LOS ANGELES, Dec. 30 (UPI) — Kobe Bryant paced Los Angeles with 28 points in 33 minutes Thursday, bringing the Lakers a 99-82 win over New York.

Los Angeles played on four of the first five days of the NBA season and split those games. New York has lost two out of three to start the campaign.

The Lakers owned a 10-point lead to begin the fourth period and then held the Knicks to four points during the first half of the final quarter.

Pau Gasol added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles, which shot 52 percent from the field and converted nine of its 16 3-point attempts. Steve Blake contributed 11 points off the bench.

Carmelo Anthony had 27 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks.

It’s time for the New York Knicks to prove that the changes made to the roster were the right moves and that this is a team ready to compete. After a really tough loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night (Dec. 28), it’s time to bounce back and beat a struggling Lakers team. The Knicks play in Staples Center on Thursday (Dec. 29) at 10:30 p.m. ET, making for a long night for dedicated fans back east.

I wrote last night how the Knicks were very flat against the Warriors in the second half, especially after holding a six point lead at halftime. While Tyson Chandler was going through foul trouble, the Knicks just seemed to lack the defensive intensity necessary to beat the better teams in the league. It almost seemed like a number of players on the roster have put too much pressure on Chandler to become the only one putting out the extra effort on defense. It worked in the first game against the Boston Celtics when Chandler blocked 6 shots, but he can’t do it every night by himself.

The Lakers are a much different team without Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, and that is what the Knicks get on Thursday night (Dec. 29). The Lakers have also lost two of their first three games, losing to the Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings before beating the Utah Jazz on Tuesday (Dec. 27). Now the Knicks come to town, and the game goes into primetime for viewers watching on the West Coast. It’s also the second game on the TNT schedule for the night, meaning the game is about to get over-analyzed. Hopefully the Knicks can put up really good numbers and leave a lasting opinion with the broadcasters.

Any success for the Knicks is going to come from shutting down Pau Gasol on defense and working an inside-outside game on offense. Kobe Bryant is going to score his points, but Chandler and Amare Stoudemire have to keep Gasol from catching fire in the low post. On offense, it needs to become a balance between the three-point shooters for the Knicks and the post-up games of Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. The shooting percentage has to get better than the 4-for-21 (19 percent) effort that New York had on Wednesday night (Dec. 28) though.

It’s time to put the excuses aside and for the Knicks to prove that they can get up for a game against one of the elite teams in the Western Conference.

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Sources:

Full Knicks Schedule

New York Knicks Website

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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The Los Angeles Lakers are chum in the ocean, and the 29 other NBA teams are sharks swimming around the proverbial waters of the Staples Center.

Now more vulnerable than ever, the Lakers find themselves with large targets on their backs as a myriad of questions surround the 2011-2012 team.

A new coach, new players, and aging veterans all leave observers wondering just what will become of this team. Given the Clippers new acquisitions, they now have worthy opponent in the competition for best team in Los Angeles.

The doubts and questions are many. Can the team implement a new system in the lockout-shortened season in time to contend for the title? Will Kobe Bryant and other players north of age 30 dodge the effects of injuries and Father Time? Finally and most importantly, does the team have the talent to compete among the elite teams in the Western Conference?

The time has come to address the uncertainty. In a shortened, 66-game season, the answers will come quickly. There is no time for the Lakers to turn the “switch” on and off to conserve energy and prepare for the playoffs.

This year, they need to focus in order to make the playoffs.

Against the Chicago Bulls on Christmas Day, they showed their age and ran out of gas in the late 4th quarter. The loss in Sacramento the following night was embarrassing and was cause for concern among Lakers faithful. The win against Utah on Tuesday night could help to ease the pain, but the long-term sustainability of any real success is what this team has to demonstrate.

The concerns are justified. Though NBA basketball has its ebbs and flows, the Lakers have a shorter margin for error given the difficult offseason they have had.

Losing Chris Paul for what appeared to be political reasons was devastating and ended up costing them valuable pieces to a team that was among the league ‘ s elite last season. Without the 2010-2011 Sixth Man of the Year, Lamar Odom, the Lakers have joined the masses of NBA mediocrity in terms of talent.

Will there be an intangible that gets them past the point of being just another good team?

It ‘ s getting to be too late in the career of Bryant to ask him to carry a team on his own, though if anyone can silence critics with his play, it is number 24.

How they respond this season will define the team in years to come and perhaps even Mike Brown ‘ s legacy as a head coach. It will take longer than just one short season to answer these questions. But there is a lot left to learn about which direction this team will ultimately go in 2012.

Michael C. Jones is a Yahoo! Featured Contributor in Sports and a southern California native, following all developments and news related to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Follow Michael on Twitter: @MJisyourhomeboy

Source:

NBA.com

More from Michael C. Jones:

5 Keys to Los Angeles Lakers Success in 2012

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MANILA, Philippines — The Los Angeles Lakers earned their first win of the shortened 2011-2012 NBA regular season with a 96-71 rout of the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Lakers were playing their third game in three nights and coming off losses against the Chicago Bulls and the Sacramento Kings. With their victory, the Lakers avoided starting a season with 3 straight defeats for the first time in 33 years.

Kobe Bryant scored 26 points with 8 rebounds and 5 assists before sitting out most of the fourth quarter, while Pau Gasol added 22 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.

Metta World Peace was the spark off the bench for the Lakers, tallying 14 points, two coming from a driving dunk in the 2nd quarter that capped a 13-0 run for Los Angeles.

The Jazz, meanwhile, could not get anything going as they shot only 32% from the field and made only 1 3-pointer the whole game. None of their starters scored in double figures, with big man Al Jefferson shooting 2-of-16 for 4 points.

Paul Millsap was the only Jazz player to have a positive impact, scoring 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, but he had little help from his teammates.

It was the first victory for the Lakers since getting swept out of the second round of the playoffs last season by eventual champions Dallas Mavericks. They also lost both pre-season games to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Blazers rout Kings

The Portland Trail Blazers booked their second win of the season, routing the Sacramento Kings 101-79 at home. Gerald Wallace had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the Blazers, who are now playing without retired All-Star guard Brandon Roy.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 24 points and 8 boards for Portland.

Sacramento was in control early, leading by as much as 10-points in the second half before the Blazers rallied to tie the game, 46-all, going into halftime.

The second half was all Portland as the Kings struggled offensively, only scoring 33 points in the 3rd and 4th quarters combined.

DeMarcus Cousins had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings. But Sacramento’s ball movement was stagnant; the team had more turnovers (18) than assists (11).

Former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans personified the Kings’ woes, as he had only 4 points on 2-of-8 shooting, with 3 assists and 5 turnovers in 30 minutes of play.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 28 (UPI) — Kobe Bryant scored 26 points and Pau Gasol added 22 to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 96-71 win over Utah Tuesday.

The win was the first of the season for the Lakers, who lost their first two games, and the first for new head Coach Mike Brown.

Bryant hit three of his five shots from 3-point range. Metta World Peace scored 14 points and Troy Murphy didn’t score, but he led Los Angeles with 11 rebounds.

Paul Millsap led Utah with 18 points and eight rebounds. The game was the first of the season for the Jazz.

Utah shot 32 percent from the field and did not score 20 points in any quarter until they tallied 25 in the fourth. They were outscored 30-15 in the third quarter.