BY DAVID LASSEN THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
SAN DIEGO - Just another day in Lakerland: No coach, no star and a celebrity engagement.
With Phil Jackson absent because of and Kobe Bryant given the night off to rest, the biggest news surrounding the team during its annual exhibition-season excursion to San Diego was the engagement of guard Sasha Vujacic to tennis star Maria Sharapova.
"We're both very happy," Vujacic said before Thursday's 120-99 win over Golden State.
Vujacic declined to provide many details of how and when the couple became engaged, other than to say it came on the one-year anniversary of when they met and it wasShe was happy. The answer was yes, so I think she liked it."
Vujacic, 26, and Sharapova, 23, met at a barbecue in Manhattan Beach hosted by mutual friends, he said.
Thursday's game also marked Vujacic's return to action after missing three games with a concussion. He started in place of Bryant, finishing with nine points, three rebounds and an assist in 15 minutes.
Wednesday was the first day, he said, when he felt able to play. The last of the concussion symptoms to dissipate were light-headedness and blurred vision.
"That was the worst," Vujacic said.
The decision to rest Bryant may well have been influenced by the condition of the court in San Diego Jackson recently said he didn't like the ancient floor. But Brian Shaw, who ran the team, said it was also an opportunity to give other players, notably Vujacic, a chance to play.
While Shaw moved into the head-coaching role, he declined to use Jackson's oversized chair.
"Absolutely not," Shaw said beforehand.
Thanks to Pau Gasol's 23 points and seven rebounds, Steve Blake's 18 points and seven assists and Lamar Odom's 16 points and 12 rebounds, Shaw's night as the head man was a success.
"It felt pretty good," he said.
WALTON'S HOMECOMING
Luke Walton's annual appearance in his hometown is a big deal, as witnessed by the 50 tickets he had to gather for family and friends. Forty-six went into a single envelope to be distributed by his mother.
"She can figure it out," he said.
It was also Walton's season debut after being limited by a lower back problem and a strained hamstring. He had five points and two assists in 11 minutes.
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