Not even a little bit.

After all, Golden State may possess more than its fair share of offensive firepower, but the squad simply struggles to get stops when it counts. Keeping that in mind, the Lakers buckled in on defense in the third – dwindling the home team’s lead down to just two entering the fourth – and it was no surprise that the Lakers scored 37 points in the final quarter to emerge with another win.

Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom all scored at least 20 points, while Trevor Ariza and Josh Powell each made key contributions off the bench to bury Golden State.

Here’s the breakdown: Twelve of Bryant’s 30 came in the fourth, and he added a team-high nine assists; Gasol went for 24 points, 13 boards and five assists; while Odom scored 22 points with seven boards, limited on the glass due to the Warriors’ hot shooting and his need to play defense on the perimeter. Meanwhile, Ariza nailed clutch back-to-back threes 30 seconds apart at around the four-minute-mark of the fourth, while Powell hit 5-of-6 field goals and all six of his free throws for 16 points.

“We had some substantial bench play tonight,” said Phil Jackson. “Jordan (Farmar) and Sasha (Vujacic) had pretty good floor games, and Josh Powell and Trevor (Ariza) gave us some decided help … They gave guys rest and we were able to come back, play strong and finish the game up.”

Finish the game up they did, outscoring the Warriors by 10 in the final quarter. The home team led for almost the entire game before losing the lead for good with Ariza’s triples. G.S. got its lead thanks to some terrific shooting – including 7-for-9 threes in the first half – that saw Corey Maggette, Stephen Jackson and Jamal Crawford all score at least 23 points, but they couldn’t sustain it in losing to L.A. for the third time this season.

The Lakers earned their 19th road win in 25 tries, including eight of the last nine games, the best away-from-home mark in the NBA.

Some numbers:

7
Game lead over the Denver Nuggets, who currently hold the West’s No. 2 seed. The Spurs, meanwhile, dropped to eight games behind the Lakers.

18
Offensive rebounds for the Lakers, led by five off the bench from Josh Powell.

18
Plus rating for Lamar Odom, who’s been playing with a great deal of passion much to Phil Jackson’s pleasure.

33
Assists by the Lakers on 46 field goals for a solid 72 percent. Kobe Bryant led the way with nine helpers, while Luke Walton added six in just 19 minutes of play.

44
League-high wins for the Lakers, tying the Boston Celtics.

67
Shooting percentage by Pau Gasol, who made 10-of-15 shots for 24 points plus his game-high 13 boards and five assists.

Gasol finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Odom, who had been on a tear leading into last weekend’s break, continued his surge, adding 15 points to go along with his board domination.

Four other Lakers also scored in double figures, including Kobe Bryant, who had a rather pedestrian night with a season-low 10 points, on a 4 of 12 shooting effort. 

The Lakers’ defense was extremely tight in the second quarter. Atlanta only made 9 of 22 field-goal tries and scored 12 points, which is a Lakers’ opponent low for a quarter this season. The Hawks’ 36 points through the first two quarters was a Lakers’ opponent low for any half this season.

Through three quarters, Odom and Gasol had combined to outrebound the entire Hawks’ team. The Lakers led by 25 points after three quarters, affording Coach Phil Jackson the opportunity to find playing time for newcomers Shannon Brown and Adam Morrison.

The Lakers had a golden opportunity to take a double-digit halftime lead when Bryant milked the clock on the final possession, drove the lane and dished a pass to an open Josh Powell. But Powell flubbed the lay-up try and the halftime buzzer sounded.

The Lakers often seem to bring out the best in their road opponents, and Wednesday evening’s matchup with the Raptors in Toronto proved not to be an exception.

A gritty pack of Raptors used their size advantage – with seven-footer Andrea Bargnani playing the three – to lead by five at the half and two after three, but All-Stars Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol proved too much for Toronto in crunch time. Chris Bosh left the game with about eight minutes left in the fourth, just moments before Bryant entered and scored 10 of his 36 points to take the Lakers to their fourth straight road victory.

While Kobe’s been Kobe, how good has Gasol been since Andrew Bynum went down against Memphis?

After posting 31 points, 14 boards, five assists and two blocks against the Knicks on Monday, Pau put up 31 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks in 44 minutes in Canada. Not bad, but perhaps even more impressive was Gasol’s offensive efficiency: he made 12-of-17 shots (70.1 percent) just as he did against the Knicks.

The Lakers also got solid contributions from Sasha Vujacic, Josh Powell and Jordan Farmar in particular to help close the game out with respective threes, blocks and dimes, while Lamar Odom made consecutive terrific defensive plays in crunch time.

L.A.’s six-game Grammy trip concludes with contests against the East’s best squads with Boston on Thursday night and Cleveland on Sunday.

Until then, here are some numbers upon which to chew:

4
Consecutive threes made by Kobe Bryant (3) and Derek Fisher during a 12-2 first quarter run that got L.A. back into the game after Toronto opened a 21-9 lead.

5
Assists in just 18 foul-plagued minutes from Luke Walton, who added three boards. The five helpers were matched by Bryant to lead the Lakers.

9
Blocks by Jermaine O’Neal, who was a monster around the rim. He added 22 points, nine boards and four assists in a terrific performance.

10
Bench points for the short-handed Raptors, who were without starting point guard Jose Calderon. Roko Ukic had eight points (four came late when the game was decided) and Jamario Moon two, while Jason Kapono didn’t score in his 14 minutes of burn.

20
Second-chance points by L.A., who got a game-high five offensive boards from Gasol and two from sub Chris Mihm in 3:29.

50.6
Shooting percentage for the Lakers, who made 45-of-89 shots, including 7-of-17 from three.

Another fun game to watch.

It was a game that started with a lot of outside jumpers and ended with inside battles as Pau and Jermaine O’Neal went at it. O’Neal had a near triple double with 22 points, 9 boards, and 9 blocks, but that didn’t stop Pau from his inside domination tonight.

The Lakers shot 51% on their way to 115 points, and had — get this — 25 assists to only 4 turnovers. That is unheard of!

Bosh went down in the second half with a knee injury. Hope he gets back in action soon.

The Lakers got a bit of help from everyone tonight. Everyone played within their game, but the Lakers need to do a better job defensively. They ddin’t force many turnovers and allowed 107 points to a poor team with their stars out.

Now, the bests of the night…

Top 3 Laker Performers -

1) Pau had 31 points, 15 boards, 4 assits, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Monster game.

2) Kobe had 36 points on 13-28 shooting. He hit 4 threes, had 9 boards, 2 steals, and 5 assists.

3) Farmar provided a good spark off the bench with 6 points and 4 assists.

Lakers Smush of the Day (Note: STD denotes the Laker that played the poorest): Vlad Rad was the only scoreless Laker.

Play of the Game: Probably O’Neal’s block sequence on Powell, but I’ll go with Kobe’s bucket to put the Lakers up four late.

What to Look for Next Game: Get ready! Lakers vs. Celtics tomorrow night! Garnett has been out, but should play tomorrow.

Ticket Info: Next home game isn’t until the 10th, but prices are solid throughout the arena, and also let me know if you need All-Star game tickets. E-Mail me at Steve@AveryTickets.com or call213-221-7681 and mention TLN for tickets.

Go Lakers!

It showed in this highlight-filled exhibition that had Knicks fans turning to each other in amazement after numerous Bryant circus shots. After four previous 40-point games at the Garden, Bryant erupted for a 61 points to break Bernard King’s arena record.

Bryant made 19 of 31 field-goal attempts and 20 of 20 foul shots. He had three assists and two turnovers in 36:48 of play.

There were some hiccups in the Lakers’ defensive rotations, several involving Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, but New York shot just 44.1 percent from the field. The Lakers were never seriously threatened. The Knicks had lost just one of their past seven games, but they didn’t sell out to stop Bryant and Gasol from scoring 30 of the Lakers’ 31 first-quarter points.

Odom had the only other point on a game-starting free throw and finished with six points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 32 minutes. Vladimir Radmanovic and Josh Powell split the extra minutes available as a result of Bynum’s absence, but Gasol worked overtime: He didn’t get his usual first-quarter breather, played until 8:51 remained in the second quarter and finished with 31 points in 41 minutes.

This one was a very good win for the Lakers. They controlled the tempo and held a very good San Antonio team to only 38% from the field.

On Farmar’s first game back, the bench made a difference. The UCLA duo of Farmar and Ariza had 31 points in 42 minutes for the Lakers. Every Laker did their part today. It was great to see every player stick to their role, as Bynum focused on Duncan and no one tried to play outside of themselves.

The Lakers hit 7-17 threes after starting 1-9, but a great thing to see is 28 of 32 free throws hit by the Lakers. More importantly, the Lakers bigs Bynum and Gasol hit 7-8 and 8-9 respectively.

Also, while Luke won’t make my top 3, and he only played 16 minutes, he played pretty well, making good decisions tonight.

Now, the bests of the night…

Top 3 Laker Performers -

1) Bynum looked like an All-Star again tonight. 15 points, 11 boards, and 4 blocks.

2) Kobe hit some big shots and did a bit of everything tonight for the Lakers.

3) Tons of players could go here. Odom, Farmar, Ariza. Take your pick…I’ll give it to the entire Laker bench minus Vlad Rad.

Lakers Smush of the Day (Note: STD denotes the Laker that played the poorest): Vlad Rad seemed to be the only Laker who didn’t contribute much.

Play of the Game: Farmar to Ariza for the oop! Sure missed those!

What to Look for Next Game: Should be an easy win Tuesday night vs the Bobcats.

Ticket Info: Ticket prices for the Bobcats game are affordable. Have seats throughout the arena below face value. E-Mail me at Steve@AveryTickets.com or call213-221-7681 and mention TLN for tickets.

Go Lakers!

No, not Pau Gasol. Not veteran guard Derek Fisher, either.

The Lakers went to 21-year old center Andrew Bynum who overwhelmed the Clippers in as dominating an inside scoring performance since the heyday of Shaquille O’Neal.

Bynum scored a career-high 42 points and for good measure, hauled in 15 rebounds, as the Lakers trounced the Clippers for the third time this season. The average margin of victory in those games is 22 points.  The Lakers now have beaten the Clippers seven consecutive times, dating back to their four-game series sweep of last season.

The Lakers led 88-73 through three quarters, then fended off a fourth-quarter flurry by the Clippers. Rookie DeAndre Jordan led the Clippers with a career-high 23 points. Second-year forward Al Thornton scored 20.

Bryant had his right ring finger heavily taped. He suffered a dislocation in the first quarter of the Lakers’ victory last Sunday over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Athletic trainer Gary Vitti put the joint back in place seconds after Bryant got his attention. However, at Tuesday’s practice, the finger noticeably was swollen.

In response, Bryant took far fewer shots than he typically attempts and was generous with his passing. It led to his second triple-double of the season and 16th of his career. Byant scored 18 points, with 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Lamar Odom, who began his career as a Clippers’ lottery pick, buttressed Bynum’s big night with 19 points.

Bynum had 25 points by halftime, three fewer than the career-high 28 points he scored last season, against the Phoenix Suns. Bynum used his height advantage to score over 11-year veteran Brian Skinner. Jordan took a shot at guarding Bynum but did not fare any better than Skinner.

But against an injury-riddled Clippers’ squad, the Lakers only led 58-55 at halftime. The Clippers stayed close because of the hot outside shooting of Steve Novak, who buried 3 of 4 from outside the 3-point arc. Although Jordan was taking his lumps on the defensive end, he had five dunks and a tip-in and scored 12 first-half points.

The Clippers, who had only shot 50 percent from the field once this season, closed out the first half shooting 56.1 percent, after making 23 of 41 from the field overall. That included 4 of 6 on 3-point tries. The Lakers shot 50 percent, despite a 1 of 6 first-half shooting performance by guard Sasha Vujacic, who missed his first five shots before sinking a 3-pointer.

Fifteen seconds to go and you go for the tie? I’m not sure that is what I would have done, but it was drawn up and here we are with another disappointing loss to one of the best teams in the league.

Choosing to shoot a three instead of taking a quick shot and putting the Magic on the line was not the reason we lost the game though. This game was lost because Orlando outrebounded us 54–40, including giving up 15 offensive rebounds – not good. We also failed to guard Jameer Nelson in the 4th quarter.

I’m in no way blaming Kobe for this loss either cause he played great tonight, but his shot selection in the 4th quarter did not help us what so ever.

Hopefully, the Lakers brush off these past two losses and start preparing for when Cleveland comes to town on Monday.

Player of the Game: Despite some poor shots in the 4th quarter, Kobe had an impressive night 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Play of the Game: Ariza and one dunk in the first half.

What’s Up Next: LeBron and Co. visit Staples Center Monday for what should be a great game.

The Lakers need to stop playing down to their competition. Another game against an average eastern conference lead — another lead blown — but a Laker victory.

Every Laker starter scored double figures as part of a 108 point scoring effort, but once again the defense wasn’t strong as only 10 turnovers were forced as the Lakers gave up 105 points to a team without a center.

The Lakers played a sloppy game tonight with 17 turnovers. Without their 17 offensive rebounds and a little help from Quinn at the end, the Lakers don’t win this game. Either way, a win is a win and the Lakers are 30-6 before heading to Texas. You can really see how this team misses Lamar and Famar.

Now, the bests of the night…

Top 3 Laker Performers -

1) Bynum hit the game winner with his tip in, and had 24 points on 8-13 shooting.

2) Vlad Rad finally didn’t look pathetic out there. 18 points with 4-7 three point shots. He started off with poor defense on Marion, but did better in the end.

3) Sasha continues to take bad shots, but put them in tonight as part of his 10 points.

Lakers Smush of the Day (Note: STD denotes the Laker that played the poorest): Ariza didn’t look good tonight. 1-4 shooting and 3 turnovers. He is human!

Play of the Game: Bynum’s tip in.

What to Look for Next Game: Two banged up teams go at it. Artest and McGrady have been hurt, so we will see what happens on Tuesday.

Ticket Info: Next home game is Friday vs. Orlando. E-Mal me at Steve@AveryTickets.com or call 213-221-7681 and mention TLN for tickets.

Go Lakers!

Friday night at STAPLES, with the Lakers and Indiana Pacers tied at 119 after Mike Dunleavy canned a three, the game clock ticked down from six, five, four as Bryant turned his back to Jarrett Jack … Bryant the bird of prey, Jack the (jack) rabbit.

Bryant noticed that the Pacers weren’t bringing a double-team (generally a fatal error), and Mamba knew he’d be able to get a clean look at a jumper over the shorter defender.

Backing into Jack, Bryant waited until the clock hit close to five seconds before twisting his body quickly to face the rim as he cocked his arm and released a smooth jumper well over Jack’s outstretched arms. As the ball arched up, then down through the air, Lakers fans began to celebrate even before the ball swished through the net.

It was pretty simple, really.

“If they don’t come early enough and I’m already backing him down, it’s too late,” Bryant explained. “If the double comes and my back is turned, I can still turn and shoot.”

That he did.

But slow down a second … The game wasn’t over. With 3.0 seconds left on the clock, Phil Jackson told his squad not to give up a three, which seemed the obvious goal of a Pacers’ team that would have been without its best player, Danny Granger, should the game have gone to overtime.

As such, Sasha Vujacic stayed glued to Dunleavy, face-guarding the inbounder, after the pass went to Jeff Foster. The rest of the Lakers rotated out to contest Indy’s other potential shooters, and by the time Foster looked around the court once, the clock had already expired.

Game over.

“Well, I told (Vujacic) at the end of the game that Dunleavy is either going to make a cut over the top and if he can’t get there, he’s going to reverse you,” said Jackson. “And he played both of them pretty well.”

Bryant finished with 36 points, a season-high 13 assists, and seven rebounds to lead the pack, while Pau Gasol added a 21-and-11 double-double. Andrew Bynum contributed a season-high 20 points, and Josh Powell played an effective 19 minutes in which he scored 10 points on 5-of-7 off the pine.

More numbers:

68
Season-high point total in a half for the Lakers (first half).

62.9
Combined shooting percentage for both teams in the first half.

29
Wins for the Lakers, to six losses, matching a Cleveland team that beat Boston this same night.

19
Respective assist totals for Indy and L.A. at the half. Indiana would finish with 30, and the Lakers 28.

15
Free throws made by Bryant in 17 attempts, including 5-of-6 in the fourth.

14
Second-chance points for the Lakers, even though the Pacers grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to their eight.

6
Three-pointers made by Troy Murphy on nine attempts.