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LOS ANGELES -- It figured to be an emotional night in the first Los Angeles Lakers game since Kobe Bryant went out with that devastating season-ending Achilles tear. And L.A. used the charged atmosphere to its advantage.

Here's a look back at L.A.'s game No. 81 of the season and game No. 1 without Kobe, where the Lakers improved to 44-37, the most games above .500 they've been all season:

How it happened: L.A. controlled the game from the tip and withstood the Hack-a-Howard strategy by the San Antonio Spurs in the third quarter to pull ahead in the end, thanks to some timely fourth-quarter buckets by Antawn Jamison and made free throws by Dwight Howard and Steve Blake.

What it means: If the Utah Jazz lose either of their next two games -- at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday or at the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday -- the Lakers are in the playoffs no matter what happens on Wednesday, when the Lakers host the Houston Rockets in their regular-season finale.

Hits: Howard might have shot just 4-for-11 on free throws in the third quarter, but he was lights out all game for the most part. He clearly wanted to step up in Bryant's absence and finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds, while shooting 9-for-15 from the floor.

Blake scored 23 points, topping the 20-point plateau for just the 17th time of his 10-year career.

Jamison scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Misses: Gasol shot just 3-for-17 from the floor -- but chipped in 16 rebounds.

Stat of the game: The Lakers shot just 31-for-85 from the field (36.5 percent) and still managed to win, holding San Antonio to 37.1 percent shooting overall.

Up next: One game left -- Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Houston. Oh boy.

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers equipment manager Carlos Maples' job was easier this time around.

Usually when the team signs a free agent late in the season, Maples has to scramble to get a uniform made up in time for the player's arrival. Since the Lakers already had plenty of Andrew Goudelock's old No. 0 jerseys in stock, all Maples had to do Sunday was sew on a Dr. Jerry Buss commemorative "JB" patch onto one of them.

Goudelock was called up from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League on Saturday and completed the paperwork to sign with the Lakers for the remainder of the season just about an hour before tipoff of their game against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

The 6-foot-2 combo guard, who was selected by the Lakers with the No. 46 pick in the 2011 draft and waived during training camp this season, just feels good to be back.

"This is like home for me," Goudelock said. "This is the first place I played in the NBA, and for me to be able to come back, it was surreal for me. When I got the call, I didn’t even know [what to think]. I was just looking at my coach for like five minutes, like, ‘Are you serious? Are you playing with me?’ So, this is a surreal feeling. I just want to take advantage of it."

Goudelock was informed by Vipers coach Nick Nurse before their playoff game against the Maine Red Claws on Saturday.

"I’m just doing my regular thing and my coach comes out," Goudelock recalled. "‘You’re not playing today.’ I’m like, ‘Am I in trouble?’ He’s like, ‘No, the Lakers called you back. So you got to leave in the morning.’"

Goudelock arrived in Los Angeles from Houston around noon on Sunday and got to the arena at 3 p.m. for a crash course with assistant coach Dan D'Antoni.

"We went over just some basic things, but he said most of it is just playing," Goudelock said. "They said if you don’t shoot, [D’Antoni] gets mad. That’s right up my alley."

Goudelock did plenty of shooting in the D-League. In 51 games (all starts) with Sioux Falls and Rio Grande Valley this season, Goudelock averaged 21.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.16 steals in 36.9 minutes. Goudelock, who said he lost 15 pounds since training camp in part because of dedicated training and in part because his meager D-League salary didn't allow him to eat like he did when he was with the Lakers, thought the experience made him a better player.

"The D-League is definitely tough," Goudelock said. "From the pay, to the travel, to dealing with different guys, different personalities, different coaches -- it’s definitely a learning curve.

"It definitely sucks to have to leave the NBA, leave all this and then go there. Then you think you deserve to be called up, you think that you deserve to be in the NBA, but it doesn’t happen. You just have to wait. You just have to wait and wait and wait, and it’s devastating, but when it does happen, words can’t really explain how you feel. And I feel like I got so much better, it’s almost like I’m getting a second chance here. Whereas when I first came in, I didn’t know that much. This time I’m coming around and I know a lot."

D'Antoni knows that Goudelock is a capable NBA player who had a four-game stretch in his rookie season during which he averaged 11.5 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 57.1 percent shooting on 3-pointers (8-for-14) in 20.8 minutes, and the Lakers went 3-1.

"He can play and he can make shots. That’s the biggest thing," D'Antoni said. "That was the thinking [that he can create his own shot] and also he can go into the playoffs with us [because he is eligible]. He’s comfortable here and he can make shots."

Goudelock had other opportunities overseas in China, Russia and Puerto Rico, and there was even some flirtation by the Memphis Grizzlies, but somehow his journey took him back to L.A. when Kobe Bryant, the guy who dubbed him the "Mini Mamba" last season, went out with a season-ending Achilles tear.

"It’s just surreal," Goudelock said. "You never think you’ll be back here, and then you’re back here."

Even though Goudelock was cut back in October, he has paid attention to the Lakers' season and has kept in touch with former teammates Devin Ebanks, Darius Morris and Pau Gasol.

"You got to pay a lot of attention to the Lakers because it’s always on TV," Goudelock said. "As soon as you turn on ESPN, it’s the first thing that comes on TV. It just seems like something is happening every day, something different."

He did not anticipate the Lakers struggling the way they have.

"This is the most talent that I’ve ever seen," Goudelock said. "I thought that it would be a lock that these guys would be at least in the top three or four [teams in the league]. So I was surprised. I didn’t know what to [think]. People would be like, ‘Maybe they need you back.’ And I’m like, ‘No, not me.’ But you never really know how things are going to turn out; I guess that’s why they play the game. You just can’t put a team together and say, ‘Hey, they’re going to be No. 1.’ They played the game and unfortunately things didn’t turn out as well as everybody wanted them to, but they still have a chance to make the playoffs, and the playoffs is a new season."

And for Goudelock, it's a new chance at an NBA career.

"You never really know what’s going to happen in this business," Goudelock said. "People keep telling you that, people keep telling you that, and you never really believe it until stuff like that happens to you."

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Even in the moment in which Kobe Bryant appeared as vulnerable as he's ever been and proved to actually be just as human as the rest of us, he showed why he's earned the reputation of indestructibility he's known for.

Bryant suffered a complete rupture of the Achilles tendon in his left leg late in the fourth quarter Friday. But before Bryant exited the game, he walked to the free throw line under his own power, made two free throws on one leg to tie the game and shuffled back off the court with his night -- his season -- over.

Both shots were perfect swishes (just listen to the sound of the net snapping at 2:22 and 2:41 of this video), and both shots were every bit as big as the two previous 3-pointers he hit a minute before to turn a six-point deficit back to a tied ballgame.

If you ever need a 30-second clip to sum up who Bryant was as a basketball player, there's your evidence right there.

Those free throws should rank right up there with his most memorable shots, from his one-handed banker against Miami to those two clutch shots against Phoenix in the 2006 playoffs.

Not just because they personify the grit and determination Bryant plays with, but because they are a representation of Bryant's relationship to the game in the first place. How many hours has Bryant spent in a gym with just the ball and the basket? That's what was at the essence of those shots. It was Bryant immersing himself in his rhythm, his shooting motion, his feel, his follow through. It was Bryant blocking out his injury, the future, his past, the Lakers, the Warriors, the fans chanting "M-V-P," the playoff implications.

"He’s remarkable," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "For him to hit the fouls shots is remarkable. It just didn’t end. You have a greater appreciation to what he wills himself to do."

Talking about the free throws brought Lakers trainer Gary Vitti to tears on Saturday.

"Kobe showed tremendous guts out there by hitting the two free throws that kept us in the game and eventually won the game," Vitti said, his voice cracking as he choked up. "The kid went up there with a torn Achilles tendon and buried two free throws. I think it’s a great inspiration for our players."

Lakers vice president of player personnel Jim Buss got emotional, too, as he watched the scene play out on his television.

"Made me cry watching him, the Great Warrior, walk to the free throw line and, of course, make both to keep us in the ball game," Buss wrote to ESPNLosAngeles.com late Friday night. "To me, one of the greatest moments in sports."

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Dwight Howard was the last player on the court after practice Saturday.

He is almost always the last player on the court.

It might not show, but he spends hours working on his free throws with Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person before firing a few shots from beyond the arc as he yells “Sam Perkins!” -- an ode to the former Los Angeles Lakers big man who had a penchant for hitting the deep ball.

Howard, however, did something different Saturday after the Lakers finished their first practice following Kobe Bryant's ruptured Achilles tendon just 12 hours earlier, which will sideline him for the next six to nine months.

With his teammates gathered, Howard stood in front of them and spoke for the first time as the team leader.

“I just told them that [Lakers management] put this team together for a reason, and we all know how to play basketball,” Howard said. “We’ve all done special things in our career before, and it’s time to do it again. We’ve all been blessed to play with Kobe, but we all have talent too, and we have to show it.”

For the first time since being traded to the Lakers in August, Howard was given the opportunity to lead the team. It’s a position he held with the Orlando Magic for the previous eight seasons and one that he anticipated accepting with the Lakers at some point after Bryant retires.

“That’s why they brought me here,” Howard said.

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LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant knew exactly what had happened the moment he crumbled to the floor.

He didn't want to believe it but the feeling was unmistakable as he tried to get up and put pressure on his left foot.

As Pau Gasol stood in front of him, Bryant looked down at his leg and looked up at Gasol and angrily uttered an expletive.

He would utter the same expletive twice more, each time his voice taking a more somber tone as the reality of it all sunk in before he finally looked at the official and called a timeout.

"I knew," Bryant said, shaking his head. "For sure."

Bryant had never suffered a torn Achilles tendon before but had heard the horror stories from others who had, and it's one of the easier injuries for players and trainers alike to diagnose on the spot. Quite simply, when that tendon pops and recoils, you know.

"I was just hoping it wasn't what I knew it was," Bryant said. "I tried to walk it off hoping that the sensation would come back but no such luck."

And what was that sensation like? "I had no Achilles," Bryant said. "That's the sensation."

Bryant was trying to get around Harrison Barnes with 3:08 left in the game Friday night and the Los Angeles Lakers trailing the Golden State Warriors 109-107 when he fell to the ground.

Amazingly, Bryant limped back onto the court and made two free throws to tie the score before limping off once again and being helped to the locker room by Lakers center Robert Sacre and team trainer Gary Vitti.

"I made a move I make a million times, and it just popped," Bryant said. "It's a terrible, terrible feeling."

After the game, it was impossible to tell that the Lakers had just defeated the Warriors 118-116 to maintain a one-game lead over the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. If anything, it looked as if the Lakers had just been eliminated from the postseason and were staring into the harsh reality of a long, uncertain offseason.

Players dressed quietly in front of their lockers, answering questions from reporters with soft whispers as if they were speaking at a funeral.

"It's sad to see him go down like this," Dwight Howard said. "He works so hard just to play. ... I could just see it in his face. When you injure yourself to the point where you can't play, it hurts. It's a deep hurt."

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LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers got the win, but they lost the man who pushed them to get there.

Kobe Bryant had beaten the odds all season long, tossing in turn-back-the-clock dunks while racking up statistical achievements that were supposed to be impossible for a 34-year-old in his 17th season until it all came to a crashing halt on Friday.

Even Bryant proved to be not totally indestructible.

After hurting both his left knee and right knee following collisions with Golden State's Festus Ezeli in the third quarter and managing to stay in the game, Bryant took one hit too many and couldn't keep playing in the fourth.

Bryant checked out of the game with 3:06 remaining in the fourth quarter after playing every minute up to that point and did not return. The team announced after the game that Bryant had suffered a probable torn Achilles tendon and that an MRI exam would be performed Saturday. He finished with 34 points.

L.A. won a game it needed to win, but with Bryant out of the lineup going forward, the Lakers will have a major challenge in front of them if they want to reach the playoffs.

How it happened: L.A. erased a nine-point Warriors lead in the second half thanks to some clutch play down the stretch from Steve Blake (14 points, five assists) and Dwight Howard (28 points, seven rebounds), and Carl Landry missed a go-ahead jumper that could have won it for the Warriors.

What it means: Utah started the night with a win against Minnesota, so the Lakers knew what was at stake before tipoff. The Lakers held serve. They lead the Jazz by one game with two left to play. They still control their own destiny.

Hits: Pau Gasol finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to register his sixth career triple-double.

Misses: A game after the Lakers allowed Portland's Damian Lillard to go off for 38, Friday was Stephen Curry's turn to shine. Curry was absolutely on fire, finishing with 47 points on 17-for-31 shooting, including a 9-for-15 mark from 3.

Stat of the game: Howard went into Friday shooting 49 percent from the free throw line this season -- the lowest percentage of his career -- but he had been on a minor upswing recently, shooting 12-for-20 in his previous three games. He made 14 of 22 free throw attempts Friday night.

Up next: Eighty down, two to go. All that's left is Sunday at 6:30 p.m. PT against San Antonio and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Houston.

LOS ANGELES -- The past two times Dwight Howard had spoken to the media prior to the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night -- after the Portland game Wednesday and after shootaround Friday -- he had a clear and direct message to impart.

The Lakers needed to pound the ball inside more to slow down the game.

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni was asked about Howard's preference before Friday's game, and while he didn't completely disagree with his All-Star center's wishes, he wasn't thrilled by the notion either.

"Where's he playing? Inside? Oh, that's right," D'Antoni with a laugh. "Some of the little guys told me, 'Let's play outside-in!'"

D'Antoni said the team has been working the ball in more to Howard and Pau Gasol already.

"Inside-out is good with our team because we have a big team and we'll do that," D'Antoni said. "We've been doing that. We have slowed it down because we're a slower team. That's OK. But I don't think you come up with these theories to try to figure it out. Once you start trying to figure things out, that's like golf -- 'I got my swing, I figured it out.' That's when you start hooking and slicing and everything else. It doesn't work that way. You play hard."

Holward said after shootaround that going to the post more often and using more shot clock wil help the defense.

"When you slow the game down, teams can't run," Howard said. "When they run, they put you in tough positions because guys got to come out and help in different spots and everybody is scrambling. But when the defense is set, everybody knows where they need to be and you're able to just navigate through an offense. Especially for guys like me, when I'm back and I can see everything, then it's good for our defense. I'm able to talk, I'm able to tell guys where to go. But when you try to get back in transition, the floor is spread, everybody can just drive down the lane and that puts pressure on the bigs. For me, I just try not to get in foul trouble because I'm a very important piece on the defensive end."

On that point, D'Antoni and Howard were in full agreement.

"For us, if we want to be a serious team, then defensively we got to be good on every play," D'Antoni said. "We can't choose and pick and be up and down with the energy. If we do that, then the offense is going to take care of itself."

So does that mean more post-ups?

"When you got Kobe Bryant on the floor, sometimes it's going to be outside-outside," D'Antoni said laughing. "That's just the way it's going to be. We'll try to involve everybody as much as we can, but offensively it's going OK. It's the defensive end that everybody has got to collectively play every play."

LOS ANGELES -- If the Los Angeles Lakers end up making the deep postseason run the team hopes it can, then there might be some help on the way for their depleted bench.

Backup big man Jordan Hill was examined by Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville, Tenn., this week and cleared to begin running on an altered-gravity treadmill starting Friday.

The clearance comes just three months after Hill underwent what was considered at the time to be season-ending surgery on his left hip.

Hill will begin running with 70 percent of his body weight, according to the team. He will gradually increase the weight on the treadmill, barring any setbacks, and be cleared for full weight-bearing running and jumping exercises once he reaches 100 percent.

The team estimates it will take another 3-4 weeks of on-court basketball drills before Hill will be able to resume playing in games.

The four-year veteran averaged 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game this season.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Kobe Bryant emerged from the showers late Wednesday night and limped through the nearly empty visitors locker room at the Rose Garden, stopping briefly on his way to the training room to change so he could acknowledge Metta World Peace.

"You always backed me," Bryant said with intense appreciation.

Bryant was winding down from what can only be described as an epic performance by the 17-year veteran -- a season-high 47 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals with only 1 turnover, a statistical line never before recorded in the league, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

And all those stats paled in comparison to Bryant's playing all 48 minutes, each and every second of the game, to help L.A. sweep a back-to-back for the first time in 16 tries this season and beat the Trail Blazers 113-106 in Portland, where the Lakers had lost 12 of their previous 14 games.

But World Peace and the rest of Bryant's teammates might not quite have his back the way he thinks they do.

After 79 games and with the Lakers on the edge of a playoff berth, holding a one-game lead over Utah for the No. 8 spot in the West with only three left to play, Bryant's teammates don't seem to be content to just feed the "All hail Kobe, the living legend" propaganda machine and ride his coattails into the playoffs.

If the season is worth saving at this point after all the trials and tribulations every player and coach in the locker room has gone through, it has to be saved as a team, the right way. If it's going to come down to Bryant playing hero ball from now until when the Lakers' season ends, there's a sense that Bryant's teammates would rather have an early summer if it means acting as the stage crew for Bryant's one-man show.

"It's bittersweet," Pau Gasol said when asked about Bryant's dominating performance against the Blazers, in which he played all 48 minutes in a non-overtime road game for the first time in his career. "Because, I think it's spectacular and it's very impressive and it's remarkable to be able to play 48 minutes and score 47 points. That's incredible. On the other hand, I'm a player that likes to see a little bit more ball movement and better balance. I've always been [like that]. That's just how I perceive this game.

"But again, he was incredible tonight. He scored a tremendous amount of points that I never scored in my life. So, like I said, it was very impressive and it's not something that you do every night, of course."

Gasol was quick to add context to his quotations, making it clear from his tone that this wasn't an issue of jealousy for the attention Bryant would receive for the feat, or a lack of appreciation for the talent Bryant has. And Gasol is certainly aware he might not be a Laker today and definitely would not be a Laker finally getting consistent post touches in Mike D'Antoni's system if it wasn't for Bryant supporting him.

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PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Rose Garden has been a place, for quite some time, where the Los Angeles Lakers' hopes and dreams have come to die.

Coming into Wednesday, the Lakers' previous three games in Portland were losses. As were 12 of their previous 14 and, going back all the way to 2002, 17 of their past 21.

But Kobe Bryant has shown that he has the power to rise above the Trail Blazers' house of horrors before, and boy did he ever do it again in a 113-106 victory.

Bryant has been going by the self-appointed "vino" nickname this season to describe how his game has been aging like a fine wine.

Forget vino, Wednesday was straight vintage.

Bryant did everything but sell popcorn, as they say, finishing with 47 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals in an epic performance.

If the Lakers are going to live up to Bryant's playoff guarantee, he just might have to be the guy to will them there.

How it happened: L.A. gave up one of its all-too-typical poison-pill quarters to start things off, as Portland posted 41 points in the opening frame, but thanks to Bryant keeping up the torrid pace that he started against New Orleans, things never got too out of hand. The Lakers settled down on defense and used a 17-2 spurt to start the third quarter to really take back control of the game. They outscored the Blazers by nine in the fourth thanks to Bryant and Pau Gasol two-manning them to death, and the team defense holding Portland to just 16 points.

What it means: L.A. has a one-game lead over the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs with three games left to play. That's what matters.

Hits: As brilliant as Bryant was, Gasol had himself a night. Gasol finished with 23 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Dwight Howard had 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

Misses: The Lakers' defense allowed surefire rookie of the year winner Damian Lillard to score a career-high 38 points.

L.A. had 15 turnovers leading to 16 Portland points.

Steve Nash missed his fifth straight game because of lingering right hip and hamstring issues. He is questionable for Friday.

Stat of the game: Bryant put up his eighth 40-point game of the season.

Up next: The Lakers have three games left in the regular season, all of them at home: Friday against Golden State, Sunday against San Antonio and Wednesday against Houston.

LOS ANGELES -- Will Metta World Peace's speedy return from knee surgery set the table for a couple of other Los Angeles Lakers players to follow suit as they recover from their own injuries?

Maybe.

Steve Nash will travel with the Lakers for their game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. A source close to Nash told ESPNLosAngeles.com that the point guard is eyeing a Friday return when the Lakers host the Golden State Warriors and characterized the chances of him playing against the Blazers as "slim."

Nash has recently switched to a new, stronger medication in hopes of alleviating the pain associated with the right hip injury that has been causing him hamstring problems and kept him out of all but two minutes of the Lakers' last five games.

As amazing as World Peace's recovery was, Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said several weeks ago it would take a "miracle" for Jordan Hill to return this season.

Hill, who has been out since January following left hip surgery, will have his hip examined in Nashville on Wednesday by Dr. Thomas Byrd, who performed the operation.

"Just a check up to see where we are at," Hill's agent, Kevin Bradbury, told ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Hill resumed elliptical workouts last month and said he hoped to be eligible to return by late April or early May if he were cleared.

(UPDATE: 4:15 p.m.)

After his checkup Wednesday, Hill sent out two tweets:

"Check up went good...i will start back running in a week and jumping in a week and see how things go"

That was followed by another one.

"Not tryna rush it but the kid is feeling damn good!!!"

LOS ANGELES -- In pretty much the definition of a late-developing wrinkle, with it being Game No. 78 of 82 on the Los Angeles Lakers' schedule and all, the team decided to give the oft-injured, trade-speculated, over-the-hill (at least by reputation) Pau Gasol a chance to be the four-time All-Star, two-time champion, pride-of-Spain that he is.

Well, one player on the team decided it, to be specific.

"He just tells me to just run to the post and take it and screw everything else, basically," Gasol said of Kobe Bryant's instructions. "That's not my personality. I like my team and my coaching staff to want me to be there, instead of positioning myself there, but hey. ... It helps that Kobe, who has a lot of control over what happens out there, wants me to be there and sees that it works and is supportive."

The direction paid off with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks from Gasol in the Lakers' 104-96 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday, but the numbers aren't nearly as important as the revelation of what an empowered Gasol can mean for the Lakers.

Gasol was on ESPNLA 710 radio in Los Angeles after shootaround Tuesday, and host Mychal Thompson implored Gasol to be selfish and take 15 to 20 shots in the post per game. Gasol replied with the obvious: "That would be a big change from one or two."

The thing is, a Gasol reclamation project over the last four games plus any potential postseason run for L.A. would not only perhaps save Gasol from becoming trade bait in the offseason, but it would help Bryant do away with the lingering stigma that he's an impossible teammate to coexist with, and earn coach Mike D'Antoni some credit for being malleable and finally coming around.

Bryant, who can sniff out a storyline from a mile away and is as masterful as manipulating a narrative as they come, smartly gave shine to D'Antoni for the Gasol resurgence, even if it originally came at his own urging.

"I think Mike just realized what he has in Pau," Bryant said after the game. "During that stretch there, second quarter when I was out of the game, during a timeout he said, 'Guys, we just got to pound the ball inside to Pau. We just got to go to him. Stop trying to do things on the pick-and-roll, just go inside, let him muscle us.'"

For a guy who called the straight post-up play the least efficient play in basketball at his introductory news conference, that statement alone shows how much he has been willing to change his philosophies to match his personnel instead of being stubborn and insisting it be the other way around.

Gasol, for his part, tried it the other way by launching 3-pointers in the early going, limited to being a straight facilitator at other times and even swallowing the demotion to backup center off the bench for a brief while, but now he's smart enough to see this is his last chance to prove that not only is he important in the present, but he can be in the future.

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LOS ANGELES -- With all the 5-0 talk surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers' finish to the season, it was questionable whether L.A. would even have enough fight left to get the first game toward that goal.

The severely sub-.500 New Orleans would seem like an easy opponent to start things off against, but then again, the Hornets led by 25 against L.A. back in March before Kobe Bryant scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to key a ridiculous rally.

He one-upped himself Tuesday, scoring 23 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to put the pesky Hornets away.

How it happened: L.A. led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter before New Orleans used a 14-0 run to erase that to take a 50-45 lead into the locker room. Things were tied at 70-all to start the fourth quarter before Bryant went on a personal 7-0 run, connecting on three straight jumpers, to give L.A. a small cushion, and he extended that spurt to score the Lakers' first 14 points of the final period as the Hornets kept it close.

What it means: The Utah Jazz did their part, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 90-80 on Tuesday. L.A. is back to holding a half-game lead over the Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot as the games continue to be checked off the schedule. The Lakers are back to being in the driver's seat when it comes to meeting their postseason goal; now they just have to stay on the road.

Hits: Metta World Peace returned to the lineup after missing just 12 days following knee surgery. Remarkable stuff. He finished with just four points and one assist, but he was able to play 15 minutes and take some of the load off the starters.

Antawn Jamison scored 13 points off the bench, including a crucial five straight with less than five minutes to go in the fourth when L.A. was getting offense out of only Bryant to that point.

Misses: Earl Clark scored zero points, going 0-for-3 from the field in 24 minutes while picking up four fouls. He did collect five assists, however, often hooking up with Dwight Howard.

Howard had problems with the whistle-blowers, too, getting called for five fouls. He did notch 19 points, six rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes, however.

Howard had a careless violation with 2:16 left, stepping on the endline when he went to inbound the ball, thus turning it over when it was only a six-point game.

L.A. had 16 turnovers leading to 12 points for the Hornets.

Stat of the game: Every Lakers starter had at least four assists as L.A. recorded dimes on 26 of its 40 baskets.

Up next: It's on to Portland, where the Lakers will try to elude the hold the Rose Garden seems to have over them. They also will attempt to sweep a back-to-back for the first time all season. "Save the best for last, probably," World Peace said. He better hope so.

LOS ANGELES -- Metta World Peace had played possibly his last game with the Los Angeles Lakers when he suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee in late March.

The team listed his recovery time at a minimum of six weeks, a date well past the regular-season finale for a team that has no guarantee of making the playoffs. And there was no telling if he would be back after the offseason.

Yet just 12 days after surgery, World Peace was back in the lineup Tuesday, checking in to the game against the New Orleans Hornets to a partial standing ovation from the fans and without a brace on his left knee.

He had other ideas about his recovery time.

"I went online and was like, 'Yo, what was the fastest somebody ever recovered from a meniscus tear?' " World Peace recalled. "I was thinking it was going to say something like four weeks and somehow I read a week and I was like, 'Oh, then I'm the week kind of guy.'"

It helped that the surgery was not too invasive. World Peace said a "little flap" of meniscus was removed and "they're not stitching nothing together, they're just scoping."

To make his hope of being the one-week recovery guy, World Peace started his rehabilitation immediately. Even before the team was ready for him to begin it.

"I just started to do rehab once I got home," World Peace said. "Like, right away. No wasting time. And they were on the road so I had to call [Lakers trainer] Gary [Vitti] and [Lakers therapist] Judy [Seto] like, 'What do I have to do?' They were like, 'Wait till [we] get back.' I was like, 'No, I'm not waiting. Tell me what I got to do now so I can be ready to play.' And they just continued to tell me what I had to do and I just continued to try to rehab."

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Lakers' forward Pau Gasol joins Mark Willard and Mychal Thompson on ESPNLA 710 to touch on his aggressiveness, his relationship with Mike D'Antoni, and the trade rumors surrounding him.

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