the national anthem, we’re in danger.”

He was right.

The Lakers started slow, looking out of sync just as they have for a good portion of the season as pick and rolls turned into turnovers and layups on the other end.

Nash had four early turnovers and Howard threw a pass across court that hit the side of the backboard.

The Lakers turned the ball over five times in the game’s first eight minutes and fell behind 20-9.

Bryant missed his only two shots in the first half, his slowest start since March 31, 2012, when he went three quarters without scoring a point before beating the New Orleans Hornets on a game-winning shot.

The game was similar to earlier this season when the Bobcats led by 18 in Los Angeles only to squander the lead.

“We had them down pretty much the whole game,” Bobcats guard Kemba Walker said. “You know, they made a really good run. Kobe made a lot of good plays, made the right passes and guys just made shots.”

Game notes
Bobcats rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned to action Friday after missing two games with a concussion. … At halftime Bryant had five rebounds, two assists and no points. … The Bobcats had been one of three teams with a .500 or better record all-time against the Lakers, but fell to 8-9 with Friday night’s loss.

The post Kobe Bryant, Lakers pull away in fourth quarter, top Bobcats appeared first on IdealCapper.

If Griffin, who is suffering from a hamstring strain, does sit out, he will join guards Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups on Los Angeles’ bench.

Griffin ended a streak of 197 games played when he sat out Monday’s loss to the Washington Wizards with the left hamstring injury and did not go through shootaround Wednesday morning. He will be re-evaluated Thursday before the Clippers play the Miami Heat on Friday.

This will be the ninth straight game and 12th overall Paul has missed this season with a bruised right kneecap.

The five-time All-Star injured his knee with 54 seconds left in the Clippers’ 104-101 loss to the Magic on Jan. 12 when he collided with Orlando guard J.J. Redick.

Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe has started the 11 games Paul has missed, with the team going 5-6 during that time.

Billups has been out with peroneal tendinitis in his left foot and has played only three games this season. Although Billups didn’t go through shootaround on Wednesday, he believes Thursday’s practice will let him know whether he can come back before the end of the Clippers’ road trip.

“I’m looking forward to practicing tomorrow and going up and down,” Billups said Wednesday. “Tomorrow I’ll be able to compete and see how I feel.”

The post Hamstring ails Blake Griffin appeared first on IdealCapper.

to be out, but we’ve still got to get the job done regardless of who is out there.”

Splitter re-energized the Spurs, scoring on a dunk and a reverse layup to make it 77-67 with 7:28 left. Splitter had six points and two rebounds in the final quarter and Parker added five points and three assists.

“In the second half, we lost our focus and the defense dissipated and that let them get back in the game,” Popovich said. “Once again, Tony and Tiago were great. They were steady the entire night. We got it done.”

Game notes
Spurs G Manu Ginobili was sidelined by left hamstring tightness. … Washington F Trevor Booker (sore left wrist) was a late scratch. … The Wizards have had nine different leading scorers for an individual game, with six in the last 10 games. … Washington’s last win in San Antonio was 99-89 on Dec. 11, 1999. … Wall was averaging 13.7 points, 6.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds since returning from injury. … San Antonio was playing its final home game before its annual “Rodeo Road Trip.” The Spurs will play nine straight road games while the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo is held at the AT&T Center.

The post Tim Duncan sprains left knee, right ankle in Spurs’ win vs. Wizards appeared first on IdealCapper.