Playing without superstar Kobe Bryant (sprained left ankle), the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their drought up in Portland and defeated the Blazers, 99-82 at the Rose Garden. The Lakers had not won on the Blazers home court since February 2005. Adding to their burden was the thorough thumping they took the night before in a lopsided loss to the Denver Nuggets. But the Blazers were also without injured All-Star Brandon Roy (sore right hamstring) and starting center Greg Oden (out for the season). The Lakers started Lamar Odom in place of Kobe and he responded with 10 points, 22 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. The team appeared more focused and played with purpose, unlike their last string of recent games. Odom had this to say about Bryant’s absence, “I think it made us a little more focused as a group, to come in here and do whatever we had to do to stay in the game.” Ron Artest (21 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal) also stepped up and seemed to relish in the spotlight, draining a long buzzer beater just before halftime. “They left me wide open, and I’ve been shooting pretty well from 3 this year,” he said. Pau Gasol (13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot) and Derek Fisher (14 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound) added the much needed balance to compensate for Kobe’s 28-point per game average.

Andrew Bynum (3 points, 1 rebound in 10 minutes) exited the game early after suffering from a hip pointer. As he gingerly walked back to the locker room, looks of concern could be seen on the faces of the Lakers. But he reappeared back on the bench for the second half although he did not play. His status is currently listed as day-to-day. Shannon Brown, forced to start the second half as LO was pushed back to a forward spot, exploded on offense as he quickly exploited the lax Portland defense who were more concerned with the tandem of LO and Gasol in the blocks. Brown responded with 19 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Jordan Farmar (12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) helped propel the bench as they outscored the Blazers, 38-27. Even Sasha Vujacic (5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal in 8 minutes) appeared poised and ready to go. Portland didn’t help themselves by shooting poorly the entire game. They managed only 43.7% from the field and a dismal 5-18 for 27.8% from behind the arc. Portland was led by LaMarcus Aldridge (16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) and Andre Miller (14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds). And with the Lakers destroying the Blazers on the boards, 47-30, they were able to punish them inside the paint for a 48-22 advantage.

The Lakers meet the San Antonio Spurs on Monday and Kobe’s availability is still unclear. But the effort put forth by the squad should help bolster their confidence and if they continue to play this hard, with this much passion, Kobe can rest and take the time to finally heal his numerous injuries that have plagued him all season. This team has too much talent and too much firepower at each position, and that should be more than sufficient to hold the fort down as Kobe mends. It was refreshing to see others step up in Kobe’s absence and meet the challenge, particularly in Portland’s house of horrors. Kobe picked the perfect game to sit out, forcing his teammates to rise to the occasion. Expectations for a Lakers victory in Portland were low, and by beating the odds, the team and coaching staff have learned a great deal more about themselves and their will to succeed.

Not conceding that this is a rivalry, the Los Angeles Lakers may have to rethink that attitude after they were thoroughly dumped by the Denver Nuggets, 126-113 at Staples Center. Chauncey Billups (39 points on 12-20, 9-13 from 3-point range, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal) stole the show as he single-handedly poured in 21 points in the third quarter alone. He bombed away with confidence as Laker defenders, Derek Fisher, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant flailed away with little effect. As the defense broached tighter and tighter, he simply stepped back farther and farther with equal aplomb and accuracy. Billips got plenty of help from his teammates, who were without the services of leading scorer Carmelo Anthony for the seventh consecutive game due to an ankle sprain. JR Smith (27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), Ty Lawson (13 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal) and Chris “Birdman” Anderson (7 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist) provided plenty of firepower off the bench, outscoring their Laker counterparts, 47-37.

Kobe Bryant (33 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal) scored 20 of his points in the opening period alone yet the Lakers found themselves tied with the Nuggets at 30-30. Pau Gasol (17 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists) and Andrew Bynum (10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) were equalled by the Nuggets Kenyon Martin (11 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 blocked shot) and Nene (14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot). Former UCLA standout, Aaron Afflalo (11 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound) played dogged defense and hounded Kobe the entire night. In fact, the entire Denver team looked to be more energized and in-tune to the magnitude of the game than the defending World Champions. The Lakers offense wasn’t the problem, it was their inability, or shall we say, avoidance of playing any defense that led to Denver’s “stunning” win.

Denver played with more urgency as if they needed to prove to themselves that they were capable of beating the champs. But it soon became evident what they already knew. That if they played with hustle and aggression, the Lakers would wilt under the constant pressure. The Nuggets took control of the game in the second half, when they outscored the Lakers 67-49. Billups alone pummeled the Lakers in the 3rd period, and as the Lakers tried to regroup, they were unsuccessful in slowing down the All-Star point guard. Denver, sensing that the Lakers were on the verge of collapse, began pushing the tempo and dictating the pace of the game. The Lakers were forced to rely on a shaky outside game as the Nuggets pushed the ball up the court. And when the Lakers took the ball inside, Denver answered with force and meaning. Ron Artest (12 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) found himself close to the basket for a chippie, only to have Joey Graham collar him around the neck, preventing him from scoring. Artest, unappreciative of the extra contact came around with a closed fist but stopped before making any contact. Artest received a technical foul for his actions as Graham escaped without receiving a flagrant foul on the play. As Artest tried to cool off, Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith from the bench taunted Artest some more, clearly amused by his actions as the two couldn’t control their laughter. But by this point in the game, their was nothing funny about how the Lakers were responding or worse yet, failing to respond.

Denver went into the 4th quarter with a 5-point lead after trailing by five at halftime. They would go on a 15-8 run to open the final period for a commanding 109-97 lead. There would be no dramatic comeback or last second heroics tonight. The Nuggets gained a considerable amount of confidence which will only add to their brash swagger. They truly believe that they are better than the Lakers and if not for a few botched plays in last year’s WCF, they could in fact be the champs themselves. Nothing really surprises me about these Lakers. One night they appear invincible, the next, mere mortals unable to compete against the bottom feeders of the league. But one game does not spell doom, although this was a convincing win by a Denver team without its leading scorer. George Karl, for all of the turmoil his locker room presents, is still able to put the product on the floor. And if they can survive the season and the playoffs without strangling one another, the Nuggets may again prove to be the Lakers main Western Conference foe in their way for a return trip to the Finals.

Amassing his 534th win as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson passed up Showtime’s matinee idol, Pat Riley in most career wins with a 99-97 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats at Staples Center. “It’s been a really good run,” Jackson said. “Having this opportunity to coach this team is always special. The fact that we’ve had some great teams, great players, is always a credit to them. It’s not really an individual record in my mind.” Having just completed an 8-game road trip where the Lakers fared an average 5-3 record, it took all four quarters of this game before Jackson could exhale and enjoy the win. Kobe Bryant (5 points on 2-12, 2 rebounds, 6 assists) had a mere mortal performance failing to score in double figures in what seems like forever. But he got ample offensive assistance from his teammates as Lamar Odom (19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists), Andrew Bynum (17 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot), Ron Artest (14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal) and Pau Gasol (14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocked shots) made up for his subpar scoring.

Charlotte, as always, gave the Lakers fits throughout the game, never falling more than a handful of points behind. Larry Brown’s Bobcats were playing without All-Star Gerald Wallace (strained left hamstring), but that didn’t seem to matter as they got 30 points from Stephen Jackson (7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals). Nazr Mohammed (23 points, 17 rebounds) commanded the middle and posted a season high in points. But it was not enough as the Lakers managed to squeak out this win by playing defense at the end. With Charlotte trailing 97-94, Jordan Farmar (9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) deflected an inbounds pass and poked the ball away from Jackson. Pau flipped the ball down court where Farmar scored on a breakaway dunk for a 99-94 lead with 4.5 seconds to play. Flip Murray’s (15 points, 1 assist) three-pointer at the other end from over 30-feet out was impressive but too late as the Lakers simply held onto the ball as the clock expired. Shannon Brown (10 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds) and Derek Fisher (9 points, 2 steals, 1 rebound) rounded out the box scores as the Lakers lost the rebounding battle, 45-38 but made up for that with a 24-15 assist advantage and only committed 7 turnovers.

Kobe reinjured his left foot seconds before halftime when replays show that LO inadvertently stepped on his foot. Already hobbled by his broken finger, banged-up knee and now a re-injury to his already sore left foot, Kobe left the court and headed to the locker room with the assistance of Trainer Gary Vitti. He was never quite the same in the second half and looked to take his foot off the gas pedal a bit. With his current string of injuries, perhaps it may be best if Kobe took a few games off heading into the All-Star break to simply give his body a chance to heal. Ever the warrior, we all know that that will never happen.