LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles made Mike D’Antoni’s debut behind the Lakers’ bench a successful one by beating the Brooklyn Nets 95-90 on Tuesday night at Staples Center arena.
D’Antoni, limping after undergoing recent surgery, had been unable to take over behind the bench until Tuesday because of discomfort and tightness in his knee.
“It is great be out there,” D’Antoni said. “That’s what you coach for. I feel pretty good. It (tightness) is starting to wear off.
“This feels good. Pressure is there, but this feels great.”
Kobe Bryant scored 25 points and Dwight Howard finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers who are now 5-1 since sacking Mike Brown.
“We did a good job taking care of the ball and being in sync with each other,” Bryant said. “He (D’Antoni) is always calm but he as an undertone edge to him.”
The 26-year-old Howard was just seven-of-19 from the free throw line Tuesday as the Nets tried to take advantage of his struggles from the foul line.
Howard, who can become a free agent at season’s end, is not panicking though.
“It was cool. We got the win,” Howard said of D’Antoni’s debut. “It was a tough win. We battled it out. We got better tonight as a team.
“The free throws will come. I am still going to be aggressive.”
The Lakers even rubbed it in. At one point in the final quarter Metta World Peace, who used to be known as Ron Artest, sank a three pointer then walked over and rubbed the head of Brooklyn coach Avery Johnson, who just stood there.
The Lakers started the season 1-4 under Brown but have gone 5-1 since his departure.
The Lakers passed on the opportunity to bring back 11-time NBA champion Phil Jackson after they hired D’Antoni November 12.
“That’s a good offensive team,” D’Antoni said of Brooklyn. “We weren’t clicking offensively and didn’t play well overall but we had some good individual plays.
“Kobe was terrific. A lot of good stuff. We can go from here.”
Even before D’Antoni took over, the Lakers had already begun to run his offense over the last two games, including a 114-102 win over Phoenix on Friday.
“He is still limping a bit but we appreciate his effort to be out there,” Lakers forward Pau Gasol said of D’Antoni.
Deron Williams had 22 points and 10 assists for Brooklyn, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped.
The Nets have lost their last nine games to the Lakers, going back to 2007.
They were hoping post their longest winning streak since a six-game run from March 12-21, 2006.
D’Antoni wins his Laker debut
D’Antoni wins his Laker debut
Patrick Habirora headlines PFL Brussels at Ing Arena in May
- PFL returns on May 23 with ‘The Belgian Bomber’ facing MMA legend Benson ‘Smooth’ Henderson
NEW YORK: The Professional Fighters League returns to the ING Arena on Saturday, May 23, for PFL Brussels, with Belgium’s No. 10-ranked welterweight Patrick “The Belgian Bomber” Habirora (8-0) facing former UFC champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson (30-12).
Habirora has seven victories coming by way of KO or TKO. He silenced doubters last December at PFL Lyon against his toughest test to date, Kevin Jousset.
A thunderous first-round knockout followed by relentless ground-and-pound sent the Lyon crowd into a frenzy and left many wondering how far he can go in MMA.
A former WEC and UFC champion, “Smooth” is a 20-year veteran and remains one of the most accomplished athletes of his era. Henderson has beaten Nate Diaz, Frankie Edgar (twice), and Jorge Masvidal.
Recently sharpening his tools across grappling, karate, wrestling and boxing, Henderson now returns to MMA determined to prove his championship pedigree.
Upcoming PFL Schedule:
- Friday, March 20: PFL Madrid, Palacio Vistalegre, Madrid, Spain.
- Saturday, March 28: PFL Pittsburgh, UPMC Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Saturday, April 11: PFL Chicago, Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois.
- Thursday, April 16: PFL Belfast, SSE Arena Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- Saturday, May 2: PFL Sioux Falls, Sanford Pentagon: Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
- Saturday, May 23: PFL Brussels, ING Arena, Brussels, Belgium.
