By Elliott Teaford, Staff Writer-Daily News
The Lakers were imperfect winners again Tuesday night.
Say what you will about their recent method of operation, their consistently inconsistent play and their obvious lack of rhythm, the bottom line was that they routed the New Jersey Nets, 120-93, at Staples Center for their 12th victory in 13 games.
What's more, the Lakers have won five consecutive since suffering their lone defeat of the season, a 106-95 loss to Detroit on Nov. 14, a game that in hindsight was as close to flawless as the Pistons have played this season.
Lately, the Lakers' victories have lacked the sort of resounding nature that some of their early-season wins did, but the results have been winning, nevertheless.
They are four wins away from matching the club record for the best start in Lakers history, a 16-1 mark in 2001-02, when they won their last NBA title.
They certainly reverted to their earlier form Tuesday, taking their biggest win from the Nets since New Jersey joined the NBA as one of four ABA refugees in 1976.
Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 26 points on 9-for-12 shooting. He also had eight rebounds and three assists. Jordan Farmar added 18 points in a reserve role, Andrew Bynum had 15 points and six rebounds and Lamar Odom had 13 points.
Oh yeah, and Kobe Bryant scored a season-low 12 points on 5-for-17 shooting.
Of the Lakers' starters, only Bynum played in the fourth quarter.
"It's a good sign, a healthy sign," Lakers coach
Phil Jackson said of winning big without getting much offense from Bryant, who averages a team-leading 23.7 points. "But we want Kobe to shoot the ball well and have good games, obviously. That's the focal point of our offense. We want him to be the threat that everyone has to overplay and be concerned with because that makes everyone else have an easier game."
In the end, holding Bryant well below his average only got the Nets so far. The Lakers toyed with them during the third quarter, turning a tight game into a runaway.
The Lakers broke open the game by outscoring the Nets, 34-22, in the pivotal third quarter. They did it by shooting 59.1 percent (13 for 22) and limiting New Jersey to 26.1 percent shooting (6 for 23) in the quarter.
"It just shows you their balance," New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank said of the Lakers. "I think that's the greatness of the Lakers. You know, Kobe is one of the elite players in this league, but they have so much around him."
The Lakers went inside to Gasol and Bynum early and often, hoping to take advantage of the inexperience of Brook Lopez and Li Jianlian. Gasol and Bynum more than made up for Bryant's shooting struggles - he would miss eight of his first nine.
Still, despite 16 points from Gasol and 11 from Bynum, the Lakers led by just two, 56-54, at halftime. The Nets, like the Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls, weren't rolling over and playing dead in the first half.
The Lakers made their break in the third quarter, however.
Unlike some recent games, the Lakers would not let down in the fourth quarter. Their lead grew to 29 points late in the game. Moreover, they outscored the Nets by a whopping 64-39 in the second half.
Farmar sparked the Lakers' second unit with 12 points after halftime, leading the reserves to a 56-19 edge over the Nets' backups.
"I thought we came out and played a stellar second half," Jackson said. "The first half was like feeling each other out. We had trouble stopping their penetration and they shot the ball well. The second half, we got our defense in order.
"Our emphasis tonight was an inside game. They have a lot of young players. I thought both (Gasol) and Andrew would be players we could feature as far as getting the ball inside. (Gasol) hit outside shots as well. He had a fine game."
Devin Harris led the Nets with 24 points. As expected, the Lakers had heaps of trouble guarding Harris, who had 16 points and five assists in the first half.
http://elliot.teaford@dailybreeze.com
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