Lakers Universe - Los Angeles Lakers regular season 2003-2004, standings, team leaders, schedule and news.

Los Angeles Lakers regular season, NBA Pacific Division standings, team leaders, schedule. Shaquille O'Neal & Kobe Bryant statistics

Los Angeles Lakers Regular Season Record: 56 - 26
Western Conference Playoff Standing: 2nd
Playoffs first round rival: HOUSTON ROCKETS

Lakers picture of the week
Lakers picure of the week

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Team leaders
 points: Kobe 24.0
 rebounds: Shaq 11.5
 assists: Payton 5.5
 steals: Kobe 1.72
 blocks: Shaq 2.48
 fg %: Shaq .584
 ft %: Kobe .852
 3pt %: George .349

Big Four Stats
player g pts reb as
Bryant 65 24.0 5.5 5.1
O'Neal 67 21.5 11.5 2.9
Payton 82 14.6 4.2 5.5
Malone 42 13.2 8.7 3.9


Pacific Division Standings
W L pct gb
LAL 56 26 .683 -
SAC 55 27 .671 1
POR 41 41 .500 15
SEA 37 45 .451 19
GSW 37 45 .451 19
PHO 29 53 .354 27
LAC 28 54 .341 28

Schedule, Next games
4/17 vs. Houston
4/19 vs. Houston
4/23 at Houston
4/25 at Houston
More:

All the scores
this page features all the scores & highlights of the Lakers 2003/04 season

Roster 2003/04
this page has all the news, draft picks and players gone for the new season.

Lakers Playoffs & Reg.Season 2002/03

LAKERS NEWS AND NOTES

4/14: Two 3-pointers from Kobe Bryant, one with 1 second to play in the fourth quarter and the other with 1 second remaining at the end of the double overtime, gave the Lakers a 105-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers and the Pacific Division title. Los Angeles finished as the second seed in the Western Conference and will face Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2004 Playoffs. First game will be played Saturday... Highlights...

4/13: 48 hrs. after playing one of the worst games of his career, Kobe Bryant scored his season-high 45 pts and the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 109-104... The Lakers now are tied with Sacramento, but the Kings hold the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series 3-1. The Lakers can win the division title only if they win at Portland and the Kings lose at Golden State in the regular-season finales Wednesday night...

4/11: The Lakers lost to the Sacramento Kings 102-85 and also lost the top seed of the Conference. Playing in foul trouble Shaq finished with 10 pts and 5 reb. To everybody's surprise Kobe Bryant only took only 1 shot in the first half and ended the game with 8 pts, maybe it was his answer to Phil Jackson's criticism about the many shots Kobe took in previous games...

4/9: A couple of spectacular plays by Kobe Bryant were the beginning of the recovering for the Lakers that survived a 19-point deficit to win 103-95 against a possible Playoff matchup, the Memphis Grizzlies.

4/6: The Lakers lost to the Portland TrailBlazers 91-80 and went down 1.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings in their fight for the conference's top seed in the playoffs...

4/4: the Lakers played without their recent authority and lost to the Spurs, 95-89, at Staples Center. They dropped into 3rd place in the West, a half-game behind the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves. Bryant led the Lakers with 28 pts and 6 reb, but he shot just 9-of-26...

4/2: Los Angeles beat the Seattle SuperSonics 97-86 to run its winning streak to 11 games and take the Western Conference lead.

4/1: The Lakers beat the Houston Rockets, 93-85, for their 10th consecutive victory. They have won 21 of 25 games since the All-Star break and, with 7 regular-season games remaining, are tied with the Kings atop the division. Shaq showed once again he is the most dominant center, scoring 18 pts and limiting Yao Ming to just 6 pts (3 of 15 field goals)...

3/30: The Lakers defeated the New Orleans Hornets 107-88 at Staples Center to finish 15-0 against the Eastern Conference at home. This is the first time they've been undefeated against the East in 24 seasons and the second time in franchise history...

3/28: In the Lakers victory 91-84 over the Utah Jazz, Karl Malone played his first game against the team he played with for 18 seasons. Playing 32 minutes he scored 19 pts and took 13 rebounds... When he got his second assist of the game, in the third period, Gary Payton became the sixth player in NBA history to record 8,000 career assists...

3/26: With 35 pts from Kobe Bryant and 22 pts and 18reb from Shaquille O'Neal the Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 90-73...

3/25: Karl Malone said he is weighing whether to retire after this season, saying it would be to spend more time with his family...

3/24: the Lakers remembered Sacramento who is the real King of this game. Kobe scored 36 pts, Payton 20 and Shaq 17 with 16 reb, and the Lakers won 115-91...

3/21: The Lakers have 4 superstars, but this is Kobe and Shaq's team. Kobe made the winning shot against the Milwaukee Bucks to make it 104-103 and Shaq was the owner of the game with 31 pts, an NBA season-high 26 rebounds and 7 blocked shots...

3/19: The Lakers got another tight win over the Clippers 106-100. Kobe scored 10 of his 27 points in the last four minutes.

3/17: Playing an excellent first half and a not so good second half the Lakers defeated their neighbors the Clippers 106-103...

3/15: The Lakers were down by 15 pts at the beginning of the final period against the Orlando Magic, but Bryant's 24 points in that last quarter tied a franchise record for points in any quarter, held by Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, and allowed the Lakers to go to overtime and to win the game 113-110. Shaquille O'Neal had 27 pts, a season-high 23 reb and 5 blocks. Gary Payton (12 pts, 9 assists) made the final points of the game with a 3-pointer with 1:44 to play... McGrady, the NBA's leading scorer, had 37 pts, but he scored only 5 in the 4th quarter and overtime, when he was guarded by Bryant...

3/13: The Chicago Bulls cut its deficit to 2 in the final period, but Bryant scored 12 consecutive points for the Lakers. The final score was 82-74... Shaquille O'Neal added 16 points, passing Hal Greer for 21st place on the career scoring list with 21,591 points... After 7 weeks in which they played 21 of 28 games on the road they returned to play 13 of their final 16 games at Staples Center...

3/12: O'Neal, Malone, Bryant and Gary Payton stood side by side for the 22nd time this season and the first since Dec. 21. But Bryant and Malone weren't at full strength and the Minnesota Timberwolves got the victory 96-86...

3/10: 5 days after spraining his shoulder for the second time in two months, and 4 days after the organization announced he might need 4 weeks to heal, Kobe Bryant insisted he wanted to play... and he did it. He added 18 pts and 10 assists to Shaq's 28 pts and 17 reb and the Lakers won at Boston 117-109... Meanwhile Tracy McGrady was scoring 62 pts for the Orlando Magic...

3/8: The Lakers lost at Utah 88-83. They played without Malone and Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal was ejected in the decisive fourth quarter. The good news are Kobe Bryant shoulder is better than expected and the Lakers didn't put him on the injured list...

3/7: Shaq O'Neal, who turned 32 on Saturday, scored 32 pts on Sunday against New Jersey, including 10-of-14 from the foul line. Gary Payton added 18 and the Lakers got the victory 94-88. The Lakers were without Kobe and Karl Malone, and the Nets without Jason Kidd...

3/5: Los Angeles Lakers expected to have their All-Star cast back together this week but that won't be possible because Kobe Bryant hurt his right shoulder again and will be sidelined for a month. With Kobe out in the first minute of the game, Shaquille O'Neal scored 32 points to lead the Lakers to a 99-91 victory over Seattle...

3/3: Yao Ming scored 33 pts for the Houston Rockets but Shaq gave the Lakers 28 pts (despite missing 11 of his 13 free-throws), 7 reb and 5 blocked shots. With a 96-93 score the Lakers got the 8th win in 10 games...

3/2: A lot of teams want to save their season by defeating the Lakers. With Bryant absent for the 1st time specifically for court-mandated reasons, the Atlanta Hawks had their chance and made good use of it. The Lakers lost 94-93 and Gary Payton and Shaquille O'Neal missed last-second shots...

2/29: The Nets, two-time defending Eastern Conference champions, had won 15 of 16 but the Lakers are playing better every day. They held New Jersey to 51 points in the first 3 quarters, were up by 28 pts and finally got a 100-83 win. Karl Malone is expected to be ready to play at end of this week...

2/28: despite the 35 pts from Gilbert Arenas, the Washington Wizards couldn't stop Kobe and Shaq. Bryant had his first triple double of the season with 25 pts, 14 reb and 10 assists, Shaq added 29 pts and the Lakers got the victory 122-110.

2/26: Kobe had 35 pts, 11 reb and 6 assists but he missed his final shot and the Lakers were defeated 103-101 by the team with the best NBA record (42-14), the Sacramento Kings. Bibby scored 31 pts for the Kings, including two 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds...

2/25: Kareem Rush hit a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left to give the Lakers a 112-111 win over the Denver Nuggets. Kobe Bryant had a great game with 35 pts, 10 assists, 7reb and 3 steals. Carmelo Anthony had 35 points for Denver, but was held to 4 pts during the final 8 minutes when Bryant took him as his defensive assignment...

2/22: Bryant scored 16 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns 104-92 for their first 4-game winning streak since December...

2/20: Shaq and Kobe combined for 57 pts 18 reb and 10 assists, Allen Iverson was held to 13 points on 3-of-18 shooting and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 116-88.

2/18: O'Neal and Bryant combined for 66 points, Payton was ejected for the third time in 10 games and Shaq blocked Clifford Robinson 's shot in the final second of the Lakers' 100-99 victory over the Golden State Warriors...

2/17: In the first Laker game after the All-Star break, Kobe Bryant had 31 pts, 8 reb and a season-high 10 assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to an 89-86 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. O'Neal added 21 pts and 11 reb and Gary Payton scored all his 15 pts in the second half...

2/15: with all the stars of the NBA in town, Kobe and Shaq were the leading scorers. O'Neal got 24 points, 11 rebounds and his second All-Star MVP award, while Bryant scored 20 points (4 reb, 4 assist, 5 steals) and the West extended its winning streak to three games with a 136-132 win at Staples Center... Also Derek Fisher, Lisa Leslie (of the L.A. Sparks) and Magic Johnson won the Shooting Stars competition in 43.9 seconds, in the inaugural year of the event...

2/11: like Jordan in Chicago, now the Lakers' biggest star, Magic Johnson, has his own statue in Los Angeles. In the middle of a week full of recognitions for Magic previous to the All-Star Game that will be played at the Staples Center this weekend, he was honored with a statue in the front of the Lakers stadium. Mayor James Hahn, NBA Commissioner David Stern, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy among others, were there.

2/11: Kobe Bryant was back in the Lakers' lineup but Shaquille O'Neal couldn't contain center Yao Ming. The chinese star scored 29 pts and took 11 reb to lead the Houston Rockets to a 102-87 victory...

2/10: Kobe Bryant had the stitches removed from his right index finger but it is not completely healed and he missed his 7th straight game, where the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 98-83, leaded by Shaq's 25 pts an 10reb...

2/8: Derek Fisher stole a ball with 4.1 seconds left, Gary Payton made the layup and the Lakers collected another win, 98-96 over the Orlando Magic and Tracy McGrady (35 pts, 6 reb, 6 assist) ...

2/5: Allen Iverson scored 39 pts to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 96-73 win over the Lakers... Payton was ejected in the first quarter, Shaq missed 12 of 15 foul shots and the Lakers scored only 10 pts in the 1st quarter, matching their season low set earlier this week at Indiana... The teams wore retro uniforms from the 1960s, the Sixers in red, white and blue and the Lakers in blue and white...

2/4: O'Neal scored 37 and Payton added 30 (both season-highs) to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 111-106 overtime victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers... Lebron James scored 32pts for the Cavs...

2/2: one day after using obscene language and publicly criticizing officials, Shaquille O'Neal was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA and could not play at Indiana, where the remaining Lakers lost to the Pacers 85-72. In the middle of one of the weirdest season the Lakers can remember, Kobe replacement Kareem Rush sprained his ankle but won't be included in the injured list because it is more than full...

2/1: Shaquille is returning to his game, he scored 36 pts and the Lakers got a victory over Vince Carter (27pts) and the Toronto Raptors...

1/30: With Kobe seated on the bench (he cut his right index finger at home, needed 15 stitches and will be out at least a week), the Minnesota Timberwolves got big second-half performances from Sprewell (35pts), Cassell (28pts) and Garnett (20pts) to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 97-84...

1/28: Gary Payton had 24 pts against his former team as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 96-82. O'Neal and Fox came back but play limited minutes. O'Neal missed 12 games because of a strained right calf. Rick Fox was welcomed by a standing ovation by the crowd and his teammates before playing for the first time since tearing a tendon in his left foot 9 months ago... Malone's return is delayed until the middle of March...

1/24: Kobe Bryant returned, scored 21 pts in 38 minutes and the Lakers had their first road victory in 7 weeks, beating the Utah Jazz 93-86 at Delta Center. Slava Medvedenko tied his career highs in pts (26) and rebounds (12). Gary Payton scored 22 points...

1/22: As expected, the Dallas Mavericks gave the Lakers their ninth consecutive road loss, 106-87. To the injured players now you have to add rookie Brian Cook who broke his right pinkie...

1/21: Full of injuries, the Lakers suffered their 8th consecutive loss on the road, 88-82 to the Memphis Grizzlies...

1/19: The Lakers lost at home 88-85 against the Phoenix Suns, and will play 22 of the next 30 games on the road. Karl Malone will be out at least another 2 weeks...

1/17: Payton, the only one of the Lakers' four superstars able to play, had 15 pts and 15 assists, and Stanislav Medvedenko added 20 pts and 10 reb while the Lakers routed the Los Angeles Clippers 91-89...

1/16: With Shaq, Kobe, Malone, and now Rick Fox again sidelined because of injures the Lakers were no match for the Sacramento Kings who routed them 103-83.

1/14: The Lakers' 97-71 win over the Nuggets without three of its best players (Shaq, Kobe, Malone) was the 800th career victory for coach Phil Jackson. He accomplished it in 1,101 games, making him the fastest to reach the feat in NBA history.

1/12: in the second quarter of the Lakers' 89-79 victory over Lebron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers, Kobe Bryant sprained his surgically repaired right shoulder and joined fellow superstars Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone on the sidelines. Gary Payton and rookie Brian Cook scored 13 points each, Devean George had 12 pts and 12 reb, and Slava Medvedenko added 11 pts for the Lakers...

1/9: Bryant scored 26 points and Stanislav Medvedenko had a career-high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, this way the Lakers got a big victory over the Atlanta Hawks 113-67 and Phil Jackson avoided losing five games in a row for the second time in his NBA coaching career...

1/7: Bryant was booed from the start and never found a rhythm offensively, finishing with 27 points on 8-of-23 shooting against Carmelo Anthony and his Denver Nuggets (91-113). With Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone sidelined with injuries, Kobe didn't get much help from his teammates and the Lakers lost their fourth consecutive game, the 2nd time they've done so since Phil Jackson arrived 5 years ago. They also have lost 6 of their last 7 games and 8 of 11...

1/6: Shaquille O'Neal sat out his second straight game and Minnesota sent Los Angeles to its seventh loss in 10 games, 106-90.

1/4: playing without Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone the Lakers were defeated by the Clippers 101-98. Kobe Bryant is getting into shape, but his season-high 44pts weren't enough for the Lakers...

1/2: The Seattle crowd cheered all night for Gary Payton, but the SuperSonics won 111-109. It was Payton's first game in Seattle since being traded away last February after 12 1/2 seasons. Bryant scored 18 of his 32 points in the fourth period, but he missed a 3-pointer that would have won it at the buzzer... The Lakers lost Shaquille O'Neal early in the second quarter with a strained right calf.

12/28: O'Neal had 22 points and 16 rebounds, and six of his teammates scored in double figures as the Lakers handed the Celtics a 105-82 loss.

12/25: Again without Karl Malone the Lakers didn't play well and were beaten by the Houston Rockets 99-87. Shaq ended with 22pts 10reb and 3blk, Yao Ming with 18pts, 8reb and 2blk...

12/23: Without Karl Malone, the Lakers were beaten by the Golden State Warriors, 107-98. Malone sprained his knee and will be out at least 2 more games...

12/21: Karl Malone injured his right knee in the opening four minutes of the Los Angeles Lakers' 107-101 victory over Phoenix on Sunday night...

12/19: The Nuggets erased all of a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Bryant beat them with a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer, giving the Los Angeles Lakers a 101-99 victory Friday night after Kobe arrived late from a court hearing in Colorado...

12/12: with a victory 110-93, the Dallas Mavericks ended a 13-year run of drought on the Lakers' home court, a streak that included 26 Lakers' victories ... This game also ended a 10-game overall streak and 27-game regular-season run at Staples Center for the Lakers.

12/9: The Lakers won their 10th consecutive game and pushed their NBA-best record to 18-3 with a victory over the New York Knicks 98-90. The Lakers won their 27th consecutive regular-season home game.

12/7: With Malone suspended for a game, the Lakers gave away all of a 21-point third-quarter lead, but Devean George hit a three-pointer with 24 sec to go and the Lakers won their ninth in a row, 94-92 over Utah... Shaq finished with 19pts, 15reb and 8assist.

12/4: Over seven days of basketball, the Lakers twice beat the Spurs, routed the Indiana Pacers, and became the first team to win in the Mavericks' court this season with a 114-103 victory Thursday night. Shaquille O'Neal scored 25 points and took 19 rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored 32 points, Gary Payton had 17 points and Karl Malone 11.

12/3: The Lakers defeat the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs for second time in six days and third time this season. Los Angeles' 90-86 victory is its seventh in a row... The Lakers trailed 71-62 after three quarters but in the final period Kobe Bryant made 10 of his 21 points, Karl Malone made 4 shots without a miss and Shaquille O'Neal had 5 blocks (of his total nine!). Shaq just missed a triple-double, with 15pts, 16reb and 9 blocks. George added 18pts and Payton 16pts. Malone finished with 16pts and 10reb.

11/30: Two nights after routing the defending champion Spurs, the Lakers did the same to Eastern Conference leader Indiana, 99-77, for their sixth straight victory. The Pacers arrived 14-2, having won eight in a row, but the Lakers' great defense was the key of the game... Shaquille O'Neal scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher added 12 points each and Karl Malone had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers.

11/28: Karl Malone, maybe the best power-forward of all times, gave Tim Duncan a basketball lesson and became the first player to get a triple-double at age 40, despite sitting out the fourth quarter of the Lakers victory 103-87 over the defending NBA champion Spurs. Malone, who played only 26min had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and limited Duncan to 11pts... Devean George had a season-high 19 points, Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton each scored 17 points for the Lakers, who rested their starters in the fourth quarter for the second straight game... San Antonio's Robert Horry, who played for the Lakers the past 6 1/2 seasons and was key member of three championship teams, was honored before the game with a framed version of the No. 5 gold jersey he wore and received a standing ovation from the Staples Center crowd of 18,997

11/26: For the first time since Feb. 19, 1998, eight Los Angeles players scored in double figures

11/23: The Lakers defeated the Grizzlies 121-89, getting their biggest win of season... Kobe Bryant scored 28 points, and Karl Malone had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Payton added 17 points and 10 assists and Bryon Russell had a season-high 14 points for the Lakers. Slava Medvedenko, activated from the injured list before the game, had 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Lakers.

11/19: The win over New York was Jackson's 785th. He passed Gene Shue for 11th on the NBA's all-time list. Cotton Fitzsimmons, who won 832 games, is next...

11/18: Against the Pistons, O'Neal passed George Gervin for 25th on NBA's career scoring list with 20,709 points. David Robinson is next at 20,790...

11/2: Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss: "I certainly hope that Kobe re-signs," Buss told reporters on Nov. 2. "I guess my basic feeling is this is where he belongs ... I have faith that when it comes time, Kobe will be signed." Buss said those convictions also mean he will not approve a trade of Bryant this year. "I'm not about to trade my son". Buss also said that he expected to sign center Shaquille O'Neal and coach Phil Jackson to rich contract extensions that will make each the highest paid in their respective roles.