The Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs will tip off on Sunday evening as two of the top teams in the Western Conference, and even in the NBA. The Lakers got 29 points from Kobe Bryant the last time these two teams got together. In his career, 43 games, Bryant has averaged 24.9 points per game, ripped down 5.7 rebounds, and dished out 3.8 assists per game.

Good luck to Kobe and the Lakers!

There was a great deal to like about the Lakers’ play during their 20-point victory over the young, inexperienced and injured Washington Wizards on Thursday night. The Lakers put on something akin to a clinic while leading from start to finish.

Washington coach Ed Tapscott said he hoped his players were watching closely because he believed there was a lot to learn from the play of Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, starting with their willingness to share the wealth.

“You know what’s the most impressive thing about the Lakers? I watch Kobe Bryant, who is clearly one of the dominant scorers in basketball and maybe of all-time, and I watched the way he made sure that every guy on the floor got shots,” Tapscott said. “He shared the

ball. He made sure (Pau) Gasol got the ball in his spots. When (Sasha) Vujacic came in, he made sure he got corner jump shots. He made sure (Derek) Fisher curled and got his shots.”I watched him when he could have taken shots at any time (but) made sure his teammates got quality shots so that they were into the game. That makes you run harder, rebound more, defend better. That makes everybody on the team participate with greater zeal when you have that type of unselfishness.

“I kept making that point to our young guys: ‘Watch how they share the ball, even when the game is decided, so to speak, and you could go out there and look for your own numbers.’ They continued to share the ball and they were trying to get other guys

shots.”So that is very impressive team spirit that I hope our guys are impressed by. I certainly was.”

Bryant had 11 points, five assists and four rebounds against the Wizards.

Too many options: The Lakers have burned opponents for trying to double-team either Gasol or Andrew Bynum in the low post, according to Bryant. The Lakers are willing to exploit the situation, and it doesn’t matter whether Gasol or Bynum gets the open shots.

“To be honest, it’s all about how the defense is playing,” Bryant said. “We went through a stretch where teams felt like they could double on Pau, but we made them pay. Now, they’re trying to do the same thing with Andrew, so we’re making them pay.”

One man’s opinion: TNT commentator Kenny Smith cast his vote for the Lakers as the league’s best team over the first half of the regular season. The Lakers reached the midway point with their victory Wednesday over the Clippers.

“The Lakers are just a smidgen better and I think there has been an overall (sense of) urgency from the Lakers that you normally don’t see from those guys,” Smith said during the network’s broadcast of the Lakers-Wizards game. “They usually come on late in the second half. (But) there has been some urgency in the first half (of the season).”

Kobe in action:

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are the beasts of the West. While Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando can battle for the East, the Lakers have sold up the Western Conference. At 29-6, the Lakers are 5 games ahead of the second best team in the West – San Antonio.
Kobe Bryant for 2009 MVP?

Go Kobe!

Kobe Bryant had the ball and the game in his hands as the final seconds ticked past Friday night.

Calmly, coolly, collectedly, he backed Jarrett Jack toward the basket. When he reached the free-throw line, Bryant squared his body to the basket and fired.

Swish.

Bedlam ensued.

Bryant’s 18-foot jump shot with three seconds remaining lifted the Lakers to a 121-119 victory over Jack and the Indiana Pacers in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center.

Lifted? Rescued was more like it.

Bryant scored a team-leading 36 points on 10-for-20 shooting. He made 15 of 17 free throws and added a season-high 13 assists and seven rebounds in 42 minutes. Nothing compared to his go-ahead jumper

with the game on the line, however.”That’s what he does, that’s the reason he’s Kobe Bryant,” Andrew Bynum said of his teammate. “You give him the ball and he makes it.”

Indiana’s Mike Dunleavy Jr. had tied the score at 119, making a 3-pointer with 26.4 seconds left, and the Lakers hurried the ball into the frontcourt without pausing to take a timeout. Bryant worked himself into prime scoring position and delivered.

The Pacers bungled their final chance to tie the score or take the lead, with Jeff Foster releasing a 20-foot jump shot that was too short and too late. The final buzzer sounded while the ball was still in his hands.

Indiana won the first game between the teams on Troy Murphy’s tip-in at the buzzer

on Dec. 2 in Indianapolis. So, despite a yawning gap between the teams in the overall standings, it wasn’t a complete shock to see the teams battle to the buzzer again.The Pacers (13-23) might be the best lousy team in the league. In addition to their earlier victory over the Lakers (29-6), they have beaten the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns. They also lost to the Celtics in double overtime.

They certainly earned the Lakers’ respect Friday.

“Everyone on their team is an offensive threat,” Bynum said. “If you fall off someone, everyone else has the ability to make a shot.”

Danny Granger led the Pacers by scoring 28 points but fouled out at a critical point with 47 seconds left reaching in while trying to defend Bryant, who made two free throws. Murphy added 24 points and Dunleavy had 22.

The 6-foot-3 Jack had only three points and was left alone against the 6-6 Bryant in the closing seconds. The Pacers decided against double-teaming Bryant.

“(Jack) defended it well, but Kobe makes big shots,” Indiana coach Jim O’Brien said. “He’s a great player. He makes big shots when they needed him to.”

The Lakers played without regulars Lamar Odom (right knee), Luke Walton (right foot) and Jordan Farmar (left knee), which meant Vladimir Radmanovic started in Walton’s small forward spot for the third consecutive game.

Radmanovic went scoreless and missed three shots Wednesday against Golden State and had three points on 1-for-7 shooting Tuesday against New Orleans, giving Lakers coach Phil Jackson pause before Friday’s game against Indiana.

“He really hasn’t merited starting, there’s no doubt about it,” Jackson said before the game when asked about Radmanovic’s play. “He had a good game coming off the bench (scoring a season-high 16 points against Portland last Sunday).

“Now with Luke and Lamar out … we’re almost forced to use him in the early minutes and hope he gives us something in the process.”

Radmanovic responded by making his first three shots and scoring eight points. His early success helped set the tone for a standout shooting performance from the Lakers, who shot 56.4 percent. Indiana shot 48.8 percent.

The Lakers set season highs for points in a first quarter (41) and a half (68) en route to a 96-84 lead going into the fourth quarter.

They scored more than 96 points through three quarters only once this season, recording 102 while setting a season-high with 130 points during a Dec. 28 victory over Golden State.

The only trouble was that the Pacers stuck to them like lint on a winter sweater. The Lakers’ lead would not last as the Pacers rallied to tie in the closing seconds.