January 2007 Archives

What would you have done on Dec. 31 if someone said they could promise the Lakers would go 8-7 in January? Kwame Brown had just gone down with a severely sprained ankle and Lamar Odom was still trying to get back from a sprained knee ligament. My guess is that almost every Lakers fan would have taken the offer.

After Wednesday's victory over the Celtics, the Lakers officially clinched the winning month. That in itself is remarkable given everything they endured. They finished January 8-7 after going 10-5 in October/November and 10-6 in December. If you can post a winning record every month of the season, you're going to wind up with a high playoff seed.

Looking back at my seaon prediction from October, I had the Lakers going 11-4 in October/November, 8-8 in December and 8-7 in January. So they're about plus-one right now from my projected record of 48-34. We'll see what February brings; I thought they would go 7-5 before the season started.

* * *

Ronny Turiaf said he suffered some hip pain when Wally Szczerbiak pulled him down in the third quarter and was called for a second-degree flagrant foul. The NBA draws the distinction for a flagrant foul involving ``unnecessary and excessive'' contact. Turiaf stayed in the game and made 1 of 2 free throws.

* * *

I asked Kobe Bryant afterward how he would describe the ferocious windmill dunk he threw down at the end of the game. He said he was planning on flipping in a reverse layup but was caught a little off guard by how high he elevated. So he dunked the ball instead and earned a spot on every sportscast in the country.

``My legs are back, man,'' Bryant said.

* * *

After turning 21 five days ago, Celtics guard Gerald Green got an education from Bryant in Wednesday's game. But Bryant praised the second-year guard, who finished two points off his career-high with 22. The Celtics selected Green with the No. 18 pick in the 2005 draft.

``I told him, `You have a lot of talent. The important thing is to keep working. Just have tunnel vision,''' Bryant said. ``It's a tough situation for him here because they're losing so much. But it's important for him just to stay focused on what he has to do. I told him if he ever needs anything, track me down. He's a hell of a talent.''

* * *

There are definitely no guarantees from night to night with Phil Jackson and minutes. Sasha Vujacic started Tuesday in New York with Bryant suspended but played just 1:58 against the Celtics. Jackson yanked him immediately in the second quarter; Vujacic did take a 3-pointer in the short time he played.

That was more than could be said for Brian Cook, who was on the floor for the Lakers late in the fourth quarter against the Knicks. Cook didn't get off the bench in Wednesday's game.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

BOSTON--If Kobe Bryant felt as if he was ``grounded’’ while sitting in his hotel room and serving a one-game NBA suspension Tuesday night, then how would he describe the feeling in returning with a 43-point barrage against the Boston Celtics?

``It felt like I was finally able to run out in the yard,’’ Bryant said, ``and just run a little wild.’’

It was more like Bryant ran roughshod Wednesday in the Lakers’ 111-98 victory. After not taking a shot in the first eight minutes, Bryant could hear ``M-V-P’’ chants in this city once so hostile to the Lakers as the final seconds ticked away.

He connected on seven 3-pointers, scored 12 points in the last 6 1-2 minutes as the Lakers finally put away the Celtics and threw down a savage reverse dunk with 1:40 left to cap his one-man show.

The Lakers ended their three-game losing streak at the expense of the Celtics, who lost for the franchise-record-tying 13th consecutive game. Boston has played the last 21 games without star guard Paul Pierce, who is out with a stress reaction in his left foot.

Searching for a silver lining, Boston coach Doc Rivers cited two of his young players and said that if ``Gerald Green is a Kobe Bryant and Al Jefferson is whoever you want him to be and you’re winning games, you’re not going to give a crap about what happened.’’

Bryant, meanwhile, was able to move past his suspension and deliver the Lakers the first victory on this eight-game trip. He said he was more nervous watching Tuesday’s loss to New York on television than he ever would be playing in a game.

With the perspective that came with sitting out, Bryant offered his teammates a reminder to have fun Wednesday. ``We tend to get a little too serious on these road trips,’’ Bryant said, ``and kind of forget about how much fun the game is.’’

There also was none of the expected vengeance on Bryant’s part in returning from suspension. Bryant laid out his intentions before the game and had to be reminded by Lakers coach Phil Jackson to take open shots in the first quarter.

``It’s important for us to get back on track. Not for me to necessarily take over the game,’’ Bryant said. ``Hopefully we won’t need that. We’ve got a long trip ahead, it’s important for everybody to get on track and get into some type of a rhythm if we want to do well on this trip.’’

The Lakers needed Bryant to finally close the door on the Celtics. He went to the bench with 8:39 remaining and the Lakers leading 91-77 but had to return not even two minutes later as Brian Scalabrine scored seven consecutive points for Boston.

With the lead down to seven points, Bryant returned for the final 6:50. He drove for a layup on his first possession back, buried two 3-pointers from 26 feet and threw down the dunk on Green that left the crowd gasping.

``I just got in a good rhythm,’’ Bryant said, ``and was able to put on a good show there.’’

The Celtics turned to Green, a second-year guard, to try to stop Bryant. Green said after the game, ``It’s tough when you are in the game and those shots keep going in’’ and ``We knew he was kind of upset about the suspension.’’

Bryant made 13 of 25 shots and approached a triple-double with eight rebounds and eight assists. He hit a spectacular 3-pointer to beat the third quarter buzzer after Boston’s Wally Szczerbiak lost the ball with a chance to make it a five-point game.

Bryant also described serving his suspension in the simplest of terms before the game: ``I felt like a kid that was grounded. I couldn’t go outside and play on the swings. It was terrible.’’

The Lakers led 35-23 after the first quarter - - with Bryant not taking a shot until the 3:56 mark - - but what should have been an easy night against a Celtics team that hadn’t won since Jan. 5 wasn’t meant to be.

Bryant went to the bench to start the second quarter but came back after not even two minutes. Sasha Vujacic, Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar all missed 3-pointers for the Lakers, who had no trouble shooting 57 percent in the first quarter.

``There’s some people that might have learned a lesson out of the game tonight,’’ Jackson said, ``because the second unit was quick with their shooting, their defense didn’t stand and suddenly that 12-point first quarter lead was a tie game.’’

With Bryant coming back from suspension, Jackson promised before the game to rein in his superstar guard. ``My interest is to not let him go off and get too wacky out there,’’ Jackson said, ``in case he’s got retribution in mind.’’

Jackson proved it with 4:00 left in the second quarter. Bryant hit the side of the backboard on a jumper and Jackson called for seldom-used guard Shammond Williams to replace Bryant.

The Lakers now have to find a victory on this trip to replace the one they wanted against New York but were denied by Bryant’s suspension.

``We gave up a game last night, so we have to get back two,’’ Jackson said. ``That means we have to win somewhere else.’’

Most Saturday practices are pretty sleepy affairs. Today was a different story. We were greeted by 40 reporters who were at the practice facility to sit down with Kobe Bryant and talk about his second-generation Nike basketball shoe. Nike arranged the session for Bryant with reporters from Asia as well as sneaker magazines in the U.S.

* * *

Lakers coach Phil Jackson was pretty hard on Andrew Bynum after Friday's loss to Charlotte, saying that the Bobcats basically took advantage of him. Bynum finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks - - a very, very good line for a 19-year-old big man - - but Jackson was disappointed Bynum couldn't get established early.

The Lakers wanted to feed the ball to Bynum and let him use his height advantage against Emeka Okafor. In Jackson's mind, that meant either making plays with his passing or hitting shots. It never quite materialized that way; Bynum scored the Lakers' first basket of the game but couldn't convert the other times he got the ball.

``Right off the bat, they just started shoving him around off the lane,'' Jackson said. ``He couldn’t even get a shot off. He had the ball taken away from him like three out of the first six times he touched the ball in the lane.

``He still got some points and his stats were good, but there’s so many missed opportunities in the course of that game - - lob passes to him and opportunities where rebounds presented themselves and he couldn’t fulfill it.’'

The play most people will remember from Friday was the Bynum shot that Okafor blocked with 1:45 left in regulation. There's no disputing that Bynum went up too softly in a one-point game but he did come back and make an immediate play at the defensive end. Gerald Wallace tried to go up into Bynum's arms and was blocked.

``His presence is such a big factor in there and how to use that is so important,'' Jackson said. ``He’s still learning how to do that.’’

It'll be interesting to see how Bynum comes back 36 hours later for a game against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.

* * *

Bryant wasn't overly concerned with how many minutes (50) he played Friday. He played the first 15:30 before going to the bench for a breather and played all but 5.2 seconds in the second half plus overtime. Such is the process of hammering out a rotation now that Lamar Odom is back from a knee injury.

``I don’t think about it,'' Bryant said. ``When I’m out, I just try to get my rest. When it’s time to go back in, it’s time to go back in. It’s not really part of my thought process.’’

* * *

One thing I forgot to mention in Friday's post is that the Lakers' home losses to Charlotte, Milwaukee and Washington all have shared a common thread. All three of those teams beat the Lakers in the first game of a long road trip. You should never underestimate how hard teams play when they first come out on the road.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--So many times this season, the Lakers have turned to youth and inexperience as an excuse when they have lost games to teams whose only destiny is a spot in the NBA draft lottery.

That was before Saturday’s practice, when Lakers coach Phil Jackson was in no mood to sugarcoat his team’s second loss of the season to the Charlotte Bobcats.

``I hope they’re doing bad,’’ Jackson said. ``They should be because we’re really disappointed. It was another overtime game but the fact that we got beat that badly in overtime (15-6) when it’s our court, that was disappointing.’’

Jackson harped on the 15 turnovers that Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom combined for in Friday’s loss. The coach also showed his players tape of the Bobcats’ 11-1 run late in the third quarter, which erased what had been a seven-point Lakers lead.

``That’s really the point,’’ Jackson said, ``where an experienced team knows how they’re going to take care of business and does the right thing.’’

The Lakers have now lost two games to Charlotte and New Orleans, as well as games to Memphis, Portland, Seattle and Milwaukee. As for a silver lining, at least the Lakers don’t have to worry about an NBA Finals pairing with the Bobcats.

``The positive is that we don’t play none of those teams in the playoffs,’’ Bryant said. ``That’s a good thing. All the teams that we tend to play well against are future playoff opponents.

``That’s somewhat encouraging. We’d like to be getting better in those games instead of losing those games. The more experience we gain, the more we’ll realize the importance.’’

There’s also the small matter of a nationally televised game today against San Antonio at Staples Center. The Lakers could sweep the abbreviated three-game season series for the first time since 1997-98.

``I just want to see us play a good game,’’ Jackson said. ``We’re having some flat spells where we stop executing, we stop moving the ball and we start standing around and turnovers ensue on that. We just need to get that clarified.’’

Also: Jackson said the team’s trainers were encouraged that Luke Walton has not experiencing significant swelling with his moderately sprained right ankle. ``We’re hopeful that it’s going to be a limited amount of time,’’ Jackson said. . . .

With Odom returning from a sprained knee ligament, forward Radmanovic did not play Friday. Jackson said Radmanovic aggravated his sprained right hand during warm-ups for the game. . . .

Kwame Brown did some light shooting at practice and said of his sprained left ankle: ``It felt OK, but I felt myself cheating with my right side.’’ Brown is not expected back for at least another week. . . .

The Lakers need a victory today to avoid losing consecutive home games for the first time all season.

As he has a couple of times this season, Phil Jackson brought up the fact Friday that he played on a championship team with the New York Knicks in the 1972-73 season that lost twice to a Philadelphia 76ers team that finished 9-73, the worst record in NBA history.

It's a nice way of putting in perspective that any team can win on any given night in the NBA.

There are only a couple of problems with that statement. No. 1: The Knicks beat Philly six times that season and lost only once. No. 2: Nobody expects the 2006-07 Lakers to win an NBA title. No. 3: Come on, aren’t the Lakers are supposed to beat the freaking Charlotte Bobcats?

Not this season, at least. We know Jackson is never going to hear the end of the Bobcats’ season sweep if he happens to get a phone call Saturday from Michael Jordan, who’s the managing member of basketball operations for the third-year franchise.

Give Jackson credit for being entertaining, even after a terrible loss. Here was his take on overtime, especially after Matt Carroll banked in that 3-pointer:

``I think all the shoulders sank right after that. I called an early timeout to try to get them going again. I saw the frustration was just too heavy. We’d made too many mistakes to that point to rectify ourselves . . . rectify the situation. I don’t think you can rectify yourself. You can make a rectum of yourself, which we were tonight.’’

If the Lakers are going to watch tape, I’d recommend the start of the game, when they fell behind 11-2 and made the rest of the first half an uphill climb, and the third quarter when they could have built a double-digit lead but didn’t.

The Lakers led 68-61 with 3:33 left in the third with the Bobcats forced to call timeout. Charlotte came out of the timeout and immediately got a dunk off a pick-and-roll with Jeff McInnis feeding Emeka Okafor.

Kobe Bryant missed a 3-pointer and Gerald Wallace scored on a run out to make it a three-point game. Maurice Evans then couldn’t get a drive to drop and Wallace spun around Bryant and scored as part of a three-point play to tie the game at 68-68.

``That overtime doesn’t surprise me,’’ Lamar Odom said, ``when you think that we had a 68-61 lead in the third quarter and we were playing well. It seemed like momentum was going our way and then it was just the opposite, just a reversal.

``Until we start playing consistent, playing the same way all the time, we’ll be up and down, up and down, up and down.’’

It would be pretty amazing to see the Lakers lose to Charlotte on Friday and then take a three-game season sweep over the Spurs on Sunday. The Lakers have a quick turnaround with only about 36 hours before the 12:30 p.m. start Sunday.

* * *

The Bobcats won even though they made one of the dumbest mistakes I’ve ever seen at the end of regulation. It’s a three-point game with 9.6 seconds left and you know that the only Lakers player to hit a shot in the fourth quarter is Bryant.

Of course, that’s the perfect time for Carroll to decide to switch and let Wallace take Bryant when the Lakers guard heads right. Out of the confusion, nobody winds up taking Bryant, who buries the tying 3-pointer and easiest big shot I’ve ever seen him get.

``That last possession with Kobe, we were saying of all the people that you don’t switch off is that you don’t switch on Kobe,’’ Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. ``You know what he’s going to do - - shoot the ball.’’ [ep

* * *

If not for Bryant’s 3-pointer at the end of regulation, the Lakers might have gone the final 2:25 without scoring. Bryant certainly was guilty of trying to do too much. He had a shot blocked and then lost the ball. He also missed a jumper over Carroll with 33.9 seconds left.

The Bobcats took a 91-88 lead with 9.6 seconds left on a play that typified the Lakers’ night. Odom makes a great block on Okafor only to have Wallace get to the ball and stick it in the basket. Good thing, too, because the Lakers might have been able to win on Bryant’s 3 otherwise.

* * *

It was interesting to see how Jackson opted to use Bryant in Odom’s first game back. Bryant normally rests at the start of the second and fourth quarters but didn’t in both instances Friday. He played with a group of reserves for the first 3 1-2 minutes of the second quarter before taking a quick breather.

In the second half, Bryant barely sat at all. He came out with 5.2 seconds left in the third quarter but returned to play the entire fourth quarter and all of overtime. As a result, Bryant played 50 out of a possible 53 minutes in the overtime game. A heavy, heavy workload.

The Lakers also opted to use Bryant at the scoring wing position and play Odom in the backcourt much of the game and especially in the fourth quarter. Bryant wound up scoring 23 of the Lakers’ 48 points in the second half plus overtime. He had five assists but nine turnovers for the night.

With Odom back, Vladimir Radmanovic didn’t get off the bench. I wouldn’t call this a surprise given how quickly Jackson benched Radmanovic in the second half of the Lakers’ previous two games but it was remarkable nonetheless.

* * *

Odom’s going to need a couple games to get his timing down. He threw one lazy pass just after crossing midcourt that the Bobcats stole and was called for an offensive foul shortly thereafter in the first quarter. Odom also missed a lot of the drives he normally makes.

``I felt a little slow out there,’’ Odom said. ``It’ll take some time to get the explosion back and things like that, but for the most part it felt good. A little ice, a little rest, I’ll go home tonight and get ready for practice tomorrow.’’

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

If one game could sum up everything that has gone wrong for the Lakers this season - - the losses to teams the rest of the NBA treats as road kill, the run of injuries that knows no end - - then Friday night’s implosion against the Charlotte Bobcats was it.

The Lakers welcomed back forward Lamar Odom, who missed 21 games with a sprained knee ligament, and then watched Luke Walton go down with a moderately sprained right ankle that will keep him out at least a week.

Then they took a game that was once in control and squandered it 106-97 in overtime, even after being given a chance at redemption thanks to Kobe Bryant’s tying 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left in regulation.

It was the Lakers’ second loss in a month to the Bobcats, who swept the season series and improved to a robust 15-27. The Lakers were outscored 15-6 in overtime, shot 42 percent for the game and committed 21 turnovers.

Maybe the developmental league D-Fenders deserve the next crack when the Lakers play one of the NBA’s doormats. The Lakers now have lost twice to Charlotte, twice to New Orleans and once to Memphis and Portland this season.

``I’m not as disappointed about the loss as I am about how we played,’’ Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``You can play in a loss and sometimes play well enough to feel like that was a heck of a game and we played well. But that was not well played at all.

``We forced the issue. Guys tried to insert their will too hard in the ballgame. We created too many turnovers as a consequence. We weren’t going to get the calls even though we were trying to force the calls to be made.’’

Odom said: ``You look at our record, you say we’re right in the midst of everything, right in the pack of wolves. But I don’t think we have an identity yet as far as how we want to play every single night, whether the ball’s going in or not.’’

The Lakers went the length of the court in the last 9.6 seconds of regulation to force overtime. Matt Carroll picked up Bryant, then thought Gerald Wallace was going to switch as Bryant dribbled to the right side.

Out of the confusion, the Bobcats left Bryant uncovered and he buried a 3-pointer without a hand in his face to tie the game at 91-91 with 1.6 seconds left. Bryant played all but 5.2 seconds in the second half and overtime.

He finished with 32 points on 10-of-24 shooting but also had nine turnovers in 50 minutes. Odom had 12 points but made just 3 of 10 shots and totaled six turnovers. Andrew Bynum finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks.

The Lakers had momentum on their side but overtime proved to be a slow fade. Odom was called for an offensive foul, Smush Parker missed a point-blank shot and Odom had a jumper bounce in and out.

As it turned out, Charlotte had a little luck on its side. After Bynum blocked Raymond Felton in the lane, Carroll banked in a 3-pointer to put the Bobcats ahead 96-91 with 2:51 left in overtime.

“I think all the shoulders sank right after that,’’ Jackson said. ``I just saw frustration. We’d made too many mistakes to that point to rectify the situation.’’

Bryant tried to create with the Lakers down 97-93 but had the ball stolen by Gerald Wallace. It was not how Bryant would want to remember the game in which he became the youngest player to score 18,000 points in his career.

Walton, meanwhile, was injured with 8:31 left in the third quarter as he went up to contest Adam Morrison’s drive to the basket. Walton came down on Emeka Okafor’s foot in the lane and was in immediate pain.

He was helped to the locker room by trainer Gary Vitti and forward Ronny Turiaf. Walton, who has battled ankle injuries throughout his college and pro career, did not return to the bench.

Jackson said afterward that Walton would miss ``a couple games. I don’t know how many. But right off the bat, I’d say it’s going to be a week.’’

Once again, the Lakers were haunted by inexperience. They led 68-61 with 3:33 left in the third quarter but gave up an 11-1 run to Charlotte. Carroll led the Bobcats with 24 points while Okafor finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds.

Jackson once again felt that his team again got caught playing to the level of the other team’s record.

``It’s very, very frustrating to see us lose to teams that, record-wise, you say, `Well, this record means that and this record means this,’’’ Jackson said. ``It doesn’t mean anything that particular night when you step on the court. Records are off. The game is being played.’’

After losing 133-124 to Charlotte in triple overtime on Dec. 29, the Lakers had a message in addition to a scouting report on their locker room board beforehand. It read simply ``Kick they ass’’ with three exclamation points.

With the Lakers falling behind by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, that message apparently never got through.

Even with one of the best names in the NBA, Smush Parker is an easy guy to overlook on the Lakers. Just ask yourself if you realized Parker was going to be starting his 125th consecutive game Friday against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Not bad for a guy who’s making the minimum salary ($798,112) for a fourth-year player and went undrafted out of Fordham. Parker’s also had a pretty good January, averaging 13.1 points, shooting 52.2 percent and making Orlando coach Brian Hill eat his words.

One of the big questions for the second half of the season is how Parker fits into the Lakers’ future. Will he be a starting guard on a team with championship aspirations or is he best suited to come off the bench?

If Parker projects as a bench player, then the Lakers have to ask if they want to re-sign him. They already have Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic under contract to fill that role next season.

Parker will be looking for money and minutes when he hits the free-agent market this summer. The Lakers could offer him a deal as long as five years for as much as the average player salary ($5.215 million this season).

He has spent two seasons playing in the triangle offense, which is far from the easiest offense to learn. You would have to start over with another guard you bring in, unless you decide Farmar can start in his second year.

The Lakers are over the salary cap for next season but the luxury-tax threshold is the more important consideration. The tax number was $65.42 million this season. It’ll probably go up to $68 million or so this summer.

With a payroll of $58 million for next season, the Lakers probably will have $10 million or so to spend. They have four players who will become free agents in Parker, Luke Walton, Chris Mihm and Shammond Williams.

(In addition, they have to crunch numbers accordingly with Andrew Bynum eligible for a big contract extension as of July 1, 2008. This doesn’t get mentioned as much as it should given how significant it will be for the Lakers.)

If the Lakers wanted to upgrade at guard, their best bet probably is through a trade. It’s hard to find a more appealing player on the list of free agents who would be willing to sign for the $5.215 million midlevel exception.

Of course, Parker just as easily could leave if another team were to make him an offer for midlevel money or for a sizable chunk of it.

One other thing: The Lakers aren’t obligated to use their midlevel exception on Walton or Parker. They control the free-agent rights to both players - - in Walton’s case the full Bird rights and the early Bird rights to Parker.

It’s a drag, of course, to think about these things when you’re trying to enjoy a game. But it’s the reality of the situation facing Parker and the Lakers the rest of the season. No matter what, though, Parker’s proven he belongs in the NBA.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--The Charlotte Bobcats have been in business for all of 2 1-2 seasons, compiling a 58-147 record in that time, while barely meeting the NBA’s minimum team salary of $39.85 million this season.

Yet it’s the Bobcats who have given the Lakers ``hell’’ in the words of Kobe Bryant. They took down the Lakers 133-124 in triple-overtime at home on Dec. 29 and will be at Staples Center tonight for the rematch.

It will be a last stand of sorts for the Lakers, who have dropped more games to doormat teams than they care to remember. The past month has seen losses to Charlotte, Memphis and New Orleans, teams with a combined record of 41-84.

``Our thing all year is we know we can play with the best teams,’’ Luke Walton said. ``But to be one of the best teams, we’ve got to beat these sub-.500 teams. We’re aware of that and we’ve been talking about it, so we’ve got to start making it happen now.’'

Lakers coach Phil Jackson borrowed from one of his players in describing the string of recent losses as ``haunting’’ the team.

``For us, it’s just going out there and playing hard all the time - - all the time - - and understanding that we’re trying to play for something bigger,’’ Bryant said. ``If we can keep that in our mind’s eye, we should be OK.

``But it’s always about effort when you play against teams like (Charlotte) because they’re going to come out and they’re going to bring it. In the NBA, any team can beat you on any given night if you’re not ready.’’

The Bobcats now have beaten the Lakers twice in Charlotte and nearly won last season at Staples Center. Brevin Knight missed two free throws with 11 seconds remaining and the Lakers escaped with a 99-98 victory.

While the Bobcats could be down four big men tonight, the Lakers will welcome the return of Lamar Odom, who missed 21 games with a sprained knee ligament. The Lakers have given up 110 points per game this month without Odom or Kwame Brown.

Star gazing: For the ninth time, Bryant has been selected to the All-Star Game. He received the third-most votes of any player (behind LeBron James and Yao Ming) and will start for the Western Conference in the Feb. 18 game in Las Vegas.

``It’s going to be a lot of energy,’’ Bryant said. ``All-Star weekend normally is a lot of energy, and then you put it in Vegas, it’s going to be through the roof.’’

Bryant was asked if this might be the worst-played All-Star Game simply because of the late hours everyone will be keeping in Sin City.

``It could be the best played,’’ Bryant countered, ``just because you don’t want to have an All-Star Game in Vegas and go out there and have somebody wear you out.’’

Big bucks: The Lakers remain the second most valued franchise in the NBA after the New York Knicks, according to Forbes magazine’s annual report released Thursday. Forbes estimated the Lakers’ value at $568 million, up from $529 million last season.

By returning to the playoffs, the Lakers’ revenues were estimated at $167 million, only $3 million shy of the estimated revenue from the 2003-04 season before the Shaquille O’Neal trade.

Also: Forward Ronny Turiaf missed practice Thursday to get a new visa. Turiaf lost his passport and was heading to Tijuana, Mexico, to re-enter the country, Jackson said.

For all that you've read about Kobe Bryant and his insane 5:30 a.m. workouts in the summer comes this revelation from Wednesday's practice: Bryant loves fast food and hasn't changed his eating habits even as he has ascended to become arguably the best player in basketball.

``My teammates tell me all the time, `You must have like some secret potion or something because it doesn’t make any sense,’'' Bryant said. ``Because I just eat junk food and run all day. I’m a bad example.’'

Bryant told a story in which Samaki Walker once chastised him for eating McDonald's or Carl's Jr. when they were teammates. To test out the Bryant theory, I went to lunch at El Pollo Loco with Lakers spokesman John Black and then straight to LA Fitness. So far, so good.

* * *

Phil Jackson got some laughs with his answer to a question about how Lamar Odom will help the Lakers when he returns Friday against Charlotte. It started out as predictable as you would expect.

``He's our best rebounder,'' Jackson said. ``We've been getting killed on the boards. That's such an important part of the game, there's such value on possession of the ball.''

Then Jackson couldn't resist a little jab: ``He'll help us turn the ball over. Lamar does that.''

Of course, Jackson came back to the positive: ``And his speed in transition is always good because the best part of his game is the defensive rebound/power out/offensive transition game.''

* * *

Bryant on Andrew Bynum and how good he can be in two or three years: ``I think it depends entirely on him and what he wants to do and the tenacity that he wants to bring every day. If he’s determined to be one of the elite players in the league, he can do that. He has the gifts to do it. It’s just a matter of if he wants it or not.’’

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--Until Kwame Brown returns from a sprained left ankle in another week or two, the Lakers can put off deciding whether 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum should continue starting or come off the bench.

For his part, Bynum clearly believes he is best served starting. He said as much at practice Wednesday: ``When I start, I think I’m more effective than when I come off the bench.’’

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said such a decision was too far away to consider right now. Jackson also is unlikely to give the opinion of the NBA’s youngest player much weight whenever that decision is made.

``He’s not old enough to determine it,’’ Jackson said. ``There’s a few guys in this game that do have that ability to dictate that. But it’s up to coach’s distinction as to how the team functions.

``We really want to put defense as a priority in this team and Andrew has to bring that defense along with his offensive game. We think he’s making progress all the time, so that’s good.’’

Jackson would like the Lakers to be something more than the NBA’s 26th ranked team defensively, giving up 103.1 points on average, and Brown brings size and strength inside. Jackson also believes the second team looks more for Bynum than the starters.

The Lakers are 16-9 with Bynum starting and 11-6 with him as a reserve. Bynum is averaging 9.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and playing 25 minutes as a starter compared with 6.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 15.4 minutes off the bench.

It’s a moot point for the time being. Brown sat out practice Wednesday as he continues to recover from the Dec. 31 ankle injury. Jackson said: ``I don’t know whether it’s a week or two weeks or whenever Kwame comes back.’’

Air Sasha: The Lakers ended Wednesday’s practice on a thunderclap of a play. Sasha Vujacic - - yes, the 200-pound Vujacic who loves to shoot 3-pointers - - drove baseline and dunked over both Bynum and Lamar Odom.

All Kobe Bryant could do was fall to the court laughing and head to the locker room joking about how cold the devil must be. Bynum pleaded his case to reporters that he actually blocked Vujacic’s dunk into the basket.

``It was the most surprising dunk I’ve ever seen,’’ Bryant said. ``We’ve been on him since he’s been here to go to the basket hard. . . . I have to remind him sometimes; I say, `Sasha, you’re taller than I am.’’’

Vegas vacation: Bynum said he would welcome the chance to play on the team of second-year players as part of the Rookie Challenge at All-Star weekend. Then again, he wasn’t overly concerned about being selected.

``It really doesn’t matter if I make it or not,’’ Bynum said. ``I’ll be an All-Star in the future.’’

The NBA will announce starters today for the Feb. 18 game in Las Vegas. Bryant is expected to be voted a starter for the ninth time.

Page turner: Special assistant coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presented the players and coaching staff with copies of his new book ``On the Shoulders of Giants’’ about the Harlem Renaissance.

Abdul-Jabbar will sign copies of the book Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. with Spike Lee at the Borders at 2 Penn Plaza in New York before the Lakers-Knicks game.

Also: Forward Lamar Odom reported no problems with his injured right knee and said, ``I’ll be playing on Friday.’’

For all that you've read about Kobe Bryant and his insane 5:30 a.m. workouts in the summer comes this revelation from Wednesday's practice: Bryant actually loves fast food and hasn't changed his eating habits even as he has ascended to become arguably the best player in basketball.

``My teammates tell me all the time, `You must have like some secret potion or something because it doesn’t make any sense,’'' Bryant said. ``Because I just eat junk food and run all day. I’m a bad example.’'

Bryant told a story in which Samaki Walker once chastised him for eating McDonald's or Carl's Jr. when they were teammates. To test out the Bryant theory, I went to lunch at El Pollo Loco for lunch with Lakers spokesman John Black and then straight to LA Fitness. So far, so good.

* * *

Phil Jackson got some laughs with his answer to a question about how Lamar Odom will help the Lakers when he returns Friday against Charlotte. It started out as predictable as you would expect.

``He's our best rebounder,'' Jackson said. ``We've been getting killed on the boards. That's such an important part of the game, there's such value on possession of the ball.''

Then Jackson couldn't resist a little jab: ``He'll help us turn the ball over. Lamar does that.''

Of course, Jackson came back to the positive: ``And his speed in transition is always good because the best part of his game is the defensive rebound/power out/offensive transition game.''

* * *

Bryant on Andrew Bynum and how good he can be in two or three years: ``I think it depends entirely on him and what he wants to do and the tenacity that he wants to bring every day. If he’s determined to be one of the elite players in the league, he can do that. He has the gifts to do it. It’s just a matter of if he wants it or not.’’

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--Until Kwame Brown returns from a sprained left ankle in another week or two, the Lakers can put off deciding whether 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum should continue starting or come off the bench.

For his part, Bynum clearly believes he is best served starting. He said as much at practice Wednesday: ``When I start, I think I’m more effective than when I come off the bench.’’

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said such a decision was too far away to consider right now. Jackson also is unlikely to give the opinion of the NBA’s youngest player much weight whenever that decision is made.

``He’s not old enough to determine it,’’ Jackson said. ``There’s a few guys in this game that do have that ability to dictate that. But it’s up to coach’s distinction as to how the team functions.

``We really want to put defense as a priority in this team and Andrew has to bring that defense along with his offensive game. We think he’s making progress all the time, so that’s good.’’

Jackson would like the Lakers to be something more than the NBA’s 26th ranked team defensively, giving up 103.1 points on average, and Brown brings size and strength inside. Jackson also believes the second team looks more for Bynum than the starters.

The Lakers are 16-9 with Bynum starting and 11-6 with him as a reserve. Bynum is averaging 9.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and playing 25 minutes as a starter compared with 6.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 15.4 minutes off the bench.

It’s a moot point for the time being. Brown sat out practice Wednesday as he continues to recover from the Dec. 31 ankle injury. Jackson said: ``I don’t know whether it’s a week or two weeks or whenever Kwame comes back.’’

Air Sasha: The Lakers ended Wednesday’s practice on a thunderclap of a play. Sasha Vujacic - - yes, the 200-pound Vujacic who loves to shoot 3-pointers - - drove baseline and dunked over both Bynum and Lamar Odom.

All Kobe Bryant could do was fall to the court laughing and head to the locker room joking about how cold the devil must be. Bynum pleaded his case to reporters that he actually blocked Vujacic’s dunk into the basket.

``It was the most surprising dunk I’ve ever seen,’’ Bryant said. ``We’ve been on him since he’s been here to go to the basket hard. . . . I have to remind him sometimes; I say, `Sasha, you’re taller than I am.’’’

Vegas vacation: Bynum said he would welcome the chance to play on the team of second-year players as part of the Rookie Challenge at All-Star weekend. Then again, he wasn’t overly concerned about being selected.

``It really doesn’t matter if I make it or not,’’ Bynum said. ``I’ll be an All-Star in the future.’’

The NBA will announce starters today for the Feb. 18 game in Las Vegas. Bryant is expected to be voted a starter for the ninth time.

Page turner: Special assistant coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presented the players and coaching staff with copies of his new book ``On the Shoulders of Giants’’ about the Harlem Renaissance.

Abdul-Jabbar will sign copies of the book Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. with Spike Lee at the Borders at 2 Penn Plaza in New York before the Lakers-Knicks game.

Also: Forward Lamar Odom reported no problems with his injured right knee and said, ``I’ll be playing on Friday.’’

Not much extra from Tuesday's practice other than the following quote from Kobe Bryant about what Lamar Odom's return will mean for him.

``It helps me a lot,'' Bryant said, ``because now I don’t have to get the ball and bring it up and create for others and then get it back and then score and rebound because he does a lot of that stuff. So he makes my job a lot easier.’’

Chris Mihm was working out at the practice facility. If you noticed, Mihm has been sitting behind the bench at recent home games. That's because he can finally drive to Staples Center. He still has to wear a protective boot on his ankle but can ditch it for a couple of hours each day. So he was working out Tuesday in an air cast.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--While Lamar Odom was on the practice court Tuesday soaring for alley-oop dunks and hitting spinning hook shots, Kwame Brown was in the trainer’s room with a sprained left ankle that wouldn’t cooperate.

As a result, the Lakers took a split decision in the injury department. They still expect Odom to return from a sprained knee ligament Friday against Charlotte but will have to wait awhile longer for Brown.

Although he would like Brown back Sunday against San Antonio, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he wasn’t expecting his injured center to play until the Lakers leave next week on an eight-game road odyssey.

One problem: The Lakers play four games in five nights to start the trip. Jackson speculated that Brown might return for the second set of back-to-back games against Indiana and Washington beginning Feb. 2.

``We’re optimistic about Kwame,’’ Jackson said. ``We don’t think he’ll be back on Friday, obviously, but we think that on this road trip he’ll be able to probably get back on the floor.’’

The news was better for Odom, who was surprisingly active in his first practice since suffering the knee injury on Dec. 12. While reporters were in the gym, Odom dunked, blocked a shot, hit the spinning hook and finished the alley-oop.

``It’s been long enough,’’ Odom said. ``I’ve tried to wait until my leg was really stable and strong. So I’m confident. I’m confident about making moves, about driving, about dunking the ball.

``I guess that’s the biggest part in coming back from injury is that you want to go out there with your confidence, having confidence in your body. Right now, I have confidence in my body.’’

Kobe Bryant said Odom looked ``really, really good.’’ Jackson said he was pleased with how well Odom reacted on plays. Odom sat out his 21st game Monday since the injury; the Lakers have gone 12-9 without him.

Brown, meanwhile, took part in some full-court drills before stopping when his ankle flared up. Brown said he struggled with jumping and pushing off his left foot and thought he might scale back his workouts the next two days.

``I couldn’t really jump and move like I should, so it’s still a little ways to go,’’ Brown said.

Missing man: Forward Vladimir Radmanovic played just 2:49 in the second half Monday and 43 seconds in the second half Saturday. Now Radmanovic is facing an uncertain role once Odom returns and Brian Cook resumes coming off the bench.

Radmanovic missed all four shots he took Monday and finished scoreless in 13 minutes against Golden State. He was the Lakers’ major free-agent acquisition last summer but is averaging 4.8 points and shooting 29.5 percent in January.

``We just want to see Vlade make better choices on the floor that will give him a better opportunity to succeed,’’ Jackson said.

After watching Radmanovic bury three 3-pointers in last week’s victory over San Antonio, Jackson said he told the 6-foot-10 forward: `You’re the difference-maker in ballgames for us.’’

But Jackson also said Radmanovic has been seized by an ``anxiousness to score.’’ There will be competition for minutes soon coming from Ronny Turiaf as well; Jackson has been forced to use Turiaf as a backup center with Brown out.

``A lot of times, it might not be the right time to take that shot,’’ Jackson added. ``Most of the time, the type of shots he can take, he can get any time he wants to in the clock because he’s got such range on his shooting.’’

This is perhaps overdue for some of you, but the time has come to ask if Vladimir Radmanovic is going to get it together. If you got up during the third quarter Monday, you might have missed the 2:49 Radmanovic played in the second half. This follows his 43-second run in the second half Saturday against the Hornets.

I bring this up because Radmanovic’s window of opportunity is going to shrink big-time as soon as Lamar Odom returns from his sprained knee ligament, which the Lakers are hoping will come Friday against Charlotte. Even if he isn’t logging 40 minutes right away, Odom is going to take away significant playing time.

Remember when Odom first got hurt on Dec. 12? Lakers coach Phil Jackson decided to start Radmanovic in his place. That experiment ended after four games. Here are Radmanovic’s numbers in the 21 games since Odom was injured: 7.1 points, 39.8 percent shooting, 18.6 minutes.

Radmanovic finished scoreless with two turnovers against Golden State, missed all four shots he took and played 13:22. He checked in with 9:24 left in the third quarter after Brian Cook picked up his fourth foul. I looked at the writer sitting next to me and said, ``Looks like we’re going to see a lot of Vlad.’’

Not so much, after all. Radmanovic missed a 3-pointer and bricked a shot after Kobe Bryant gave him the ball cutting the lane. Maybe it was a coincidence, but the Warriors started a 15-1 run with Radmanovic on the floor. He was called for his second foul as Baron Davis drove to the basket with 6:35 left.

Then came a ``space cadet’’ moment. Maurice Evans headed to the scorer’s table as the players lined up for free throws. Radmanovic was so slow to realize Evans was coming for him (with Luke Walton sliding over to play power forward) that Evans almost had to tell him face to face.

He didn’t play again the rest of the night. Jackson wasn’t asked about Radmanovic but did include this comment in his postgame remarks: ``I felt Vlade didn’t play with a purpose I was looking for.’’

Radmanovic’s struggles seem to go deeper than a player with a hand injury. He has had moments this season - - the 3-pointers he hit against San Antonio, as one example - - but you have to wonder what his role is going to be once Odom and Kwame Brown return.

Brian Cook will come off the bench and Jackson will get Ronny Turiaf minutes at power forward. Jackson acknowledged that he played Radmanovic ahead of Cook earlier this season for the sake of familiarizing him with the triangle offense. Will that be the case again?

If you want scoring off the bench, you go with Cook. If you want toughness, you go with Turiaf. What do you do with Radmanovic? Now remember that the Lakers made a $30 million investment in Radmanovic through the 2010-2011 season. That’s so far in the future, Barack Obama could be in his third year as president.

* * *

Give some credit to Sasha Vujacic for drawing a big three-shot foul just before Bryant returned in the fourth quarter. Instead of being down six points, the Lakers only were down three after Vujacic hit the free throws. He sold the foul well, too, falling to the floor after contact was made.

It helped atone for a turnover Vujacic had at the end of the first quarter. The Lakers were trying to set up for a final shot with Bryant resting on the bench when Baron Davis stole the ball from Vujacic. Davis flipped in a lay-up at the other end an instant before the buzzer sounded.

It also was important for the Lakers’ starters to come back strong when they returned to finish the first half. That has been a trouble spot the past couple of games but the starters erased an eight-point deficit. Bryant was aggressive at both ends, attacking for a reverse lay-up and stealing a pass as the Lakers played pressure defense.

* * *

Andrew Bynum finished with 10 points - - all in the first quarter - - a career-high 15 rebounds and four blocks. He did a little studying before the game as well.

``I looked at film last night and how (Hornets center) Tyson Chandler was rebounding against us and I kind of studied the way he was doing it. I tried to mimic it,’’ Bynum said. ``What he does is that he watches the ball, he always keeps moving.

``Sometimes I get kind of stagnant out there. I’m just kind of standing straight up and my guy pretty much has his arm on me. Today I was moving around and trying to watch the ball and it worked out for me.’’

* * *

Funny moment before the game: Bryant was putting on his Western Conference All-Star jersey to tape a TV promo for the game. It was a red-and-gold uniform, which led Bryant to joke, ``I just got traded to the Cavs.’’

I’ve also been impressed at how rookie guard Jordan Farmar doesn’t shy away from his teammates. After coming through late - - but only after missing his first eight shots - - Luke Walton was surrounded by reporters at his locker.

One question to Walton was what got into him late. Farmar shouted from the next locker over, ``Jesus Christ.’’

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

There has to be a middle ground for the Lakers, between Kobe Bryant taking over or getting everyone involved, between Luke Walton missing every shot before scoring the game’s two biggest baskets, between winning at home and losing on the road.

All the same, the Lakers had to like where they stood Monday night after beating the Golden State Warriors 108-103 at Staples Center to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season.

Bryant scored 42 points - - 14 in the fourth quarter - - on the one-year anniversary of his 81-point game against Toronto. It was Walton, though, who probably made history with the greatest 2-for-10 shooting game the NBA has ever seen.

Walton missed his first eight shots of the game and was so tentative in the third quarter that he passed the ball on to teenage center Andrew Bynum with a tick left on the 24-second clock rather that put up a shot himself.

But Walton came back in the fourth quarter and hustled his way into two baskets in the last two minutes. The first came after Maurice Evans had his drive blocked and Walton chased down the loose ball and pushed in a lay-up.

On the next possession, Walton came up with the offensive rebound after Bryant missed a 3-pointer. He tossed in a shot with 1:11 remaining as the Lakers went in front 103-101. It proved to be the go-ahead basket of the game.

``I had a long break from the third to the fourth and I kind of settled down a little bit and got back under control,’’ Walton said. ``I got a couple bounces that came my way and once I put the ball through the hole once, it kind of got a little easier.’’

Walton finished with eight points, seven rebounds and five assists, never mind that he couldn’t hit a shot in the first 29 minutes he played.

``He was carrying his heart on his sleeve out there,’’ Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``He thought everybody was going to cry for him for a second. He couldn’t get anything to go in for him and then he got a couple baskets at the end, which kind of redeemed his night.

``That was good. We always say to players, `Don’t let your offense affect your game,’ but it’s hard not to in this game.’’

Jackson showed confidence in bringing Walton back with 5:51 left. Golden State, meanwhile, lost guard Baron Davis to a calf injury with 4:44 to play. Davis’ replacement, Sarunas Jasikevicius, had two turnovers in the last 90 seconds.

The Lakers improved to 19-4 at home after disappointing losses to Dallas and New Orleans on the road. They beat Golden State for the sixth consecutive time since Jackson’s return as coach and overcame a season-high 24 turnovers.

``We’re a young team and we have ups and downs,’’ Walton said, ``but once we start going down, we correct it quickly and we get back on track.’’

If everything goes accordingly, the Lakers also played their final game without injured starters Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown. The two will practice today in the hope of returning Friday against Charlotte.

Jackson said he was glad the injuries didn’t prove ``insurmountable’’ but said of bringing Odom and Brown back: ``It’s an adjustment period obviously for us. We hope we can meld them together.’’

Bryant returned with 9:23 to play and scored nine straight points. He drilled jumpers over Mickael Pietrus and got to the line by drawing a fifth foul on Pietrus. For the night, Bryant went 11 of 22 from the field and 16 of 19 at the foul line.

Golden State’s Al Harrington, acquired in a trade from Indiana last week, described Bryant as a ``one-man wrecking crew.’’ The Lakers trailed by as many as six points in the fourth quarter, with Bryant saying he knew something had to be done.

``I had to kind of take control of the game a little bit,’’ Bryant said. ``I couldn’t sit back and wait any longer. I had to kind of attack a little bit more.’’

It has been all-or-nothing for Bryant in recent games. At one extreme, Bryant had just three points, all at the foul line, in the first half of Saturday’s loss to the Hornets. At the other extreme, Bryant had one assist in 39 minutes Monday.

``There’s this either/or we’re getting into where either Kobe’s like a facilitator or he’s going into scoring mode,’’ Jackson said. ``It’s not quite that way. It’s not that cut and dried.

``He can find his way (to score) out of the offense and also the other players can find their way to score out of the offense.

``A lot of the focus from the media has come about, `Wow, Kobe’s really including everybody.’ That’s what a system offense is all about. It’s just part of what we do.’’

After ranking among the league’s best shooter the first two months, Walton has hit the skids recently. After Monday, Walton is shooting just 40.5 percent overall and 23.1 percent on 3-pointers in January.

``He looks like he’s aiming the ball rather than just shooting it right now,’’ Jackson said. ``He’s trying to make sure it goes in and doing a lot of things that are structural things you work on in the summertime.

``He’ll loosen up. It’s just a phase, it’s just a slump like a batter goes through, and it’ll come back. We have confidence.’’

Here's the Cliff's Notes version of what's up with the Lakers today: Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown have been ruled out of Monday's game against Golden State. The hope is they'll practice with the team all week and possibly return for Friday's game with Charlotte.

The Lakers will be looking to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. Baron Davis will be back for the Warriors after serving a one-game suspension for taking a swing at Quinton Ross. Al Harrington will be a tough matchup for the Lakers without Odom. The Lakers could give up 103.1 points to the Warriors and still come out ahead. Kobe Bryant now has been called for seven technicals this season.

One more thing and then it's back to watching football. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how the NBA standings shape up using that time-tested formula of subtracting home losses from road victories.

Western Conference

1. Dallas +11
2. Phoenix +10
3. Utah +9
4. Houston +7
5. San Antonio +6
6. Lakers +4
7. Minnesota 0
8. Denver -1
9. Clippers -2
9. Portland -2
11. Golden State -4
11. New Orleans -4
13. Seattle -5
14. Sacramento -6
15. Memphis -11

Eastern Conference

1. Cleveland +6
2. Washington +4
2. Detroit +4
4. Indiana +3
5. Milwaukee +1
5. Orlando +1
5. Toronto +1
8. Miami 0
8. Chicago 0
10. New Jersey -3
11. New York -4
11. Philadelphia -4
13. Atlanta -5
14. Boston -6
15. Charlotte -7

If the quick math I did after the game is correct, the Lakers are now giving up 103.1 points per game. The numbers are admittedly skewed by a couple of big games - - giving up 147 to Washington in OT and 133 to Charlotte in triple OT - - but Saturday night was another example that the Lakers are not a good defensive team.

For comparison, the Lakers gave up fewer points on average when they finished 34-48 in 2004-05. The difference is they spent little time talking about defense that season under coach Rudy Tomjanovich and stressed defense from Day 1 of training camp this season.

I’m not sure there was one play that summed up the Lakers’ defensive effort Saturday but there were definitely a few. Rasual Butler got free from Kobe Bryant and knocked down two 3-pointers in the first quarter with the Lakers slow to rotate to cover him.

Butler is a stand-alone shooter who missed jumpers the rest of the quarter whenever any Laker got within three feet of him. He hit two more 3s in the last three minutes and now has gone for 22 and 20 points in two games against the Lakers this season.

If there was a moment that stood out for you, I'd love to hear it. Here's a couple of others that I circled in the notebook:

Early in the second quarter, Vladimir Radmanovic left to double Desmond Mason on one play, which led to an open lay-up for Linton Johnson. Either Radmanovic made a bad decision leaving Johnson or the Lakers once again were too slow to rotate.

The second quarter also featured a stretch where the Hornets made nine straight shots. One of those came after Bryant missed a jumper. Devin Brown went end to end for an uncontested lay-up. The Hornets went from eight points down to eight up in winning the quarter 34-22.

Barely a minute into the second quarter and the Hornets ran out on the Lakers. Jackson has talked about defensive retreat being an area for improvement. Instead, you had Brown lobbing an alley-oop to Mason, who dunked while being shoved by Brian Cook.

It was Cook’s fourth foul and ended his night. He played only the first 1:15 of the second half. Vladimir Radmanovic didn’t even last that long. He was on the floor just 43 seconds before picking up his third foul and sending West to the line.

In a truly weird moment, Radmanovic tossed the ball to a fan while referee Tony Brown was trying to retrieve it for West’s free throws. Radmanovic was gone and Jackson had to play Ronny Turiaf and Andrew Bynum together.

The Lakers used four players in all - - Cook, Radmanovic, Turiaf and Luke Walton in trying to defend West. Cook was the first guy out of the locker room afterward; Radmanovic’s night was memorable for smiling at a fan who mocked his hair.

Getting back Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown from injury is going to make a difference defensively, but I’m not sure how much. Never, ever forget the stat that the Lakers are 16-2 if they can just hold a team under 100 points.

* * *

Now the Lakers have to win Monday night against Golden State to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. I asked Jackson before the game how important it was that the Lakers had not lost more than two consecutive games in the season’s first half.

``It’s really important,’’ Jackson said. ``The key when you get to the upper echelon is to say, `We’re going to stop this bleeding immediately,’ and one game might be it.’’

* * *

The technical foul Bryant got in the third quarter was his seventh of the season. It takes 16 to earn a one-game suspension and Bryant has been picking up technicals with greater frequency. He got one Saturday when he made a steal and went in for a lay-up but didn't get an and-one foul call on Brown. Bryant voiced his frustration and referee Ron Garretson called the technical.

It wound up being a momentum-changing call, too. The Lakers had climbed within three points with Bryant's basket. The technical free throw made it 70-66 and the Hornets scored two more baskets to make it an eight-point game.

Another huge shot was Jannero Pargo's 3-pointer coming after Jordan Farmar missed two free throws that could have given the Lakers a lead with 37.6 seconds left in the third. Yes, Bryant did answer with a 3 at the other end, but Pargo's shot accounted for a five-point swing in the game.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY--Oh, what a beautiful morning. Oh, what a miserable night.

The Lakers played their part to perfection Saturday night in the basketball revival of ``Oklahoma!’’ They took the stage against a New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets team that hadn’t sniffed .500 in weeks and left with yet another inexplicable loss.

So went this trip to the land where the corn is as high as an elephant’s eye. The Lakers were left feeling smaller than a snail after losing 113-103 to the NBA’s lowest-scoring team. Only twice in the previous 21 games had the Hornets even scored 100 points.

The Lakers were out of answers after reaching the midpoint of their season with a 26-15 record. They have been good enough to beat the Western Conference’s top four teams but also bad enough to lose to four of its five worst teams.

Maurice Evans, who scored a career-high 23 points, voiced the frustration felt across the locker room. Only three days after winning at San Antonio - - where the Spurs were all but invincible the last two seasons - - the Lakers fell to a 16-23 Hornets team.

``If we take care of business and we win the games were supposed to, we’re sitting at the top of the league easy,’’ Evans said. ``That’s the frustrating thing about it. We’re still in a great position. We’re still ahead of the curve.

``But it’s like we’re fighting and fighting and fighting and then we shoot ourselves in the foot and make it difficult and take two steps back. We’ve got to be more focused and play together.’’

The Lakers added another bad loss to a ledger that already included games against Seattle, Portland, Charlotte and Memphis. The Lakers also lost to the Hornets on Dec. 6 but that at least was before Chris Paul suffered a severe ankle sprain.

As it was, the Hornets were playing their second game with David West (26 points) and Bobby Jackson (15 points) back from injuries. The Hornets scored 59 points in the first half and led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter before holding on late.

Now consider that the Hornets came into Saturday averaging 89.9 points per game. They left having scored 23 more points than that against a Lakers team that stressed defense from Day 1 in training camp.

``Our defense is obviously not very good right now,’’ Evans said. ``We’ve got to learn to trust one another on both ends of the floor. I think that that’s evident in why we lose certain games, especially to teams that aren’t as talented as we are.’’

Case in point: The Hornets hit nine consecutive shots and scored 34 points in the second quarter. Another example: Rasual Butler connected on two 3-pointers in the final three minutes when the Lakers were slow to rotate to him.

``They just played better than we did,’’ Kobe Bryant said. ``We battled back in certain situations. They just played better. They deserved to win.’’

The Hornets were playing the second game of a back-to-back set after losing to San Antonio. The Lakers had all day Friday to get here from Dallas and an off night to rest. It didn’t matter as the rain turned to snow Saturday night in the state capital.

``It seems like our focus is a lot sharper and we’re able to sustain it against a San Antonio,’’ Evans said, ``but it seems like we have more mental lapses when we play teams like tonight.’’

In spite of it all, the Lakers had a chance to win in the final 2:25. They went into a timeout down 102-99 and came out of it to watch Jackson miss a 3-pointer. Bryant drove to the basket at the other end but had his lay-up blocked by Butler.

Butler buried a 3-pointer at the other end to give the Hornets’ a six-point lead. Bryant missed a 3-pointer of his own and West knocked down a 13-foot fadeaway to make it 107-99 with 1:27 to play. It was gone in 58 seconds for the Lakers.

``Giving them 113 points, that’s a problem,’’ Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``Not having a chance down the stretch, that’s not smart on our part.’’

Bryant had only three points at halftime - - all at the foul line - - but led the Lakers back in the third quarter by scoring 14 points. He made only 2 of 8 shots in the fourth quarter, though, and finished with 23 points on 7-of-22 shooting and seven assists.

Butler had 20 points and hit 4 of 7 3-pointers as the Hornets won for the fourth time in five games. Smush Parker was the only other Laker in double figures with 13 points. The Lakers were out-rebounded 46-37.

The Lakers missed injured starters Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom in the worst way and were left with a funny feeling as they exited the Ford Center. Nothing was going their way.

The less said about Thursday night’s loss is probably the better. The second game of a back-to-back set is always an adventure and even more so when the game starts at 8:48 p.m. local time to accommodate TNT. That definitely doesn’t favor the team that’s already tired to begin with.

The one thing about the NBA is there’s always another game around the corner. In this case, it’s Saturday night in Oklahoma City. The Lakers will reach the midpoint of their season as well the midpoint of Phil Jackson’s three-year project to rebuild the team. I wrote a little about that for Friday.

It’s only 205 miles from Dallas to Oklahoma City, so I’m going to be driving it Friday morning. Sometime around 11 a.m., I figure I’ll cross the state line. It’s a part of the country I’ve never seen and has some symbolism for the season.

Why? This was the Lakers’ last game in Texas on the schedule and my question for tonight is whether we’ll be back again in the spring.

The Lakers have settled into the fifth spot in the Western Conference standings after 40 games. They could catch and pass San Antonio for third or they could fall behind Houston and into sixth. It’s hard to see how they would finish any lower once Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown return.

The fifth spot is probably the most advantageous because it would bring a series against the fourth seed. That probably will be the Northwest Division champion. Utah leads the division with Minnesota four games back and Denver five back.

If the Lakers finish with the better record, they would have home-court advantage. And the Lakers and Jazz already have played two memorable games this season, with Kobe Bryant scoring 52 points in three quarters back on Nov. 30.

The Lakers could wind up with a first-round series against Houston if they climb to third. They also could face the Spurs if they slide to sixth. If Utah could catch and pass San Antonio, the Lakers and Spurs might meet in the first round that way.

There’s still a lot of basketball to play, but you can start to see playoff paths being formed. I remember last season Jackson said that he started to envision the Suns as a first-round opponent as far back as January.

Most likely, the Lakers would have to win a first-round series against the Jazz to bring us all back to Texas. That would come with a matchup against the top-seeded Mavericks in the second round.

Given how Dallas has played at Staples Center - - I think the Lakers are 12-2 all-time against the Mavericks at home - - you have to imagine that as Mark Cuban’s nightmare series. Forget what happened Thursday; the Lakers know Dallas is beatable.

While we’re on the subject, I’ll also bring up something David Moore from the Dallas Morning News mentioned. His position is that it’s ridiculous for the NBA to award top-four playoff seeds to division winners given how few division games teams play.

He’s right. In the 82-game regular season, teams only play the other four teams in their division a total of 16 times. So just 19.5 percent of all their games take place within their division. NHL teams play 32 of 82 games within their division. For most MLB teams, it’s 76 of 162 games (46.9 percent).

* * *

I can't resist mentioning one stat from Thursday's debacle: Brian Cook and Vladimir Radmanovic somehow managed to grab only three rebounds between them in nearly 42 1-2 minutes on the court. That's almost incredible for two players who go between 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-10. Then you have Erick Dampier for Dallas finishing scoreless but pulling down 12 rebounds and blocking four shots. Go figure, I guess.

Maybe all those agonizingly close games last season are finally paying off for the Lakers. They won their third straight by beating San Antonio on Wednesday night and all three of the games (Orlando and Miami being the other two) came down to the final minutes of regulation and overtime.

Here's a stat: The Lakers are now 13-4 in games decided by eight points or less this season. They were 20-20 in those games last season.

Kobe Bryant put in perspective what a victory at AT&T Center means afterward. He was telling a story from the Lakers' win here last season. In the locker room after that game, Lamar Odom told Bryant that he never had won a game in San Antonio with the Clippers or Miami Heat. Bryant couldn't believe it, but it's not surprising if it's true.

The Spurs went 34-7 at home in 2005-06 and a nearly bulletproof 38-3 in 2004-05. Their home record after losing Wednesday to the Lakers is just 14-7. As Bryant said: ``This is a tough place to play. For us to come in here and win, it's big for us. I'm sure it's not that big (a loss) for San Antonio. But it's big for us.''

A couple of thoughts from the game:

No. 1: Even though they were outscored 21-11 after he went to the bench, the Lakers still won a game in which Bryant got in early foul trouble. He picked up two personals in the first 3:30, bringing back all the bad memories from last week's losses at Memphis and Houston. Bryant was called for two fouls in the first quarter of both those games, disrupting the Lakers' substitution patterns.

``We were able to survive that first quarter,'' coach Phil Jackson said, ``and then Kobe was able to really carry the team the second.''

No. 2: The Lakers bench players were able to give the team a boost at the start of the fourth quarter before Bryant returned. It was basically two plays - - Sasha Vujacic drawing a three-shot foul and Vladimir Radmanovic driving for that spectacular baseline dunk - - but was enough for the Lakers to lead 79-73 when Bryant came back.

They pushed that lead out to 83-73 with Bryant getting to the line and finding Brian Cook for a dunk. As it turned out, the Lakers needed every one of those points to withstand the Spurs rally. The Lakers' bench outscored their San Antonio counterparts 37-21 in the game.

No. 3: This was the 202nd game I've covered on the beat and I've never seen a team get a technical foul for having only four players on the court. The Spurs were guilty at the start of the fourth quarter - - Bruce Bowen was the forgotten man - - and Vujacic wound up taking the technical with Bryant sitting.

No. 4: You had to love Robert Horry hitting a 3-pointer in front of the Lakers' bench in the third quarter. They were the first points of an 11-2 run for the Spurs. Horry also chased down Radmanovic and blocked his fast-break layup from behind. He finished with three points in 11 minutes.

``He still has that uncanny ability to make key shots,'' Jackson said of Horry before the game. ``I know they'd like to have him back in a support role instead of in this kind of (starter minutes) role, but he'll be fine come playoff time to have as another weapon out there.''

No. 5: It feels really strange to play one game in San Antonio this season. With 15 teams in each conference, the Lakers would wind up playing 56 conference games if they placed each team four times. They have to play each Eastern Conference team home and away, which adds up to 30 games. So you'd be looking at an 86-game schedule otherwise. So the Lakers play San Antonio and Portland only once on the road each this season.

* * *

If you're going to watch one game this month, make tonight's game against Dallas it. In fact, I might be able to drive you to Dallas if you live along Interstate 35 in Texas. There haven't been a lot of flights getting in or out of here the last couple of days.

The Mavericks are going to want to avenge the loss that ended their 13-game winning streak. The Lakers are playing with house money after winning in San Antonio. You never know whether Bryant's going to score 62 points in three quarters against the Mavs. Jackson and Mark Cuban might rekindle an old feud. It should be great.

Remember when it seemed like the best cure for a team on a losing streak was facing the Lakers? The opposite has been true this season.

The Lakers ended Miami's four-game winning streak Monday, the fourth time they have done so against a team this season. They ended Orlando's five-game streak Friday, Dallas' 13-game streak earlier this month and San Antonio's four-game streak in December.

If the Mavericks win tonight against Houston, they'll take a five-game winning streak into Thursday's rematch against the Lakers in Dallas. First things first, we've got to get to Texas. There's an ice storm making for a nightmare travel day for all of us who fly commercial.

You look at the final box score and Dwyane Wade's 35 points and eight assists Monday don't seem that far off the 40 points and 11 assists he had on Christmas against the Lakers. It just shows you how misleading numbers can be sometimes. This was a game the Lakers could have won by 10 points or more in regulation.

They led 85-76 with 3:12 left in the third quarter but gave up 11 unanswered points to the Heat. Wade checked out for the final 2:31 of the quarter. James Posey and Antoine Walker combined to hit three 3-pointers for Miami. You might remember those two as the guys who couldn't pass Pat Riley's conditioning test earlier this month.

The Lakers also blew a seven-point lead in the last three minutes of regulation. But they recovered to win in overtime. The stat of the game might be that the Lakers connected on 12 of 19 3-pointers through three quarters. It sustained them with their big men in foul trouble and the Heat owning a huge free-throw advantage.

``You have to make 3-pointers against Miami,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``If you don't, you're going to be in a vacuum because they punish you inside. They take charges. (Alonzo) Mourning can block shots. They knock people down when they come in there. We were able to hit some 3s tonight.''

The Lakers finished with 14 3-pointers for the game. Smush Parker now has hit 10 3-pointers in the last two games. They also had assists on 34 of 48 baskets, led by Kobe Bryant with 8. Every player who got in the game scored and had an assist for the Lakers.

The unsung hero might have been Andrew Bynum, who didn't give up after being called for his fourth foul not even two minutes into the third quarter. He came back to play the entire fourth quarter and all but the last 16 seconds of overtime. He wasn't called for a fifth foul in that 16:44 and finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes.

Bynum also stepped to the line with the score tied at 112-112 and 3:11 left in overtime. He swished both free throws. It's fair to ask if Shaq would have been able to do the same thing in that situation.

Bryant said afterward he pulled his groin a little when he went down in the fourth quarter. He said he hadn't even thought about it until that happened. He'll get a test with the Lakers playing back-to-back games this week. Bryant also should put in a call to the league office after shooting three free throws to Wade's 13.

Finally, a quote from Miami acting coach Ron Rothstein about Brian Cook: ``He's a huge problem. Probably for a big guy, he's the best catch-and-shoot guy around. He's got a real quick release and we talked about it - - and we knew - - he'll step back. We wanted to try and run him off his 3s, but we didn't get to him quick enough.''

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

Even if Shaquille O’Neal is sitting on the bench in a three-piece suit and Pat Riley is recovering from knee and hip surgeries at home, the Miami Heat are still the NBA champions until proven otherwise this season.

It was a fact the Lakers lost sight of when they faced the Heat on Christmas Day in Miami. They played down to the Heat’s sub-.500 record, in Kobe Bryant’s mind, instead of rising to the level of a championship team themselves.

They played 53 complete minutes Monday night, as opposed to the Christmas game they trailed from start to finish, before prevailing 124-118 in overtime at Staples Center, beating the Heat for only the second time in six games since the O’Neal trade.

``I think we did a much better job understanding that they’re NBA champions and they’re not just going to come out here and roll over,’’ Bryant said. `` They’re champions for a reason and I feel like tonight we were able to step up to the challenge and play well.’’

Bryant finished with 25 points and got the upper hand after going back-and-forth with Dwyane Wade in the closing minutes. The Lakers had seven players finish in double figures and hit 14 of 25 3-pointers after making 5 of 23 on Christmas.

The Lakers blew a seven-point lead in the final three minutes of regulation, with the Heat sending the game to overtime as Smush Parker saved a ball to Miami’s Jason Kapono, who fed Udonis Haslem for a tying dunk with 22.5 seconds left.

But Lakers coach Phil Jackson was pleased with the resolve his team showed in the timeout before overtime, as well as the way the Lakers went ``possession by possession’’ to beat Miami in the extra five minutes.

``They said, `Well, let’s get it in overtime,’ and they did,’’ Jackson said. ``They went out and got that game in overtime, which was a good effort, I thought, against a team that knows how to play down the stretch pretty well.’’

It started with Bryant, who hit various degree of difficulty shots at the end of regulation. He drilled a jumper over James Posey after two pump fakes late in the fourth quarter and squeezed into space to push in a 16-footer with 46.5 seconds left in regulation.

But Bryant also found his teammates for 3-pointers all game, finishing with eight assists. He collapsed the defense and passed to Brian Cook for a 3-pointer with 2:33 remaining in overtime as the Lakers went ahead 117-114.

Bryant later took a pass from Luke Walton and scored on a reverse layup with 1:17 to play. The Heat closed to 119-118 with 58.6 seconds remaining on a Haslem jumper. Bryant followed with two free throws to set up the game’s decisive play.

With Miami looking to tie, Wade went to drive on Bryant. The Lakers devoted one side of their locker room board to screen-and-roll defense, a sore subject on Christmas Day when Wade totaled 40 points and 11 assists in the Heat’s 101-85 victory.

Bryant had tied up Wade for a jump ball in the fourth quarter and drawn an offensive foul. He dug in on defense again and the Lakers came up with a steal when Wade threw a wayward pass trying to find James Posey for a 3-pointer.

Parker got his hands on the ball and sank both free throws with 16.1 seconds left. It helped atone for Parker’s play at the end of regulation as well as the two foul shots he missed at the end of the Friday’s victory against Orlando.

``I just read it wrong,’’ Wade said. ``You know, I had a step on (Bryant). I tried to draw and kick but Parker stayed at home, so he caught me at the last second. It was a great defensive play. I should have put it up, but I didn’t.’’

Cook finished with 25 points, three shy of his career high, and hit 10 of 16 shots, including four 3-pointers. Parker connected on five 3-pointers and went on to score 17 points. Wade scored 35 points, 16 in the first quarter, 19 the rest of the game.

``This game required a lot of different people to contribute,’’ said Jackson, whose team improved to 18-4 at home.

It started a week in which the Lakers will play back-to-back games at San Antonio and Dallas. Jackson set a goal for his team of winning three of five games in this stretch.

The Lakers survived on a night their big men couldn’t stay on the floor. Andrew Bynum started at center but played only 11 minutes through three quarters because of foul trouble. Forward Vladimir Radmanovic even played as an emergency center.

Miami arrived having won a season-best four games in a row and awaiting O’Neal’s return any day from Nov. 19 knee surgery. O’Neal was booed when he was shown on the video board in the third quarter.

Not that he was concerned. O’Neal motioned to his ear as if asking to hear more from the crowd. Bryant said afterward that he didn’t get the chance to speak to O’Neal during the night.

Cook, meanwhile, was asked what the difference was between the game the Lakers played Monday and the one they played three weeks earlier against Miami. He laughed before answering, ``A lot.’’

``I thought we just showed a lot more energy,’’ Cook added. ``We weren’t as lethargic, especially on the defensive end. We kept Dwyane Wade out of the lane, so he couldn’t pick us apart. Everybody was making shots, everybody was having fun.’’

The blog was down most of the day, but here's the update from Sunday in Lakerworld. Kobe Bryant had left and gone home by the time we were allowed in the gym at practice. Shaquille O'Neal didn't talk to reporters at the optional practice the Heat held at Pauley Pavilion.

Phil Jackson said he would just as soon have O'Neal playing in Monday's game than not. O'Neal said Saturday night in Utah that there's ``zero'' chance he'll play as he continues to recover from Nov. 19 knee surgery. But when Jeanie Buss asked him how he felt about facing the Heat, Jackson said his answer was, ``I'm really worried.''

``She said, `Is that because Shaq's not back,''' Jackson said. ``I said, `I'd be less worried if Shaq was back and it was his first game than if he's not back and the way they're playing right now.' Because now they can spread you out and really stick it to you with their 3-point shooters.''

The Heat hit 13 3s Friday at Golden State and Saturday at Utah. Jason Kapono connected on four 3s and Antoine Walker and Jason Williams three each against the Jazz. Miami has won a season-high four games in a row and finishes its six-game trip tonight.

* * *

A little bit of matchup talk about Monday's game. Jackson has to consider whether to have Bryant guard Dwyane Wade or leave that for someone like Maurice Evans. One consideration is that Bryant might be a step slow as he plays his way back from a groin strain. Another is the possibility of losing him to early foul trouble.

When the teams played on Christmas in Miami, Bryant guarded Wade the bulk of the afternoon. On the other side, Miami kept Wade on Luke Walton and used Dorell Wright on Bryant. Wright has been replaced in the starting lineup; Jackson noted that Miami used Kapono on Seattle's Ray Allen in a game last week.

Jackson might just go with that matchup (Bryant/Kapono) if the Heat are inclined to play that way. The Lakers could use Walton on Udonis Haslem (they both go about 6-8, 230) and start Evans on Wade. Brian Cook would come off the bench. We shall see at 7 p.m.

The Lakers also have to figure out how to defend the high screen-and-roll. The Heat set one after another to free Wade on Christmas. He got into the lane almost at will, found teammates for open shots and went on to total 40 points and 11 assists in the game.

That was before the Lakers lost center Kwame Brown to a severe ankle sprain, forcing Andrew Bynum into the starting lineup. Jackson acknowleged that Bynum can't match Brown's quickness, which will make containing Wade that much harder.

``We're going to have to find a defense that is much more consistent,'' Jackson said, ``and much more capable of handling that space.''

* * *

Make your plans accordingly: Monday's game will start a half-hour earlier than normal at 7 p.m. Of course, as the second game of a TNT doubleheader, the tip-off might not take place until 7:20.

* * *

Here's the notes from Sunday. For the sake of clarification, Webber's right foot injury was listed by the 76ers two ways. The first was as a sprained ankle and foot bruise. The second was as a foot bruise and a chronic foot contusion. He missed 11 games total with the injury.

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--With Chris Webber possibly 36 hours away from joining a new team, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he spoke with the free-agent forward Saturday night and added, ``I will say that we were both pleased with the conversation.’’

``He’s got some decisions to make and I respect that,’’ Jackson said. ``I just asked him how he’s doing, what the nature of his health is and what he’s looking for in a change of teams here.’’

Webber talked Saturday to both Jackson and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak. The former five-time All-Star was released Thursday by Philadelphia, which bought out the $43 million left on his contract, and will clear waivers Tuesday.

The Lakers can offer Webber, who turns 34 on March 1, a contract for the prorated veteran’s minimum ($1.178 million for the full season) and would have to release a player to make room on the 15-man roster.

They also would have to fit Webber into the rotation once forward Lamar Odom returns from a knee injury later this month. There are no assurances about the role Webber, who has started all but two games in his 14-year career, would play with the Lakers.

``That’s some of the things we had to talk about - - his playing ability, the time that he wants and some of the things he would like to have,’’ Jackson said. ``He said really he just wants to feel like he’s a part, feel like he has an important part in a team.

``I told him I think that he would if he came here.’’

Webber’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, didn’t return phone or e-mail messages Sunday. Webber reportedly has narrowed his list of teams to Detroit, the Lakers, Miami and Dallas.

The Lakers also have to feel comfortable with Webber’s health. Jackson suggested that the condition of Webber’s knees wasn’t as much of a concern as the right foot injury that sidelined him earlier this season.

Even so, Webber logged more minutes on the floor last season (2,893) than ever before in his career. Jackson said Webber reminded him of that fact in their conversation.

``He looks to be moving OK,’’ Jackson added. ``He had a foot problem this year. That’s what we were curious about, obviously. But he says he’s doing really well.’’

Webber has averaged 11 points, 8.3 rebounds and shot 38.7 percent in 18 games this season. According to the Web site 82games.com, 57 percent of Webber’s shot attempts have been jumpers. His passing skills, though, would fit with the triangle offense.

Forward Luke Walton was asked if the Lakers would be well served adding a player such as Webber.

``We’ve got injuries,’’ Walton said, ``but as soon as we get those guys back and if we can keep growing as a team, I think we have a legitimate shot at doing some damage in the playoffs with the guys we have right now.’’

Heat wave: The Lakers will have the chance tonight to avenge their 101-85 loss to the Miami Heat on Christmas Day, a game in which they were ``embarrassed’’ on national television and with their families in attendance, as Walton described it.

One issue for the Lakers will be whether Kobe Bryant is capable of guarding Dwyane Wade as he continues to recover from a groin strain.

``We’ve thought about it a little bit simply because he’s gotten in foul trouble in the last few games when he’s played,’’ Jackson said. ``That really limits us when he creates early foul situations. It cost us a couple games.’’

Bryant was called for two fouls in the first quarter of the Lakers’ losses to Memphis and Houston last week. Wade, meanwhile, has averaged 29 points and 8.8 assists since returning from a wrist injury, with the Heat winning all four of those games.

History lesson: Jackson was asked which figure from American history Miami center Shaquille O’Neal would be. It was O’Neal who called Jackson ``Benedict Arnold’’ after his former coach criticized his work ethic before the Christmas game.

``Well, to me Shaq has always been Abraham Lincoln,’’ Jackson said. ``He’s a great emancipator. He frees everybody up to say the things they want to say so that he can deliver the ultimate blow.''

If you got up to get a beer after the first quarter Friday, you might have missed a stretch that left the imagination to run wild. It featured Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard going back and forth, showing why they could dominate the NBA for the next decade or so.

Bynum got things started by using a back cut to beat Howard and finishing an alley-oop pass with a layup. The next possession, Bynum threw a nice pass from the high post to Vladimir Radmanovic for a basket. Howard came back with a huge dunk over Bynum while being fouled.

Bynum sank two free throws at the other end, then jumped out to block a Keith Bogans shot back on defense. The Lakers pushed forward and Jordan Farmar knocked down a 3-pointer. Howard then checked out for the first time all game at the 9:33 mark.

That left Bynum matched up against Tony Battie. He had a chance to really make something out of the quarter but committed the kind of foul that reminds you he's only 19 years old. Instead of staying on the floor, Bynum went for the block on Battie and was called for a third foul. He sat the last 8:20 of the half.

``It was disappointing for me because I had a bunch of minutes out there that I could have played and they were taken away from me,'' Bynum said. ``I did get going in the second quarter and I got taken out of the game with fouls. . . .I'm going to have to learn to stay out there without getting in foul trouble.''

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said: ``Sometimes you just have to play body defense and nights like tonight you can't be reaching, you can't get your arms caught in there or your hands caught in there. Those were the situations tonight that got him in problems.''

Jackson remarked before the game that he had yet to see ``the real Dwight Howard.'' Kwame Brown succeeded in bodying up Howard last month in Orlando. He finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds in that game. When the Lakers played in Orlando last season, Howard was injured early in the first quarter.

``Howard proved to be pretty awesome in there for him to guard,'' Jackson said.

* * *

There was a good story that got lost in all the Chris Webber saga. After the Lakers’ shootaround Friday, forward Ronny Turiaf met for a half-hour with 16-year-old Garylee Zuniga of Aztec, N.M. Zuniga suffers from a serious heart defect; Turiaf underwent surgery in July 2005 to repair an enlarged aortic root.

``For me, it was such a pleasure sharing my story with a kid like that because he's looking up to us as NBA players,'' Turiaf said. ``For me to help him out, to just relieve some pressure and some sadness out of him, was a definite pleasure for me.''

Turiaf didn't hesitate in giving Zuniga his phone number as well.

``When you go through something like that, you've got to have somebody to talk to,'' Turiaf said. ``It was the same thing with me and (former Minnesota guard) Fred Hoiberg. If I didn't have him, it would have been so tough for me to go through it on a daily basis.

``Every little kid that has trouble, they can talk to me on a daily basis. I wouldn't mind lifting them up at all.''

The NBA’s Shoot for Hope program brought Zuniga and his family to Los Angeles. He attended Friday’s game and met with the Lakers players in the locker room beforehand.

* * *

A couple of quotes from the Orlando side of things:

Grant Hill on Kobe Bryant: ``He kind of reminds me of playing how he played when Shaq was here to a degree. He's a facilitator of the ball and he's a closer. He maybe got away from that a little bit a couple of years ago, but now he's back doing that and he's got a nice tempo to his game.''

You might remember Magic coach Brian Hill's comment about the ``Smush Parkers of the league'' from when the Lakers played in Orlando on Dec. 27. Well, Parker had a career-high 26 points Friday and Hill was asked afterward about what he said.

``We still can't let him beat us,'' Hill said. ``What I'm saying is . . . I'm not demeaning him as a player. We have to do a better job on players like that. That's what I mean by that statement. We have to work harder to shut down players like that and not let them have big games when they're playing alongside a star player like Kobe Bryant.''

* * *

Bryant said his strained groin felt 98 percent in the game and he barely thought about it at all. Bryant undoubtedly was limited by the injury, but he clearly had a game plan for how he wanted to play.

``We had the floor spaced because everybody had shot the ball so well for the first 3 1-2 quarters,'' Bryant said. ``So in the fourth quarter, when I caught the ball in isolation situations, no double (team) was coming.

``If I'd started doing that the first quarter, you'd see doubles coming and zones shifting and all the other stuff. The fourth quarter, that didn't happen because everybody was a threat.

``So then, I could operate. I could size Grant up, I could raise up, shoot my jump shots or pull-ups.''

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

For all the attention paid to Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard, the NBA’s next-generation centers sharing the floor Friday night at Staples Center, Kobe Bryant offered a reminder that the present unmistakably belongs to him.

So does the fourth quarter, for that matter.

Playing on a strained left groin, Bryant scored 16 of his game-high 28 points in the final quarter as the Lakers avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season with a 109-106 victory over the Orlando Magic.

``We need Kobe to step up big for us like that late in the game,’’ guard Smush Parker said. ``He has the ability to do that any time he wants. He did it. He put on his cape tonight and he carried us for another victory.’’

Bryant paced and measured the game for three quarters, in coach Phil Jackson’s estimation, and shifted gears in the fourth. He made all five shots he took, went 6 of 6 from the foul line and scored the Lakers’ last 10 points.

``I just wanted to make sure we got back to ball movement and spacing the floor, so I kind of took the lead in making sure we executed properly,’’ Bryant said. ``Then in the fourth quarter, I was able to space things out and get some pretty good looks.’’

Parker finished with a career-high 26 points and hit 5 of 8 3-pointers while Bynum totaled just eight points and five rebounds while battling foul trouble. Howard led the Magic with 25 points and 10 rebounds but made just 7 of 16 free throws.

With the game tied in the last two minutes, Orlando went inside to Darko Milicic and Howard for two baskets. Bryant answered by drilling jumpers from 21 feet and 12 feet against Grant Hill, the second of which put the Lakers in front for good 107-105.

Bryant also secured the game’s biggest rebound after Howard missed two free throws with 41.0 seconds left. Parker came up with a steal with 9.8 seconds left but left the door open by missing two free throws.

``Smush has an issue about free throws and I have an issue with him about his free throws,’’ Jackson said of Parker, shooting 64.4 percent at the line. ``It just goes back about using his legs. He has yet to find his rhythm on the free throw line this season.’’

Those misses would not cost the Lakers the game. Jameer Nelson couldn’t get a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to fall and the Lakers improved to 17-4 at home, bouncing back after road losses at Memphis and Houston.

It was Parker’s second big game against the Magic this season, coming after Orlando coach Brian Hill said, ``We can’t be giving the Smush Parkers of the league quarters like that’’ on Dec. 27. Parker scored 18 of his 20 points in the third quarter that night.

``I was told the next day what he said,’’ Parker said. ``I just used that as motivation to come in tonight and play well.’’

There are few players in the NBA, meanwhile, that the 19-year-old Bynum can relate to at such a young age. Howard is one of them, having been a No. 1 overall pick out of high school in 2004. The two plan to work out together this summer, according to Bynum.

They met last season and have developed a friendship. Bynum said last month that he admires everything Howard has done by his 21st birthday, including his selection as Eastern Conference Player of the Month for November.

The matchup Friday was not meant to be. Bynum picked up two fouls early in the second quarter and his fourth foul 3:36 into the third. He came back for the fourth quarter and made a spectacular block as Keyon Dooling went up for a baseline dunk.

But Bynum was called for his fifth foul - - an illegal screen on Carlos Arroyo - - with 9:22 remaining. Ronny Turiaf wound up playing 30 minutes and had five blocks at the defensive end.

``It was a great learning experience for me out there,’’ Bynum said. ``He’s really big and he’s pretty strong. I’ve got to get a stronger base when I go up against him.’’

Chris Webber was just interviewed at halftime of the Bulls-Nets game on TNT. He said he wanted to go to a team that could compete for a championship as well as a team that looked at him as a starter. Webber also denied reports that he's heading to Detroit as premature.

``Really, I just want to go somewhere I can win. So I'm looking at all the obvious teams,'' Webber said. ``I think the Lakers are great. They play with the ball and the triangle offense is probably the greatest offense. They have a great coach and probably the best player in the league in Kobe.

``Then Miami has great players there and a winning tradition and a great coach. Dallas, San Antonio, even a team like Orlando intrigues me to play with a guy like (Dwight) Howard and Grant Hill. So right now I'm really just trying to weigh my options and hopefully see what happens.''

More from Webber:

``Somebody has to look at you the way that you look at yourself.''

That was part of Webber's answer to a question from Charles Barkley about whether he would be willing to come off the bench. Webber has started 777 out of 779 games in his career.

``I just someone to know that last year I had a really good season when my knee hurt, and now that it doesn't, being in a situation where I'll be used in any which way they want me to be used, that they'll let me play my game.''

``I think I can be versatile and switch and play forward or center. I really wouldn't mind starting at center on a team. I think that would give me an advantage. Many people haven't thought about being smaller but being able to check them on the post but having to have them come out and check me on the pick-and-roll or something like that.''

Webber had a couple of good lines, telling Charles Barkley that the two of them should go play for the L.A. Galaxy. Webber also said he would have to flee to Africa ``like Wesley Snipes'' if he revealed how much he got in his buyout from the 76ers.

Welcome to Los Angeles, David Beckham. You certainly made heads turn at Lakers practice Thursday. Here’s what Phil Jackson had to say about that reported five-year, $250 million contract that delivered Beckham to the Galaxy and Posh Spice to L.A.:

``Is that all?’’ Jackson said to laughs. ``I thought she (wife Victoria Beckham) was going to get all the money and he was just coming for the pleasure of living in California. Well, good for him. Good for us.’’

Kobe Bryant heard the quarter-of-a-billion-dollar figure and said, ``It’s a hell of a situation.’’ Told that apparently there’s no salary cap for foreign stars in Major League Soccer, Bryant had the line of the day: ``I’ve got to get my (butt) to China.’’

``I think it’s exciting for everybody who enjoys soccer, me being one of them,’’ Bryant added. ``He’s obviously an elite player. It could be good for the game because soccer has some catching up to do here in the States and I’m sure it’ll help boost that popularity.’’

Bryant traded cell phone numbers with Brazilian star Ronaldinho when FC Barcelona came to Los Angeles last summer. Jackson flashed a little soccer knowledge from his days playing for the New York Knicks in the 1970s.

Asked if he remembered the Pele-led New York Cosmos, Jackson reminded us that Franz Beckenbauer - - one of the greatest midfielders in history - - also played on that team. ``Sometimes people just look at it as one star,’’ Jackson said, ``but they had a multitude of stars.’’

Will the Beckham signing take soccer into the major leagues in America?

``As a soccer fan, I can only hope it does have that effect,’’ Jackson said. ``I don’t know if our mainstream American sports fan has enough room in his life to incorporate soccer too with all the other sports in America.

``But it certainly is a great game to watch and a great game to participate in. I’m anticipating that it’s going to give a real big boost to it.’’

* * *

Looks like Shaquille O’Neal might play Monday against the Lakers at Staples Center. O’Neal practiced Thursday in San Francisco for the first time since undergoing knee surgery on Nov. 19.

The Heat play Friday at Golden State and Saturday at Utah before finishing the trip against the Lakers. That’s not a lot of practice time for O’Neal, although it’s hard to imagine why he met up with the team if he wasn’t going to play.

A matchup between O’Neal and Andrew Bynum alone would be worth watching at Staples Center.

* * *

Notes from Thursday

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--Back at their practice facility after 48 forgettable hours on the road, the Lakers focused their attention on the happenings in the film room and the trainer’s room, neither one of which was a fun place to be.

They went frame-by-frame through a second quarter gone awry in Houston and checked on the condition of Kobe Bryant’s strained left groin. The Lakers listed Bryant as probable for tonight’s game against Orlando.

Bryant, who suffered the injury in the second quarter Wednesday, will be limited if he does play. He underwent treatment and said his groin was no worse from the night before, though Lakers coach Phil Jackson was cautious.

``I don’t think we can call it right now,’’ Jackson said. ``I expect he’s going to play, but I don’t know what we can expect out of him.

``(Wednesday) night, I just didn’t think he could run. He just couldn’t run full-out. He couldn’t do the things that he normally does. He couldn’t get elevation on his shot. He was shooting an arm shot.’’

Bryant made just 6 of 18 shots against the Rockets and was hindered by the injury in the 17:40 he played in the second half.

``It hurts to accelerate, to get to the basket, trying to shift gears and change direction, things like that,’’ Bryant said. ``You kind of have to pick your spots a little bit and feel it out.’’

The Lakers need a victory tonight to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season.

Webber update: Jackson had a question of his own when asked about reports that free-agent forward Chris Webber has a wish list of five teams for which he would like to play, the Lakers being one of them.

``Did he give it to Santa?’’ Jackson quipped. ``It’s a little bit late for that.’’

After reaching agreement on a buyout, Webber was waived Thursday by the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers could offer Webber a prorated contract for the veteran’s minimum of $1.117 million, of which $433,797 would be covered by the NBA.

``We’ve always respected Chris Webber’s game and he’s a great player,’’ Jackson said. ``We’ll have to sit down and discuss that as an organization. . . . We’ll probably be able to talk about it in the next two days.’’

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said he had seen the Lakers included on Webber’s wish list. The other four teams were Detroit, Miami, Dallas and San Antonio.

``We’ll discuss the possibility internally for the next day or two and see if it makes any sense,’’ Kupchak said. ``It sounds to me like he has other options he’s considering as well.’’

Horror film: Even though the Lakers won the second quarter 24-23 against Houston, Jackson wanted his players to relive it on tape Thursday. It was the little things in that quarter, Jackson believed, that led to the Lakers’ downfall in the third quarter.

He went over the spacing on offense, the lack of ball movement, even the final play of the half when Bryant couldn’t get off a shot in the last 22.6 seconds. That cost the Lakers a chance at going into halftime with a lead.

``You have to be a unit,’’ center Andrew Bynum said, ``and we didn’t display that we were a unit (Wednesday) night.’’

Quick fouls: If there was one constant in the Lakers’ losses to Memphis and Houston, it was that Bryant slipped into foul trouble in the first quarter of both games.

Bryant was called for two fouls in the first 4:23 Wednesday, bringing Maurice Evans off the bench. Although Bryant played the entire second quarter, the Lakers again were left to improvise early.

``It changes our rotation. It changes how players play. It changes our game a lot,’’ Jackson said. ``We’re going to have to live with it occasionally. But we wouldn’t expect to live with it back-to-back nights.’’

Brown update: Center Kwame Brown did some light shooting Thursday but won’t have his severely sprained left ankle re-evaluated for another two weeks. The ankle recently swelled up again on Brown, who suffered the injury Dec. 31.

``It’s so boring,’’ Brown said. ``I miss you guys. I’m bored all day, every day. Anything beats laying on the training table.’’

The Lakers certainly traveled a lot of miles to lose two games to Memphis and Houston like that. If you're looking for the constants from both nights, they start with Kobe Bryant getting in foul trouble early and the Lakers' struggling to shoot the ball. They went 64 for 166 (38.6 percent) from the field in the two games.

Kobe Bryant made an interesting comment after the game. Namely that Andrew Bynum should call Dikembe Mutombo and ask for some pointers. If nothing else, Bynum should ask Mutombo his secrets for being able to play into his 40s.

``For Drew to get to that level, he has to watch and learn and study Dikembe and how he's able to do that,'' Bryant said. ``If I was in his position, I might lob a call to Dikembe and talk to him. That's what I did. I came up, I talked to M.J., I talked to Scottie, I talked to those guys because I wanted to learn from them. He'll find that most of the guys will be very helpful in teaching him that and passing off that knowledge to the next generation.''

Bynum on the matchup: ``He got a couple nice blocks. Not much to say about that. I had a couple, too. I just didn't wave my finger. That's his thing. I'm not going to steal it.''

* * *

I tried to keep the Chris Webber particulars as basic as possible because I'm never sure quite how many readers understand the salary-cap details or really care. Here's a little bit more of a breakdown: Because the Lakers are over the cap, they have to use league-wide exceptions to be able to sign players. And they've already spent the two biggest for this season.

They spent the $5.215 million mid-level exception on Vladimir Radmanovic and the $1.75 million bi-annual exception on Shammond Williams. The Lakers only option for signing Webber is to offer him a minimum contract for $1.178 million. They wouldn't even have to make that much of an investment in Webber because the Lakers would be on the hook for only $744,551; the NBA would pay the $433,000 difference.

Money shouldn't be much of an issue to Webber: He's owed more than $40 million from the Sixers. The Lakers also would face a question about releasing a player. Chris Mihm is out for the season with ankle surgery but has trade value with an expiring contract worth more than $4 million. Aaron McKie is making $2.5 million but is on the active roster right now with all the Lakers' injuries.

If you read Marc Stein's article on ESPN.com tonight, Webber has the Lakers on his wish list of five teams. The three biggest questions are whether Webber is anything close to healthy, how much of an obstacle it would be picking up the triangle offense and whether the Lakers need him if Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown both can make it back by the end of the month.

I'm sure Lakers fans have some strong feelings about the possibility of seeing Webber in purple and gold after so many years with the Kings.

* * *

You don't see Phil Jackson get ejected from many games. In fact, Bryant wasn't sure if it had ever happened. The last time Jackson got tossed came in Game 2 of the 2001 Western Conference Finals against San Antonio. Before that, the last regular-season game was Nov. 12, 1999 against Houston.

The way Jackson reacted to the technical foul referee Tony Brothers gave Brian Cook earlier in the third quarter had me convinced that he was getting tossed as soon he got out of his seat to argue for a foul call on Luke Walton's behalf.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

HOUSTON--In case they needed a reminder of why it was so important to win 12 of those 15 home games to start the season, the Lakers got it Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets when nearly everything that could go wrong did.

They suffered a 102-77 loss in a game that ended with both Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson in the locker room early. Jackson was ejected in the third quarter while Bryant left the bench with 3:33 remaining after suffering a groin strain in the second quarter.

It was a night in which 40-year-old Dikembe Mutombo turned back the clock with one finger-wagging block after another. The Lakers shot a season-worst 34.8 percent and came apart in the third quarter for the second time in as many games.

So went the good feelings from Sunday night’s victory over the Dallas in only 72 hours. Now 7-9 on the road, the Lakers can fall back on the 16-4 home record built in November and December at Staples Center.

``We’re not playing the same basketball we were just three days ago when we were at home,’’ Luke Walton said. ``We’ve got to sit down, figure out what we’re doing differently and get back on track.’’

Bryant finished with 20 points on 6 of 18 shooting and was hindered by the groin injury. He pulled it when he took an outlet pass in the second quarter and went to accelerate. As for his availability Friday against Orlando, Bryant was optimistic after the game.

``I should be fine to play,’’ Bryant said. ``It’ll just take some adjusting. We’ll just treat it around the clock like we normally do. Hopefully, it’ll be closer to 100 percent than it is now.’’

Already playing without injured starters Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown, the Lakers can ill afford to lose Bryant. Although it was described as a minor strain, Jackson called it ``a difficult injury to overcome’’

There was plenty of time for Jackson to think about all that went wrong. He was ejected by referee Tony Brothers with 15.3 seconds left in the third quarter after arguing a foul should have been called when Walton was hammered on a drive by Mutombo.

``It just was one of those kind of situations where our guy went to the basket again, got knocked in the stands and there was no call,’’ Jackson said. ``That was the second guy in a row. (Maurice Evans) went before him and got knocked into the seats.’’

It wasn’t the first flare-up between Jackson and Brothers in the quarter. After he was called for his fourth foul with 9:35 left in the third, Brian Cook voiced his displeasure to referee Greg Willard as he headed to the bench.

Without a word said in his direction, Brothers whistled Cook for a technical, leaving Jackson bellowing, ``What’s your problem?’’ Cook was animated in yelling, ``I’m not talking to you,’’ before taking his seat.

``I don’t want to talk about it,’’ Jackson said afterward. ``He’s not worth talking about anyway.’’

The third quarter again was the Lakers’ undoing. One night after giving up 46 points to Memphis in the third, the Lakers made just 4 of 22 shots and lost the quarter 25-12 to the Rockets. They scored only 31 points in the second half.

``We’re just not executing well or coming out with the kind of energy that we need to,’’ Bryant said. ``Teams are really busting us in the third quarter. If we can kind of solve that mystery and play at least half the quarter decently, we’ll be OK.’’

With Yao Ming out a minimum of six weeks with a fractured bone in his right leg, the Rockets started Mutombo at center, leaving an intriguing matchup against Andrew Bynum between the NBA’s oldest and youngest players.

Mutombo made history at Bynum’s expense in the third quarter. He blocked Bynum twice around the basket to tie and pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - - Bynum’s mentor, no less - - for second on the NBA’s all-time list.

In signature fashion, Mutombo wagged his finger on both plays. He finished with seven points, 19 rebounds and a season-high five blocks and sits second to Hakeem Olajuwon with 3,191 career blocks.

Bryant described Mutombo as ``masterful at what he does.’’ Jackson was upset that the Lakers went at Mutombo instead of working around him as the game plan dictated.

The Rockets won even with Tracy McGrady’s streak of 30-point games coming to an end at six. McGrady made just 4 of 16 shots but finished with eight points and 12 assists. Shane Battier hit five 3-pointers as Houston went 12 of 36 from long range.

Jackson said he was concerned about his young players staying positive after the back-to-back losses. The Lakers still have to play 11 of their next 16 games on the road.

``This is just one of those times in the year,’’ Jackson said, ``when you’re not playing well, the teams you run against are, and you have to get back and do the things that got you to where you were.’’

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

HOUSTON--Will the Lakers enter the Chris Webber derby if and when the Philadelphia 76ers agree to a buyout of the former All-Star forward’s contract? That was the question for Lakers coach Phil Jackson before Wednesday’s game.

``I think that’s been speculated for a month and a half now,’’ Jackson said. ``Chris is a great player. We have to leave that in (general manager Mitch Kupchak’s) department and just allow him to suggest that or to deal with that as that comes along.’’

Webber told ESPN.com that he hopes to sign with one of five teams, a list that includes the Lakers along with Miami, Dallas, San Antonio and Detroit.

Jackson mentioned feeling ``short-handed’’ playing recent games without injured starters Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown. The Lakers expect to get Odom back before the end of the month and hope Brown can follow soon after.

Webber hopes to finalize the buyout today and sign with a team Monday. The Lakers would have to release a player to make room for Webber on the 15-man roster and have already used their mid-level and bi-annual salary cap exceptions.

There also are questions about Webber’s diminished ability. He will turn 34 on March 1 and has averaged 11.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and shot 38.7 percent in 18 games for Philadelphia this season.

``In a hypothetical case like this,’’ Jackson said, ``I’ll tell you that we would have to do research on a player, look at the games that he had played in, analyze the tapes to see what it looks like physically, all that type of stuff before we’d even consider a player.’’

Numbers game: All it took was a change to No. 24 for Kobe Bryant’s jersey to return to No. 1 in popularity, according to sales figures released by the league Wednesday.

The NBA reported sales from its online store and retail store in New York from the start of the season through Dec. 31. A league spokeswoman said there was no breakdown for sales of Bryant’s old No. 8 jersey versus new No. 24.

``It just shows that I have a lot of support out there,’’ Bryant said, ``and my fans have come to terms with embracing 24.’’

Miami’s Dwayne Wade and Cleveland’s LeBron James ranked second and third, respectively, in jersey sales. Wade’s jersey had been the NBA’s most popular since May 2005; Bryant’s was the most popular for the 2002-03 season.

Bryant made the switch to the number he first wore in high school to mark what he described in May as the start of the ``second leg of my career.’’

For the fifth consecutive season, the Lakers ranked first in sales of team merchandise.

Needless to say, the 365th loss of Phil Jackson's coaching career is not going to be remembered as fondly as his 900th victory. The Lakers resolved after losing to Charlotte in triple-overtime last month not to give away any more games against meager teams. Of course, the Lakers not only lost to the NBA's worst team, they gave up more points in regulation than any other game this season.

The big picture of that loss dominated the postgame talk. But there are still moments when games are decided and you can see how they added up against the Lakers. Start with the two fouls Kobe Bryant picked up in the first 5:45, sending him to the bench for the rest of the quarter. Maurice Evans has to check in and everything is off-kilter early.

Move ahead to the second quarter and the Lakers are part of a four-point swing with 9:31 left. Sasha Vujacic has a pass stolen by Pau Gasol. The Grizzlies head the other way and Mike Miller scores on the fastbreak while being fouled by Jordan Farmar. Vujacic tosses the ball against the basket standard in frustration and is called for a techncial foul. Miller hits two free throws and Memphis is down 30-29.

Even though the third quarter was a disaster, the Lakers actually led 62-56 with 9:39 left. The Grizzlies were playing a zone defense and the Lakers had gotten a dunk by Andrew Bynum and a Bryant 3-pointer against it. That was before Bynum somehow threw the ball over Bryant's head and into the backcourt on one play. Miller took it the other way for a dunk and everything snowballed from there.

As for the fourth quarter, the Lakers tried desperately to get back in the game and closed to 116-103 with 5:43 remaining. If they could have gotten the game within 10 points, Jackson would have brought Bryant off the bench. He didn't want to do it otherwise with the Lakers playing their fourth game in six nights. But Walton misses a layup with the chance to make it an 11-point game. The Lakers never got the Grizzlies' lead down to single digits.

Of course, the Lakers aren't going to win on the road when they give up 46-point third quarters, when they get outrebounded 50-39, when they let Memphis shoot 49 free throws and give up fastbreak points and points in the paint galore. But it's important to remember those plays as potential turning points.

``We not holding it against this team because of who they lose to,'' Jackson said. ``We're holding it against them because they didn't play the kind of game we wanted to play, regardless of who our opponent was.''

* * *

One of the differences between good and great teams comes in being able to stop a losing streak before it starts. The Lakers have dropped consecutive games only twice all season but need a victory Wednesday against Houston to avoid making it three times. They also have a chance to win the season series against the Rockets, which could be important come playoff time.

* * *

There was an amusing sequence in the first quarter when Bynum was called for basketball interference on a follow-up dunk. Jackson was all over referee Bill Kennedy in thinking the ball had bounced outside the cylinder. Kennedy stopped at midcourt, stared at the replay on the arena video board and flashed both thumbs up when he saw his call was correct.

* * *

Sasha Vujacic finished with 18 points and made four 3-pointers. It was his second career-high in as many games. Vujacic again played the entire fourth quarter, this time as the Lakers tried to come back.

Vladimir Radmanovic made just 1 of 6 shots, scored six points and fouled out in 17 minutes. Radmanovic rifled the ball off the backboard on a shot around the basket in the second quarter.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--Only the Lakers could take the prosperity that came with ending the Dallas Mavericks’ 13-game winning streak and turn it into charity two nights later against the Memphis Grizzlies.

There was no explanation for what happened Tuesday and none that would have sufficed. In a mere 48 hours, the Lakers went from inspiring to embarrassing, good enough to beat the NBA’s best team and bad enough to lose to its worst.

The Grizzlies ripped the Lakers for 46 points in the third quarter, built a 24-point lead in the second half and pocketed a 128-118 victory. This even after Lakers coach Phil Jackson implored his players not to overlook an 8-27 team.

``He’s been telling us for the last two days,’’ Luke Walton said. ``This is the type of game that he’s talking about we need to win. Personally, I thought we were ready, but obviously we’ve got some more learning to do because we weren’t ready.’'

Kobe Bryant finished with 25 points but didn’t play in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach. Among the starters, Andrew Bynum made just 5 of 13 shots, Brian Cook 4 of 13, Smush Parker 3 of 9 and Walton 1 of 8.

As impressive as their victories over Dallas, Phoenix, Utah and San Antonio have been, the Lakers in effect have canceled them out with losses to Portland, New Orleans, Charlotte and Memphis. The combined record of those four teams is 44-94.

``It’s got to be mental,’’ Walton said. ``We’ve shown that we have the talent and the ability to play as an elite team. If you have that capability and you have that talent, then it’s got to be something else.’’

No wonder Jackson said before the game, ``We’re a team that doesn’t understand its own identity.’’

With former coach Mike Fratello in charge, 46 points would have been a good half of work for the Grizzlies. Instead, they totaled that many points Tuesday in a train wreck of a third quarter for the Lakers.

It was only three points shy of the most ever allowed by the Lakers in a single quarter, coming in a March 19, 1993 game against Boston. From a 57-52 lead at halftime, the Lakers found themselves trailing 98-79 entering the fourth quarter.

``Sometimes when things go wrong, it’s just infectious,’’ Jackson said. ``One bad pass begets another, we say, and one bad play begets another. But we had a sequence of them that just kept multiplying in that third quarter.’’

It was the only quarter the Lakers lost all night but was enough to cost them the game. The Lakers committed six turnovers in the third, took 11 3-pointers trying to break a zone defense and gave up 24 fastbreak points to Memphis.

Bynum threw the ball over Bryant’s head, leading to a Mike Miller dunk. Walton looked for Parker on the fastbreak and lobbed a pass that skipped out of bounds. Cook threw a pass that Bynum couldn’t hang onto.

The Grizzlies came back and took a 69-64 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by Miller, who scored 14 of his 25 points in the quarter. It got worse from there, the Lakers going down by 13 points and Jackson substituting everybody but Bryant.

In his postgame comments, Bryant used the word ``execute’’ five times to describe what was lacking.

``When you’re in these type of situations, you just have to button up and sharpen up,’’ Bryant said. ``You can’t be loose with the basketball, you can’t be lackadaisical, you just have to tighten the structure up and go out there and punch the clock.’’

The Grizzlies outscored the Lakers 46-22 in the third quarter. They scored only 30 points the entire first half of their Nov. 12 loss to the Lakers at Staples Center.

``You have to recognize the fact that we’re probably a younger team than Memphis is,’’ Jackson said, ``and they talk about them being in a youth movement.’’

I'm not sure when it happened last season, but Lakers coach Phil Jackson described Sasha Vujacic in a way that none of us who cover the team have forgotten. Jackson dubbed Vujacic an ``11 o'clock shooter'' as opposed to a ``7:30 shooter.'' Translation: Vujacic was great at practice but disappeared in games.

When he was reminded of those words after Sunday's game, Jackson couldn't help but snicker about a ``6:30 game.'' It was an early start Sunday, but Vujacic finally was a big-game shooter for the Lakers, hitting 6 of 7 shots, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 28.5 seconds left, and scoring a career-high 16 points.

``Sasha's starting to settle in,'' Jackson said. ``I think he was anxious (early in the season). He started the first game obviously of the year with Kobe sitting on the bench and got off to a tough start. But he's been playing much better as of late.

``I know he had some open shots the other night that didn't go down for him, but we expect them to go in because he's really a good shooter and works hard at it.''

If you watch the FSN West special on Vujacic's path to the Lakers, you learn that his nickname in Italy was ``The Giant Killer,'' for the big shots he hit so often against top teams. Vujacic definitely lived up to that nickname Sunday against the Mavericks.

Vujacic raised his shooting percentage for the season from 37.4 percent to 40.6 percent after Sunday's game. He's still so young that he won't turn 23 until March 8.

* * *

Jackson became the fastest coach ever to 900 victories in his career. He ranks ninth on the all-time list, trailing Dick Motta in eighth with 935 victories. Red Auerbach ranks seventh with 938.

``They're a lot of guys in the game that are coaching right now that have 1,000 wins, 900,'' Jackson said. ``I don't know what I am down on the list - - probably 10th or so all-time. But I can remember when Red Auerbach stood up there all by (himself) when I was a player.

``You looked at the wins that coaches had and no one else was even close. Over the past 20 years, all these coaches that I've grown up with, watched coach, played ball against - - Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley, Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson, Larry Brown - - have all reached that milestone.

``It's become a game in which us elderly guys are now coaching, which was an age that coaches really didn't extend themselves into (these) ranks when I was a player. So it says something about the longevity of coaches now.

``And it's a compliment to all the players that I've had, the great players, the great teams and the great runs that we've had to be able to accept this kind of as gratitude to them.''

* * *

The Lakers shot 61.1 percent in the fourth quarter and had eight assists against no turnovers. The last time the Mavericks gave up 100 points was to he Lakers back on Dec. 13 in the victory that started the 13-game streak.

* * *

You get the feeling that the last team the Mavericks want to see is the Lakers in the playoffs. The Lakers are now 12-2 against Dallas at Staples Center in their history. They were on the wrong end as Kobe Bryant outscored them 62-61 through three quarters of a game last December. Then they lose Sunday for the first time in nearly a month to a Lakers team playing without two injured starters. The two teams meet again in Dallas on Jan. 18.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

Long after the game ball from Sunday night’s 101-98 triumph over the Dallas Mavericks has gone into storage, Lakers coach Phil Jackson will be left with the memories from the 900th victory of his career.

They will be stirring to say the least, with the Lakers ending the Mavericks’ 13-game winning streak, Sasha Vujacic hitting the biggest 3-pointer of his career and Jackson’s team taking its place among the NBA elite.

When he walked into the locker room afterward, Jackson was greeted by a standing ovation from his players, including teenage center Andrew Bynum, who was all of 2 years old when Jackson won his first game.

``It was awesome,’’ Kobe Bryant said. ``I know Phil’s not going to beat his chest about it or anything like it. But it was important for everybody here to take notice of what we just saw tonight. It’s special, man.’’

The Mavericks’ streak started with a 110-101 victory over the Lakers on Dec. 13 in Dallas and ended 25 days later at Staples Center. That the Lakers did so without injured starters Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown made it all the more remarkable.

``I think right now we’re one of those teams that we’re good enough to beat anyone in the NBA,’’ Luke Walton said. ``When we play the teams like the Mavericks or the Spurs we really get up and step our games up.

``We’ve got to learn how to play like that all the time, though. That’s how you get one of the high seeds in the playoffs and get the home-court advantage.’’

The Lakers trailed by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter and 96-92 with 1:29 remaining. Bryant scored 14 points in the quarter and started the final push by driving the lane and scoring while being fouled by Dirk Nowitzki.

They led briefly, then trailed 98-97 after a Nowitzki layup with 41.9 seconds left. With Dallas committed to stopping Bryant, though, Walton drove the lane and fired a pass back outside to Vujacic for an open 3-pointer with 28.5 seconds remaining.

``What we had to do,’’ Vujacic said, ``and what I could see at that time was just be open on the side and they will find me.’’

After making just 1 of 7 shots and missing all five 3-pointers Friday against Denver, Vujacic bounced back two nights later to connect on 6 of 7 shots and finish with a career-high 16 points.

It was the highlight of Vujacic’s young career and he stayed in the locker room long after the game to enjoy it. Vujacic hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and helped force a key Jason Terry turnover in the backcourt.

``I’m proud of him because he’s taken his lumps here,’’ Bryant said. ``The fans have been pretty hard on him. But what people don’t understand about him, he’s a tough kid.

``He’s not going to back down. He’s not going to stop being aggressive. He’s not going to stop working hard. When you have that combination of things, then fans will turn around because they’ll see it.’’

The Lakers shot 54.9 percent, totaled 26 assists as a team and won the fourth quarter 33-21. Their fourth-quarter lineup primarily was Bryant, Vujacic, Walton, Maurice Evans and Ronny Turiaf.

Smush Parker came up with a spectacular block of a Terry dunk with 16.9 seconds left to preserve the win. Former Lakers forward Devean George missed a tying 3-pointer for Dallas with 3 seconds to play.

Bryant finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He played all but 1:07 in the second half and asked to guard Nowitzki in the fourth quarter after the Lakers’ previous options of Brian Cook and Vladimir Radmanovic had failed.

``Just looking at the matchups out there, I felt like I wanted to take my crack at guarding him,’’ Bryant said. ``I’ve never guarded him before. Never. I was a little bit curious to see about his offensive game, what makes him special.’’

Nowitzki scored eight points in the fourth and 29 for the game. Bryant was giving up at least six inches to the Mavericks’ All-Star forward. Jackson eventually moved Bryant off Nowitzki in favor of Turiaf for the final 2:51.

Walton totaled 21 points, six assists and three rebounds, with eight of his points in the fourth quarter. Bryant drilled three jumpers to open the fourth but had to give up the ball as the Mavericks sent two and three defenders in his direction.

``When we didn’t trap him, he scored,’’ Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. ``When we trapped him, it seemed like Walton and Vujacic made a lot of big shots on us. So everything that we tried on them in the fourth quarter didn’t work.’’

After the streamers fell to the floor and the players celebrated, the question of the Lakers’ place in the NBA hierarchy came up.

The Lakers (23-11) are only a half-game out of the top four in the Western Conference and have beaten San Antonio, Phoenix, Utah and Dallas all at Staples Center this season.

They have won four consecutive games, the latest being possibly the most improbable victory since the Shaquille O’Neal trade. They are now 3-0 without Odom and Brown, both of whom will likely be sidelined most of January.

``We can certainly play up to certain teams in games,’’ said Jackson, fastest ever to 900 victories. ``There’s no doubt about it. But we had to emotionally come out of our skin a little bit tonight and work really hard at doing it.’'

Walton summed things up simply, saying, ``They’ve done a great job of putting a bunch of team players together.’’

If that's the kind of game the Lakers and Kings are capable of producing on Jan. 4, I shudder to think what could happen April 18 when they meet again at Arco Arena for the final game of the regular season. The Lakers could be playing for a favorable path to the second round while the Kings might be just hoping to get in the playoffs.

In case you missed it, here's the Cliff's Notes version of what happened late: The Kings led 116-112 with 6.7 seconds left in regulation after coming all the way back from 21 points down in the second half. Then Vladimir Radmanovic keeps the Lakers alive with a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining.

The Lakers are still on life support after Kobe Bryant is called for an away from play foul, putting Mike Bibby at the foul line and giving the Kings the ball as well. Except Bibby, an 85.3 percent free-throw shooter entering Thursday, comes up empty.

Then Kevin Martin - - the NBA's seventh-best foul shooter at 91.1 percent - - makes just 1 of 2 with 4.0 seconds left. That gives the Lakers the chance to tie down 117-115. They inbound to Bryant, the player the league general managers voted they would most want taking the last shot with the game on the line.

What does Bryant do? He gives up the ball to Smush Parker cutting the lane after Bibby leaves him to double Bryant. Parker hits the runner to force overtime at the buzzer. The Lakers nearly blow a five-point lead in the final minute of overtime before Corliss Williamson misses a potential tying shot with 5.9 seconds left.

How Williamson winds up taking the last shot for the Kings we're still trying to figure out. The game lasts 3:21, a minute longer than the Lakers' triple-overtime loss to Charlotte thanks to the extended TNT broadcast timeouts and the 80 - - yes, 80 - - fouls that Dick Bavetta, Jess Kersey and Robbie Robinson called.

I'll apologize in advance to everyone who gets the first edition of our sports section, the one that has to be off the floor by 10:30 p.m. It's not usually an issue except for when the game ends after 11. I sneaked some Phil Jackson quotes in the 11:30 p.m. edition but here's some extra quotes from the locker room.

Kobe Bryant: ``You want to give yourself an opportunity to win the game or tie the game. We had an opportunity and we were able to capitalize on it. I've seen weirder things happen. Inevitably, every time we play here we wind up having a really great game.''

Mike Bibby: ``When you have free throw shooters like Kevin Martin and I who don't finish, that's what hurt us the most tonight. It was kind of on our shoulders to make those and we let our team down. If you make free throws, the game is over.''

Corliss Williamson: ``There were a lot of options we had (on the last play) but the Lakers did a good job in defending the pass. One of the last options was for me to flash across the lane and get the ball on the block. I thought I had a chance to drive in there and hit the shot.''

* * *

Starting in place of Kwame Brown, Andrew Bynum finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, four of which were offensive boards. He made two really nice plays in the first quarter, flipping in a shot over Shareef Abdur-Rahim while drawing a foul. Bynum had another chance at a three-point play after putting back a Luke Walton miss.

Bynum was on the floor late in the game as well but Lakers coach Phil Jackson decided to sit him in favor of Vladimir Radmanovic after Bynum picked up his pivot foot and was called for traveling with 2:53 left in the fourth and the Lakers clinging to a 108-105 lead.

Bynum came back for rebounding purposes as the Kings went to the foul line in the last 10 seconds and was on the floor for the start of overtime, when Jackson wanted him to win the tip-off. Jackson grimaced when Bynum missed the first of two free throws in overtime and sat him for the last 1:49.

It was a learning experience for Bynum, who played 33 minutes and did more than just stay out of foul trouble. Ronny Turiaf had six points and four rebounds but picked up four fouls in 10:30 off the bench.

* * *

The Lakers are now 5-0 in the Pacific Division. They're the only team with a perfect division record left in the NBA.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO--As long as they must play without injured starters Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown, the only thing the Lakers can expect is the unexpected, a fact that was hammered home Thursday night at Arco Arena.

They played an adventure of a game against the Sacramento Kings, complete with a 74-point first half, a blown 21-point lead in the second half, a buzzer-beater at the end of regulation and ultimately a 132-128 victory in overtime.

For the fourth time in 10 games, the Lakers went to overtime to decide things. They led for the first 45-plus minutes but Sacramento was the team that couldn’t hold onto a four-point lead in the last 6.7 seconds of the fourth quarter.

The Lakers sent the game to overtime on the play of the season. Sasha Vujacic inbounded the ball to Kobe Bryant some 30 feet from the basket with 4.0 seconds left. John Salmons and Mike Bibby both converged, expecting Bryant to take the last shot.

Instead, Bryant gave up the ball, firing a pass to Smush Parker, who cut down the lane after Bibby left him. Parker pushed in a shot with 0.1 seconds left as Corliss Williamson arrived to help too late for the Kings.

``I just told them that you’re going to have opportunities to take the ball to the basket,’’ Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``There’s 4 seconds, that’s a lot of time when you get the ball inbounds.

``Don’t be hesitant about moving the ball and taking it to the hoop because we don’t have to score a 3. And Kobe said, `I’m doubled all the time. You guys just be open or be aware.’’’

Bryant finished with 42 points on 11-of-21 shooting with 10 rebounds and nine assists while Brian Cook (season-high 26 points) hit his first six shots and provided the instant offense Jackson was looking for without Odom and Brown.

Jackson saw Thursday’s victory as sweet revenge after the Lakers lost here 118-109 in overtime last January after blowing a lead late in regulation in part because of an Odom charging foul.

``I think you come to Sacramento, watch a Laker-King game and you’re going to find something different happening out there,’’ Jackson said. ``This is the second time in almost a year that we’ve just had an outrageous game with this team.’’

The Lakers led by as many as five points with a minute left in overtime but the Kings still had a chance to tie late as Bibby buried a 3-pointer with 11.7 seconds remaining and Bryant made just 1 of 2 free throws at the other end.

The Kings couldn’t get the ball to Bibby, so Kevin Martin threw it to Williamson instead. Williamson missed around the basket with 5.9 seconds left and Bryant finished things at the foul line.

After a 3-hour, 21-minute game, the Lakers once again found a way around the injuries to win. They are 3-0 this season without Bryant, 6-5 without Odom, 1-0 without Odom and Brown and 21-11 overall.

The Lakers are 10 games above .500 for the first time since the Shaquille O’Neal trade.

Parker finished with 10 points while Vladimir Radmanovic had five points and connected on the 3-pointer that kept the Lakers alive in the fourth quarter. Bibby led the Kings with 38 points while Ron Artest fouled out with 1:28 left in regulation.

After watching the referees call 26 fouls in a second quarter that crawled along, sending the two teams to the free-throw line an arena-record 47 times, Bryant was left in disbelief as no foul was called on a potential tying drive with 10.9 seconds left.

Bryant went up into the arms of Salmons and Williamson as his bank shot from 8 feet rimmed out. The Kings grabbed the rebound and Salmons converted two free throws to make it 116-112 with 6.7 seconds left.

If the game looked over, it wasn’t. Radmanovic buried a corner 3-pointer as the Lakers closed to 116-115.

``We always tell guys, `Keep playing because you never know what’s going to happen,’’’ Jackson said. ``We had 3-point shooters in the game, Vlade knocked that down, we had the opportunity to do something.’’

Bryant, however, was called for an away from play foul on the subsequent inbounds that left him stunned. But Bibby missed the free throw and Martin missed the first of two with 4.0 seconds left. That was all the opening the Lakers needed.

Bryant took only one shot and did not score in the first quarter but watched as the Lakers took a 33-18 lead after the opening 12 minutes. Cook was knocking down shots, Bryant was moving the ball and the Lakers were rolling.

Does a Lakers/Kings game in Sacramento still carry the same weight when Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson and Mike Bibby are the only holdovers left from the 2002 Western Conference Finals? That was one of the questions asked at Wednesday's practice.

Phil said: ``It is different. There’s something that's different about their team. Their team’s still good on their home court. Their fans are still rabid fans. They’ve got an aggressive team. They have not played well this season, they’ve had a few things go wrong for them. But they’re back at it now.’’

Kobe said: ``It’s always special to go up to Sacramento. No matter how both teams are doing, it’s always special to go up there because of all the memories that we’ve had. It’s always a fun place to play.’’

If you need an extra reason to watch Thursday's game, Charles Barkley is leaving the TNT studios to call the game live. As long as Kobe takes more than three shots and scores more than one point in the second half, we should all be fine.

* * *

Jackson has taken jabs at Kwame Brown several times in the past week, making fun of his bad hands as well as the various injuries he has suffered. But Jackson offered a pretty good analysis of what the Lakers will be missing with Brown recovering from a severely sprained ankle.

``Sometimes he’s not successful, things may not go as well as he wants,'' Jackson said, ``but the ability of him to just knock guys around in there, he’s so physical and so strong, that it sends them back on their heels and it makes them a little less reluctant to be aggressive offensively. So that force or that sense of power in there is very important to us.''

Although Andrew Bynum's length and shot-blocking ability can cause problems, Brown is a physical presence inside. You have to think the Lakers would be happy to play .500 basketball as long as Brown and Lamar Odom are both out with injuries.

* * *

Odom has a great line he's used a couple of times in talking about big-time college athletics: ``Ain't nobody ever paid money to watch somebody take a test.''

With the news Wednesday that Nick Saban's leaving for Alabama, I think it's fair to say: ``Ain't nobody ever paid a coach $4 million a year to graduate players.''

* * *

A scene from practice Wednesday: Rookie guard Jordan Farmar, the last guy on the practice court, getting as many shots as possible with the leather ball.

* * *

Notes for Thursday

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--When the Lakers needed to stay afloat last January, Kobe Bryant was able to bail them out with one of the greatest months in NBA history. He averaged a staggering 43.4 points per game, most by anyone not named Wilt Chamberlain.

The odds are Bryant won’t put up the same numbers this season, but he will face a balancing act once again.

The Lakers will be playing the bulk of this month without forward Lamar Odom (sprained knee ligament) and center Kwame Brown (severe ankle sprain) and must account for 26.2 points and 15.3 rebounds per game in their absence.

In the past, that might call for Bryant to score 40 points just to give the Lakers a chance at winning. But Bryant would like to avoid that fate, especially after already shouldering the load with Odom out the last 10 games.

``I just think it’s better if we all get on the same page and play well,’’ Bryant said. ``It’s always more enjoyable. It’s more enjoyable for me, it’s more enjoyable for us.

``That being said, some nights you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to try and win the game. But I’ll feel much better and be happier if I didn’t have to do that.’’

Bryant faced what he described as ``kitchen sink’’ defenses throughout the Lakers’ recent six-game trip, with teams committing two and three defenders to stopping him. He figures to see more of the same as long as the Lakers are down two starters.

Kid games: Although he hasn’t officially been told he is starting, 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum again practiced with the first team Wednesday. He also has gotten the message from the coaching staff about staying out of foul trouble.

Bynum said he watched tape of himself picking up fouls by exposing his body and letting guards collide with him while driving the lane. He resolved to stay out of the restricted area and contest shots from a distance.

In addition, Bynum said he is prepared for teams to attack him with the screen-and-roll, a nemesis for the Lakers in recent games.

``It’s more than just myself and the guard at the top,’’ Bynum said. ``All of the team has to have a foot in the paint so that if he does get by us, then somebody else is there and we can recover to our man.’’

``That killed us in the Charlotte game. Kwame and Smush (Parker) were doing a pretty good job up top but our weak-side defense was so far out of the lane, we just didn’t have a chance.’’

Lakers coach Phil Jackson, meanwhile, was asked about the need for an emergency big man as long as Brown is out. He revealed that the Lakers are estimating Brown’s recovery at about four weeks.

``We think that we can see our way through for a short period of time and patch it up,’’ said Jackson, who also will give minutes to Ronny Turiaf and Brian Cook at center.

Injury update: Odom was shooting on the practice court with a knee brace Wednesday but was uncertain when he would be able to play again. He has been able to do some light running but can’t afford to rush back even with Brown out.

Feel-good story: By having his right hip replaced on the eve of training camp, Jackson avoided having to take a midseason leave of absence. Miami Heat coach Pat Riley did just that Wednesday to deal with knee and hip problems.

Having both hips replaced would have kept Jackson out three months. He is weighing having his left hip replaced this summer and was able to crack a joke Wednesday.

``Next year,’’ Jackson said, ``I know I’ll take it off during the season and have a holiday in the middle of this.’’

If there's one injury we didn't need a primer on, it's a severely sprained ankle. Kobe Bryant suffered one in the 2004-05 season and Chris Mihm suffered one last season. Bryant missed a month exactly and Mihm five-plus weeks, although Mihm would later admit that he came back too quickly trying to get ready for the playoffs.

Bryant described the rehab process as being ``hell'' when he talked about the injury last season. He also was asked where he was when he came back after a month. If you remember that game in Cleveland, Bryant's ankle was still so bad that he played with the straps on his shoes unfastened.

"I was not even close to 100 percent. Nowhere close," Bryant said in March. "It almost becomes your life. You just have to rehabilitate it every single day, all day."

So that's what Kwame Brown is facing after Sunday's game. I would guess that he'll be out between five and eight weeks. The Lakers are going to have to consider adding a big man to the roster, although they'll have to get in line behind both Houston and New Jersey, who are trying to replace Yao Ming and Nenad Krstic, respectively. The Lakers always can buy out Mihm's final season if they need to acquire a player.

``Kwame, he’s built like a horse,'' Luke Walton said. ``Hopefully, he’ll be able to get back quicker than most people. He’s a strong guy, so hopefully he’ll be able to stay healthy once he gets back.''

* * *

Shammond Williams had played in only five games all season and none since Nov. 19 when Jackson called on him in the second quarter Sunday. The Lakers had come up empty on a couple of possessions with Bryant on the bench and the Sixers playing a zone defense. Jackson brought Walton, Brown and Williams into the game together.

Williams connected on a 3-pointer and the Lakers were able to survive from there until Bryant checked back in. I don't know if Williams will play more or not with Brown out, but at least he and Aaron McKie will be on the active roster most nights. McKie hasn't played a minute this season.

* * *

Jackson couldn't resist taking a swipe at Brown, his favorite punching bag. He revealed in his post-game session with reporters that the Lakers training staff has a medical skeleton and they take turns guessing what body part Brown will hurt next. He has been battling knee and wrist injuries recently and a shoulder injury all season.

``Nobody picked an ankle yesterday or today,'' Jackson said.

* * *

Every player scored for the Lakers in Sunday's game. Brown had six points and eight rebounds in 17:18 before he was injured.

The Lakers are now 14-4 at home and finished 10-6 in December. That's two games better in December than I expected. They will head into January on a 50-win pace, but that's all a question mark if Brown is out for an extended period.

* * *

It would be interesting to look at players who are at the extreme end of not being prone to injuries. They are a huge benefit to their teams. Bruce Bowen came into Sunday as the NBA's leader in consecutive games played (383) followed by Andre Miller, Tayshaun Prince and Damon Jones.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

The clock hadn’t even hit midnight before the Lakers hopes for good health in the New Year were dashed Sunday night. Now they must wait to learn just how long starting center Kwame Brown will be out with a severely sprained left ankle.

Already playing without injured forward Lamar Odom, the Lakers lost Brown in the third quarter of their 104-94 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Brown went up and blocked Andre Miller’s shot in the lane only to roll his ankle coming down on Miller’s foot.

He collapsed to the floor immediately, clutching the ankle, and had to be helped to the locker room. The Lakers said X-rays of the ankle were inconclusive and that Brown will undergo further tests today, including a CT scan.

It was reminiscent of the severe ankle sprain center Chris Mihm suffered in a game in March. Mihm returned in 38 days for the Lakers’ final regular season game but his ankle never was right and he has had to undergo two surgeries since.

The Lakers were down a big man to begin with in Mihm, who is out for the season. Now they will have to make due with 19-year-old Andrew Bynum - - who started earlier this season while Brown nursed a shoulder injury - - and Ronny Turiaf.

``That’s all we have left out there,’’ Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``(Brian Cook) can play that center role, too, but we are getting to the position where we’re going to have to be bucking up and taking care of some business inside.’’

Brown was on crutches in the locker room after the game, with a walking boot on his foot. His New Year’s Eve plans would consist of a sleepless night keeping the ankle wrapped and elevated and contemplating an uncertain future.

Asked if he heard something in the ankle pop, Brown said, ``Yes, I did. Man, it hurt. It’s killing me right now.’’

Kobe Bryant could relate after missing exactly a month with a severely sprained ankle in January 2005. Bryant told Brown that the difference between missing weeks and months could come down to how aggressively he treated the ankle in the first 48 hours.

``Ankle injuries are the worst,’’ Bryant added. ``They’re just the worst. They take the longest to heal. When they heal, it takes a couple weeks just to get your ankle underneath you again, to cut like you normally would cut. It’s a tough injury to deal with.’’

Brown compared the injury to a sprained right ankle he suffered in his first NBA game with Washington in October 2001. He missed four games then but a severe sprain involves one or more ligaments that are 50 percent to fully torn.

The story of the Lakers’ season once again returned to injuries. They started the season with almost as many injured players as healthy ones in training camp, while Bryant recovered from knee surgery and Jackson from hip-replacement surgery.

Then they lost Odom to a sprained knee ligament on Dec. 12. He said before Sunday’s game that his recovery is taking longer than expected; the Lakers’ initial timetable for Odom had him missing a minimum of four weeks.

If Brown is out for several weeks, the Lakers might have to play without two starters for most of January.

``It sucks but the one thing it’s taught us is that we can still win,’’ Luke Walton said. ``It’s obviously going to hurt us because Kwame’s our best post defender and our best rebounder right now. We’re just going to have to all step up our games again and keep moving on.’’

Jackson said he had not decided about starting Bynum - - who has averaged 8.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 14 games as a starter - - or Turiaf. Bynum started when Brown was out with a shoulder injury; Turiaf played 11 minutes in the fourth quarter Sunday.

``I’m not sure Andrew’s quite ready to step into that role at a full-time level,’’ Jackson said. ``I won’t make that decision till I kind of check out how I feel about that. I may keep Andrew (coming) off the bench and use Ronny as a starter.’’

The Lakers didn’t need Brown to beat the Sixers, an 8-22 team that traded Allen Iverson on Dec. 19. It took a half for the Lakers to adjust to being back at Staples Center after their six-game Christmas trip, but Bryant delivered 20 points in the third quarter.

Bryant put on a show in hitting 8 of 9 shots in the quarter. He drilled three jumpers as the Lakers went ahead 74-60, then drove the lane and wrapped a pass to Bynum for a dunk. He followed by stealing a Kevin Ollie pass and pushing in a shot at the other end.

But Bryant committed an embarrassing mistake after a Walton steal with a minute left in the third. He led the fastbreak and tossed an underhanded pass to Walton, expecting him to rise for an alley-oop dunk.

Walton thought the pass was meant for Maurice Evans and stayed bound to the floor. Ollie came up with the ball as the crowd groaned. Bryant buried a 3-pointer moments later and motioned with his hands for the fans to calm down.

``I was trying to get (Walton) the first lob of his NBA career,’’ said Bryant, who finished with 35 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

It was the only lighthearted moment the Lakers could enjoy on a night their inury woes deepened.