Pau Gasol battles sore throat, Spanish paparazzi

Strange 24 hours for Pau Gasol.

The Lakers forward battled tonsillitis and Spanish paparazzi, the former prompting a call to a doctor and the latter prompting a call to police officers.

Gasol did not practice Thursday, a day after calling the Redondo Beach Police Department because he was tailed by an unfamiliar car he initially thought was driven by paparazzi.

“They had laid in wait for him for a while and then when they didn’t take any pictures of him when they had the chance and followed him after that, he thought there was something nefarious on their mind,� said Redondo Sgt. Phil Keenan.

Gasol, a Redondo Beach resident, called a Lakers security official and was told to drive to the police department, where he provided a description of the car that was following him. Officers found the car parked nearby and questioned its two inhabitants, who were Spanish. They provided the kicker to the story.

“The shot of him alone was not what they were looking for,� Keenan said. “What they were looking for were shots with him and his girlfriend.�

Gasol is dating Silvia Lopez Castro, who has appeared on reality TV in Spain. Gasol is a national icon in Spain, having led the Spanish basketball team to a recent run of international success, including a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics.

“He was concerned it was something more than paparazzi and when he found out it was paparazzi, he was fairly relieved,� Keenan said.

Gasol was unavailable for comment; he was listed as day to day by the Lakers after he woke up with a sore throat. The Lakers play Minnesota on Friday.

Him again

Meanwhile, the Lakers face their former assistant coach, Kurt Rambis, who returns to Staples Center toward the end of a ragged first season as the Timberwolves’ head coach.

Minnesota (14-55) is 36-1/2 games behind the Lakers in the Western Conference and has the league’s second-worst record.

The Timberwolves endured a 15-game losing streak earlier this season and have currently lost 11 consecutive games, including a trio of one-sided losses so far on their four-game road trip: 122-100 against Utah, 152-114 against Phoenix and 114-100 against Sacramento.

The Lakers never filled Rambis’ position on their staff after he signed a four-year contract with the Timberwolves last August.

“He was extremely vocal for us,� Kobe Bryant said. “[ Brian] Shaw has had to step up and take more of that responsibility with Kurt not being here.�

The Lakers beat the Timberwolves on Dec. 11, 104-92, a game that stood out because of a tight first half and because Bryant sustained a broken right index finger while handling an off-target entry pass from Jordan Farmar.

The finger still hurts when it gets hit or slapped in a game, most recently last Friday against Phoenix when Bryant’s dunk attempt was blocked by Louis Amundson. Bryant went back to wearing a protective adhesive wrap on the finger earlier this week.

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