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LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers forward Antawn Jamison suffered a sprained right wrist in Friday's 103-100 loss to the Washington Wizards. X-rays taken after the game were negative, however Jamison is scheduled to undergo a MRI exam on Saturday to further evaluate the injury.

"I'll see how I am tomorrow," Jamison said while walking out of the locker room with a brace on his wrist.

The injury appeared to happen when Jamison's dunk attempt with 1:10 remaining in the third quarter was blocked by the Wizards' Kevin Seraphin.

Jamison finished the game with 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting along with seven rebounds. He did not play in the fourth quarter.

The 15-year veteran is averaging 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds this season.

The timing of Jamison's injury speaks to the revolving-door nature of the Lakers' roster this season as it happened the same night Pau Gasol returned to the lineup after missing 20 straight games because of a torn plantar fascia in his right foot. Gasol finished with four points on 2-for-10 shooting and eight rebounds in 21 minutes.

LOS ANGELES -- It's never easy with this team, is it?

It was an important night for the Los Angeles Lakers, welcoming two starters back in the lineup in Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol and facing a team buried way below .500 after losing to a team just like that Monday in Phoenix.

And boy, did they blow it.

L.A. dropped its second straight game to a team that has no prayer of making the playoffs and instead of using a soft spot in the schedule to build momentum, finds itself back in a bit of a tailspin with just 12 games remaining in the regular season.

Gasol's night started off great, as he grabbed a defensive rebound on the Washington Wizards' first possession and picked up a no-look assist to Metta World Peace on the Lakers' first possession, but he finished with just four points on 2-for-10 shooting and eight rebounds.

That's OK. Gasol had missed close to seven weeks of action and 20 games, so rust was expected.

Turns out Gasol was a minor part of the story.

Former Laker Trevor Ariza ended up having a much bigger impact on the game.

Ariza scored 19 of his game-high 25 points after halftime, setting a new career high by hitting seven 3-pointers as he was able to help Washington come all the way back from an early 18-point deficit to briefly take a two-point lead in the fourth.

While the Wizards came into the game with a 24-43 record, they were actually 19-15 this season with their best player, John Wall, in the lineup, so the fact that they gave L.A. a challenge shouldn't have been a surprise.

Bryant didn't have his normal late-game magic working, as he missed an open 8-foot jumper to tie it in the final minute, and had one more chance at it with a desperation heave at the buzzer on a fadeaway 3, which clanked short off the rim.

L.A. got some help by Utah losing to San Antonio on Friday, so it holds on to its eighth seed for the time being -- but at some point you worry about these missed opportunities piling up.

How it happened: L.A. controlled the game at the start, leading by 16 at the end of the first quarter and never letting up. Washington was playing its fifth game in seven days and its third road game in a row, while the Lakers on came in on three days' rest -- and it showed. Washington made its run on the backs of Ariza and John Wall (24 points, 16 assists) and finished the upset.


What it means: Mike D'Antoni's pregame remarks were pretty prescient.

"We got to win, first of all," D'Antoni said. "We can’t experiment and we can’t play around with it too much. We got to win every game and that’s how it’s going to be played, and hopefully we get better every game because they have some improvement they can do -- a lot of improvement because they haven’t played together. A lot of talent is on the floor; let’s see if we can get it together."

Getting Gasol and Bryant back is certainly a boost to the Lakers' chances down the stretch, but L.A. has to stick to what it did to get back in the playoff hunt in the first place. It can't get too cute.

Hits: Dwight Howard had 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Jodie Meeks scored 16 points off the bench, including eight in the fourth quarter.

Bryant added another momentum-changing dunk to his season-long aerial display, sending home a reverse jam with 7:04 remaining in the fourth quarter to put L.A. up by 3 when its offense was struggling. It ended up being a moot point, though.

Misses: Seeing World Peace take it upon himself to go 1-on-5 and pick up an offensive foul in a crucial possession when he has playmakers like Bryant and Steve Nash on his team is a crime against basketball.

While Bryant's distribution game was strong (11 assists), his defensive game wasn't. Bryant was routinely late to close out on open shooters (most notably Garrett Temple, who scored 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting) and L.A. in turn let Washington hang around longer than it should have in the third quarter when the Lakers could have put it away.

Antawn Jamison was brilliant in the first half, scoring 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting to go with seven rebounds, but he suffered a sprained right wrist in the third quarter which ended his night early. He will receive X-rays on it after the game.

Stat of the game: The Lakers had 10 assists on 13 buckets in the first quarter, but finished with 27 on 39 baskets for the game as the ball started to stick.

What's next: For the first time in a long time, the Lakers do not have games on either Saturday or Sunday, as they'll have the weekend to get ready for their final multi-game road trip of the season -- four games through Golden State, Minnesota, Milwaukee and Sacramento beginning Monday. The Warriors game will be doubly important as L.A. is still in the hunt to catch Golden State for the No. 6 seed in the West, and it will also set the tone for the trip.

Count Jerry West among those who think the Los Angeles Lakers are finally rounding into form.

"I definitely wouldn't want to play them, I know that," West said on a conference call Thursday, when asked about the Lakers' surge since the All-Star break. "I think they'd have a chance against anyone [in the playoffs]."

West, a Lakers legend as a player and general manager, is now an executive with the Golden State Warriors, who are in sixth place in the Western Conference.

"I think if the Lakers would have their preference, they probably wouldn't want to play Denver," he said. "I don't think anyone would want to play them. Denver has proven they can win on the road and they just don't lose at home.

"Memphis, they're like a a bunch of pack dogs down there. Defensively they are really good. And to me they've got the most underrated player in the league in Marc Gasol. That guy is really a good player.

"But I think they [the Lakers] would have a chance against anybody. If you watch Oklahoma City, to me, they don't look like they're the same team. And I think that they're terrific, but they lose a great player in James Harden, and that's going to happen to a lot of teams today, and can they make up for the loss of him? I'm not sure."

Antawn Jamison is pretty much the definition of an NBA veteran.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the fifth team the 37-year-old has played for in his 15-season career, meaning he literally has had hundreds of teammates during his time in the league.

None of them have been quite like Kobe Bryant.

"This guy's a different dude," Jamison said of Bryant while a guest on the "Max & Marcellus Show" on ESPNLA 710 radio on Wednesday.

Jamison said Bryant has helped create a contentious atmosphere with him and his teammates, but the conflict has helped the team congeal.

"Kobe will tell you," Jamison said. "He's like, 'Look, you guys as my teammates, yell at me. Let me know that you're open because I'm so programmed,' and this guy has told me this, 'I see nothing but that basket. You could be open, there could be three guys on me, but the only thing I see is that basket so you have to tell me, Look, I was open. Or yell at me mid-play. That doesn't affect me at all and I respect that.' "

Jamison said the veteran-laden roster has adapted to Bryant's style and the players have no problem with confronting the five-time champion.

"I think the thing we've seen in the past was most teammates might have been afraid to come to him or express, 'Kob' I was open,' or, 'That's not what we drew up,' " Jamison said. "The thing I like about this team, Steve Nash -- who is a Hall of Famer -- and Dwight [Howard] as well, Dwight and Kobe have gotten into shouting matches on the bench because Dwight will be like, 'Kob', that's your rotation. Get there.' And after the game he'll be like, 'Appreciate it, big fella. I needed that.' "

Jamison said he doesn't even have to speak to express his concerns with Bryant, and can just let his big eyebrows do the talking.

"I come in there and I look at him a certain way, he'll be like, 'OK, Jamison, you're right. My bad.' "

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Pau Gasol underwent an ultrasound on his right foot Tuesday and results of the test showed continued healing and improvement of the plantar fascia tear that has kept him out of the lineup since being injured Feb. 5, according to a Los Angeles Lakers spokesman.

Gasol will continue to increase his work load and return to the lineup when he is ready and pain free.

The Lakers, who don't return to game action until Friday night at home when they host the Washington Wizards, have gone 13-7 with Gasol out of the lineup.

PHOENIX -- Thomas Wolfe said it, and Steve Nash has now lived it.

"You can't go home again."

Boy, was that ever true for Nash, the former two-time league MVP with the Phoenix Suns, who returned to his former city twice this season and came up empty both times.

The last time the Los Angeles Lakers came to Phoenix, Nash's initial return was spoiled by a 92-86 loss in a game in which L.A. blew a late lead and Nash had just 11 points on 3-for-8 shooting.

Nash struggled in this one, too, scoring 19 points but shooting just six-for-17 in the process and dishing out just four assists against three turnovers.

It wasn't any better for his teammates.

Here's a recap of what went down:

How it happened: It was a two-man game for L.A. early as Nash and Dwight Howard combined for 21 of the Lakers' 25 first-quarter points, but the Lakers only led by four. Suns rookie Kendall Marshall caught fire in the second quarter, scoring eight points, as the Suns led by as many as eight. But the Lakers were able to cut the deficit down to three at the half. The Suns' lead was five heading into the fourth when it all fall apart for the Lakers. The final blow came when Luis Scola beat the shot clock with a 3 from the top of the key to put Phoenix up by 17 with less than four minutes remaining.

What it means: After two inspiring team-centric wins against Indiana and Sacramento, the Lakers looked flat and sorely missed the energy that Kobe Bryant (sprained left ankle) brings to the game. If you thought the playoffs were all but locked up, think again. Monday was a major reminder of the work that's still ahead for this Lakers team with 13 games left to play.

Hits: At least nobody was seriously injured. There's that. As Mike D'Antoni put it when asked about Bryant getting some rest while all the Lakers had to do was take care of the 23-45 Suns: "If we can win, it’s a silver lining because he rests and gets his body in shape, but if we don’t win, then it’s not very good. So, it’s a double-edged sword."

Misses: Howard missed 12 of 18 shots, Nash missed 11 of 17 and Metta World Peace missed 12 of 17.

The Lakers were outrebounded 55-45.

Nash got a bloody gash on his face by his left eye in the third quarter stemming from a collision with P.J. Tucker. It wasn't quite this bad, however.

Stat of the game: Steve Blake (6-for-11) was the only Laker to shoot 50 percent or better from the field. L.A. shot just 29-for-87 (33.3 percent) as a team.

What's next: The Lakers, mercifully, have the day off Tuesday coming out of their back-to-back and don't play again until Friday, when they host the Washington Wizards. D'Antoni said Bryant would "probably" be back in the lineup by then, and there is a chance that Pau Gasol will also target that game to make his return from the torn plantar fascia injury to his right foot that's kept him out the past six weeks.

LOS ANGELES -- Injuries have been the story of the Los Angeles Lakers' season as much as anything, from Dwight Howard's back and shoulder to Pau Gasol's knees and foot to Jordan Hill's hip, Steve Nash's leg, Steve Blake's groin and now Kobe Bryant's ankle.

And there was another injury that went unreported and hampered L.A., as well.

After scoring 22 points on 10-for-13 shooting against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, Metta World Peace revealed he had been playing through a right leg injury for more than two months.

"I popped something in my fibula, but it didn't tear," World Peace said, saying he suffered the injury when the Lakers hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 11.

World Peace said he took a charge on San Antonio's Tiago Splitter on Jan. 9 and got kneed in the pelvic region, which led to the leg injury in his next game.

"Messed up my alignment," World Peace said. "Most injuries come from when your pelvis is not aligned. People don't know that."

The injury, combined with an injury to his right arm around the same time that made it difficult to bend his elbow, prevented him from doing his normal in-season weight lifting routine.

"I had to sacrifice some of my exercises, some of my strength and conditioning," World Peace said. "I couldn't do as much, so then I was getting weaker a little bit. I was getting weaker throughout the season.”

“As I got healthy, then I was able to get back,” he said. “Now I'm able to lift again and do my exercises and agility and stuff. Now I'm able to guard guys again. I'm moving my feet well, and I have a lot of strength down low."

It was so bad that Mike D'Antoni didn't feel comfortable putting World Peace on the opposing team's best wing scorer anymore -- his bread and butter. Instead the Lakers coach moved him to big man defensive duties.

"I thought he was really having trouble guarding perimeter guys and that's why I kind of moved him to the 4,” D'Antoni said, “but now he's guarding perimeter guys fine.”

Prior to the string of injuries, World Peace had scored 20 or more points in four out of nine games and was finding a consistent role in the offense.

"If you look back at that Houston game [before it] and the San Antonio game, I was getting to the hole," World Peace said. "If you look back at that game, I was getting to the hole anytime I wanted, going coast to coast. After that game, it was kind of downhill and I started to miss layups. And when I started to miss layups, I had to resort to shooting 3s."

It took a while to get back to form, but World Peace is clicking once again. He estimated he is 98 percent better. He has scored in double digits in eight of the Lakers' nine games in the month of March.

"I'm moving now again," World Peace said.

It's showing on both ends of the court.

"He's playing a very high level defensively," D'Antoni said. "If he can do that, then when Pau [Gasol] comes back, that's really going to help a lot with him being able to guard the perimeter."

LOS ANGELES -- There was a telling quote from Antawn Jamison after the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to win in Indianapolis without Kobe Bryant the other night.

"We have too much talent to think that there's not a chance for us to win when he's not out there," Jamison said.

Bryant didn't play Sunday, marking the first time all season he didn't suit up. But Jamison and the Lakers showed what kind of talent it has without their leader.

Journeyman Jamison reminded everybody why he is No. 43 on the NBA's all-time scoring list and just 176 points away from 20,000 for his career by hitting from all over the court en route to a team-high 27 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including 5-for-8 on 3-pointers.

Just like in Indiana, it wasn't just Jamison, either.

Steve Nash showed he is just as much a former two-time MVP as he is a 39-year-old, posting 19 points and 12 assists.

Metta World Peace showed he's more than a tough wing defender, scoring 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting, after putting up 19 against the Indiana Pacers.

Dwight Howard looked healthier than he has maybe all season, tallying 12 points, 17 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Steve Blake had 16 points and eight assists. Earl Clark had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Everybody contributed.

Solid win.

How it happened: After Sacramento went on a 10-0 run to cut L.A.'s lead to just 90-88 in the fourth quarter, Blake came up huge, drawing a foul on Jason Thompson to thwart a sure Sacramento Kings bucket on the fast break, then hitting a 3-pointer soon after to put L.A. up 95-88. The Lakers regained control of the game, sparking a 13-2 run overall. They rolled from there, winning by 11 and going four games above .500, at 36-32, for the first time all season.

What it means: "They know where we are [in the standings],” Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said before the game. “They know how important these games are at home, especially. We just can’t kick one like we did in Atlanta." The Lakers made it interesting against a Kings team that came into the game 20 games under .500. But they won, which is what they need to keep doing for the final 14 games of the regular season. Now that L.A. has been flirting with a playoff spot for some time, they can even think about moving up the ladder.

"Just looking at [the standings] real quick, No. 6, right?" D'Antoni said before his team won for the 11th time in 14 tries since the All-Star break. "That seems to be the thing. I wouldn’t think anything else. That would be a goal that we try to get to."

Hits: Sunday marked the first time since Pau Gasol was traded to the Lakers on Feb. 1, 2008, that L.A. won a game in which Bryant and Gasol did not play.

Howard grabbed 17 rebounds, keeping his streak of collecting 12 or more rebounds in every game since the All-Star break intact. The 14 games with 12 or more boards ties the longest such streak he's had in his career.

Misses: With Bryant out, D'Antoni shrunk his rotation even more, playing just seven guys.

L.A. allowed Patrick Patterson to go off for 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting.

The Lakers had 15 turnovers, resulting in 17 points for Sacramento while forcing the Kings into just six turnovers.

Stat of the game: The Lakers average 22 assists per game as a team, ranking 16th in the league, and outdid themselves Sunday with 28 dimes on 41 baskets (68.3 percent).

What's next: The Lakers will have a chance to do something they've failed to do all season in 13 attempts: sweep a back-to-back. L.A. plays in Phoenix on Monday. Coming into Sunday, the Lakers were 5-8 on the front end of back-to-backs and also 5-8 on the back end of back-to-backs this season. They'll have to beware of the 22-45 Suns, however. The Lakers lost the last time they went to Phoenix this season in Nash's return game.

LOS ANGELES -- Sunday marked the first time in Dwight Howard's career with the Los Angeles Lakers that he played in a game that Kobe Bryant did not, as Bryant missed his first game of the season to rest his sprained left ankle and heal up from the flu.

The occasion begged the question: Has he thought about what life in L.A. could be like post-Bryant with him as the clear go-to guy and face of the franchise?

"In Orlando, I was the guy that everything went through," Howard said following shootaround as the Lakers prepped for their game against the Sacramento Kings. "I know that position. That’s why we all play. We play and I play because I want to put the team on my back and carry those guys to the Finals. That’s always been my goal, and I love having that on my back. Being able to just lead these guys -- that’s what I want to accomplish, and I just want these guys to have total trust in me. The franchise has trust in me, and it’s the same thing with the coaches and the players. When I show those guys I can go down there and score, make the right play, then they’re going to trust me. So, that’s how I see it, and it’s going to happen. We just got to be patient."

Howard made strides toward earning that trust against Indiana on Friday, shaking off early foul trouble to lead L.A. to an impressive victory as he had 20 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four rebounds in a game that Bryant asked out of after the first quarter.

Much has been made about how the Lakers have divvied up ownership of the team this season between two extremely different personalities in Bryant and Howard, but Howard insists he has willingly sat shotgun while Bryant mans the wheel.

"I didn’t come here and say, ‘This is my team,’ and all of that stuff," Howard said. "That wasn’t anything that was on my mind. Like I told you guys in the beginning, this is a great time for me to learn from a guy like Kobe, a guy like Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, and that’s what I intended on doing. I’ve learned so much from the beginning of the season until now that it’s going to help me moving forward in my career. So, this has been great. Everything that Kobe is doing, everything that Pau and Steve and those guys are doing will help me in the long run as far as taking a team over the hump."

What has been the most important thing he has learned?

"For years in Orlando, my job was to do that, and there was a couple areas that I needed to work on," Howard said. "By being here, you just really see how to do it. It’s how you approach games. About how you approach practice. The time after practice, the work that you put in on the days off, that’s what the guys on the team see, and they feed off that. That’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned, just coming in and getting my work done so everybody else can see, ‘This is how you work and he’s working, so you set the bar high, and we just follow that bar.’ It’s good for me."

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The whole will-he-or-won't-he drama surrounding Kobe Bryant's playing status with that sprained left ankle of his ended up being pretty much a moot point.

Bryant played the entire first quarter, going 0-for-4 from the field with one turnover and two assists, with the Lakers trailing 19-16.

After watching the entire second quarter from the bench and seeing his team compete without him, Bryant called it a night at halftime, spending the rest of the game on the bench with an electric stimulation device strapped to his bum ankle.

For Bryant, he got to keep up his distinction of having played in all 67 games on the Lakers schedule this season and his round-the-clock rehab will surely have his ankle in a better place for the Lakers' next game Sunday than it would have been if he hadn't tried to play Friday.

For the Lakers, the three quarters Bryant didn't play defined the night.

It was about Dwight Howard shaking off early foul trouble and a rough shooting night to still put up 20 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.

It was about Metta World Peace coming back to play in front of fan base that knew him as Ron Artest when he was at his worst and scoring 19 points to lead L.A. when the offense stalled.

It was about Steve Blake (18 points) and Antawn Jamison (17 points) barely missing off the bench, combining to shoot 11-for-18 overall and 9-for-14 from 3.

It was about Steve Nash putting up 15 points and nine assists against just two turnovers.

It was about Earl Clark hobbling on a bum right ankle of his own and contributing with eight points and six rebounds.

It was about a team finding a way to win when the odds were not in its favor.


How it happened: The Pacers built an early 11-point lead with Howard parked on the bench with fouls and Bryant being off the mark, but L.A. got all the way back in it, building an 11-point lead of its own in the second quarter. Indiana came out refocused in the third quarter and went on a 13-0 run, but the Lakers wouldn't go away and had the lead down to just one heading into the fourth. With the game tied at 87 with 1:30 to go in the fourth, Howard had one of his biggest plays as a Laker, getting an and-1 layup to go and converting the ensuing free throw to put L.A. up by three. If Howard put the nail in the coffin, Jamison poured dirt on the grave with a 3-pointer the next time down to double L.A.'s lead from three to six and seal the win.

What it means: The Lakers are back to three games over .500 at 35-32 and won one of those gut-check games that define what it is to be a tough-minded group. This one could pay off down the road.

Hits: The Lakers shot 13-for-26 as a team from 3, good for 50 percent.

Against the toughest defensive team in the league, L.A. had just 15 turnovers compared to 16 for Indy.

Misses: The time keeper in Indiana messed up just before halftime, starting the clock while the ball was still in Earl Clark's hands while he was getting ready to inbound the ball with 5.3 seconds left. Steve Nash ended making a jump shot at the foul line that was disallowed because it left his hands just after the buzzer. However, had the time been kept correctly, Nash would have had another 1.5 seconds to get the shot off.

By NBA rules, the Lakers weren't allowed to play the whole 5.3 seconds over again -- just the 1.5 seconds that went missing because of the clock mistake. L.A. tried a similar inbounds alley-oop from the sideline to a cutting Clark that worked when L.A. was in Detroit, but the Pacers broke it up. The officials had to check the replay once again to determine the Lakers had 0.9 seconds left on the clock. L.A. tried one more time to score before the half but could manage only to get it out to Howard for a long heave from 3 that missed.

Stat of the game: The Lakers were just 2-16 on the road against teams with winning records coming into Friday but were able to knock off the Pacers -- the No. 2 team in the East -- who had a 26-7 home record before the loss.

What's next: The Lakers come to the softest portion of their schedule that they'll face all year, at a time when they can use some easy games. Their next three games are over the course of seven days against three teams that are each hovering around 20 games under .500. It starts off Sunday at home against Sacramento, then Monday on the road in Phoenix followed by three days off before they get Washington at home Friday. Adding to the string of gimmes, the Lakers should get Pau Gasol back in the lineup sometime in the next three games. Time to build momentum.

Mike D'Antoni warned that the Lakers weren't out of the woods yet.

"We’re still in the middle of a dogfight," D'Antoni said prior to his team's 96-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. "We’ve dug ourselves a hole and we’re definitely not out of it."

If D'Antoni was aware of it before the game, the rest of his team was certainly on that same frequency after the game.

It had been a while since the Lakers had deviated from the plan to get to the postseason by simply taking care of the teams they're supposed to beat and giving themselves a shot in the other games by playing hard.

Before their letdown loss to a Hawks team that came into the game having lost six out of seven and was without Josh Smith and Jeff Teague, L.A. had won nine of 11 since the All-Star break.

They had fallen behind early and faced deficits similar to the 14 points Atlanta led by in the first half -- think New Orleans and Toronto -- but had been able to rally thanks to Kobe Bryant.

"You just can't do that," D'Antoni said after the game. "We played with fire."

Their only two losses since the All-Star break came at Denver on the second night of a back-to-back, against a Nuggets team that is currently 29-3 at home, and at Oklahoma City to a Thunder team that is 29-4 at home.

After winning their previous two games against Chicago and Orlando by holding each opponent to sub 40-percent shooting, it was clear why the Hawks won: the Lakers' defense.

Atlanta scored 55 points in the first half on 52.3 percent shooting and not even Bryant's 20-point third quarter was enough to give L.A. control of the game from there.

"We just got to be there," said Dwight Howard who had just one block and five fouls because he was not "there," on time on defense for much of the night. "Erase the mistakes.There were a lot of times where I let guys get behind me. I just got to do a better job."

Howard holding himself accountable is a good sign for L.A.'s chances of bouncing back, especially if they are without the now-injured Bryant for a significant period.

Howard could get a chance to have the team run through him, as it did in win over Orlando, but he'll have to stay on the court and out of foul trouble to make that happen.

He'll also have to set the defensive tone for everybody.

"Just engage ourselves," said Earl Clark. "When we go down and we sprint down and we clog it up and help Steve (Nash) on the pick-and-rolls and help on the inside and not letting everybody get to the middle, I think we're a better team defensively."

The Lakers were already working on Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers before Wednesday's result, as players huddled on the court in the final seconds discussing their next game.

The message?

"We just got to come out better," said Howard. "We're going to have some bad games throughout the year, but we just have to come out the next game and make up for it."

Fortunately for L.A., the Utah Jazz also had a bad game on Wednesday -- losing 110-87 to Oklahoma City -- and keeping the standings as is, with the Lakers holding a half-game lead for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

Unfortunately for L.A., its next game is in Indiana against a Pacers team that's 26-7 at home and has won nine of its last 12 games, just like the Lakers.

"They have a great home court," said Nash. "We’re going to have to be efficient and for me, I think the biggest thing is come back with a lot of passion and energy and belief."

Bryant, whether he is playing or not, has that belief that Nash spoke about.

"We’ll bounce back next game," Bryant said.

And D'Antoni was left echoing his pregame remarks as he addressed the media at the end of the night.

"We’re still in the fight," D'Antoni said. "We’re still in the hunt. Stuff happens and we just have to get it back together and go."

ATLANTA -- I walked to Phillips Arena from my hotel on Wednesday afternoon with a fan who said he never got the chance to see Michael Jordan play live, so he wanted to make sure he got to see the next-best thing in Kobe Bryant.

The fan figured there was no way Bryant would have two clunkers in a row after going just 4-for-14 in the Los Angeles Lakers' win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.

For a while it looked as though the fan would end up disappointed, as Bryant started the game 0-for-6 in the first quarter and had just three points on 1-for-8 shooting by halftime as the Lakers trailed big.

Then the third quarter happened.

Vintage "Vino."

Bryant scored 20 points in the quarter on 8-for-16 shooting (along with three rebounds and a steal), nearly matching the Hawks' 21 points as L.A. was down just two heading into the fourth.

Bryant's magic seemed to wear off in the fourth as he started the quarter shooting just 1-for-7 before hitting a deep 3-pointer to pull L.A. to within one in the final minute.

He missed his final attempt, however, a pull-up jumper from the baseline with 2.6 seconds left that could have tied the score. He went down on the floor clutching his left leg after the play, adding injury to insult.

That Lakers fan can try to trick his memory to focus on just Bryant's third quarter when he tells his grandkids about seeing him play one day, but that won't do this current Lakers squad any good.

How it happened: The Hawks had control of this game for most of the night, leading by as many as 14 in the first half. They pulled it out thanks to balanced scoring (six Atlanta players in double digits) a timely late layup by Ivan Johnson and a couple of late free throws from Kyle Korver after he missed one to open up the door for Bryant's potential overtime-forcing jumper that missed.

What it means: It means that on the second night of a back-to-back, a weary Lakers team had no legs. It means that winning on the road for this Lakers team that started off 5-15 away from Staples Center and had since gone 7-5 before Wednesday's loss remains a challenge. It means the Lakers can't afford Dwight Howard missing any playing time because of foul trouble. It means that when Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said "We're still in the middle of a dogfight" before the game, he meant it.

Hits: Howard had 16 rebounds, continuing his streak of 12 straight games of 12 rebounds or more.

Misses: With Atlanta missing three of its best players in Josh Smith, Jeff Teague and Lou Williams because of injury, and the Hawks entering the game losers of six out of seven games, this was clearly a missed opportunity for the Lakers.

Earl Clark suffered a sprained right ankle, leaving the game in the third quarter after putting up just four points and three rebounds in 12 minutes and did not return. His ankle was examined, but X-rays were negative.

Stat of the game: Bryant shot just 11-for-33, taking 24 more shot attempts than Howard's nine.

What's next: The Lakers finish out their three-game trip against the Pacers on Friday in Indianapolis, where they'll have to watch out for most improved player candidate Paul George and former assistant coach Brian Shaw's schemes. Indy had the second-best record in the East while winning seven of its past 10 games coming into Wednesday's action.

ATLANTA -- From the creator of the "Travel Dance" we give you Chris Duhon's latest bench celebration.

Despite not playing a single second in the Los Angeles Lakers' 106-97 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, there might not have been a more animated player in purple and gold than Duhon.

The nine-year veteran broke out a cheer I hadn't seen from him before when Jodie Meeks hit a 3-pointer and again when Earl Clark connected from downtown. Once the 3s went down, it was Duhon's cue to crouch down off the bench, put one foot on the court while game action was continuing down the other end and kneel with his other leg as he straightened three fingers on each hand and pointed them toward the ground as he motioned his arms up and down over and over.

What was that exactly?

"It's just something we did in Orlando, Quentin Richardson and I," Duhon said. "We were a rock band. We both had the guitars and J.J. [Redick] was on the drums and we always did that for 3s."

Duhon didn't have a name for his dance on Tuesday (although I think "Ooh-three wally wally, ooh-three bang bang" would be ridiculous enough to work) but said it wasn't as wild as he can get.

"That was kind of our subtle one," Duhon said. "You'll see us do the air guitars. It was just something that would always keep us into the game."

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- In many ways the entire Los Angeles Lakers' season has been more spectacle than substance.

Tuesday was no exception as the Lakers had to wade through a scorned Orlando crowd that didn't have much to look forward to the rest of the season for their 18-47 Magic team, but sure had a lot to be upset about looking back at how Dwight Howard left their franchise.

The fans let Howard and the Lakers hear it from the minute the All-Star center led the team out of the tunnel for pregame warmups, through the national anthem that was punctuated by several fans screaming insults at Howard and on through the game when he engaged in back-and-forth banter with some courtside-seat occupants during timeouts.

In a season in which Howard has struggled to find a rhythm, he looked mighty comfortable wearing an opposing uniform in his old home for the first time.

Howard dominated the game from start to finish, putting up a new high as a Laker with 39 points to go along with 16 rebounds and three blocked shots.

No boos could ever have sounded so good when Howard checked out with 49.9 seconds left and L.A. up by 13. He closed his night with congratulatory hugs from Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.

How it happened: Even though the Lakers built a double-digit lead in the first half, the Magic kept L.A. from breaking it open too fast, first with an 11-4 run to finish the first quarter and then an 8-1 run to close out the second. Orlando briefly regained the lead at 57-56 in the third, but L.A. used a 17-4 burst to take control from there and didn't look back.

What it means: With the Utah Jazz off on Tuesday, the Lakers jumped back ahead of them for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West by bringing their record to 34-31, the most games over .500 they've been all season long. That's 17 wins in their past 23 games, for those of you scoring at home.

Hits: Antawn Jamison scored eight of his 10 points in the second half.

The Lakers held their opponents to sub-40 percent shooting for the second straight game as the Magic connected on just a 39.8 percent clip.

Misses: Bryant shot just 4-for-14 from the field, but dished out a game-high eight assists.

Earl Clark had just six points and four rebounds in his Orlando return.

Stat of the game: Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn proved he had no problem resorting to a gimmick like "Hack-a-Howard" to win. He did in the Magic's victory in L.A. on Dec. 2, when Howard went 9-for-21 from the line, and he did it again Tuesday. Howard tied his own NBA record for free-throw attempts in a game by going 25-for-39 against the Magic. He eclipsed Shaquille O'Neal's old Lakers' record of free-throw attempts in a game. Shaq was 19-for-31 on Nov. 19, 1999.

What's next: The Lakers continue their trip with the second night of a back-to-back Wednesday in Atlanta and will put their four-game winning streak up against the Hawks, who had lost five of six games coming into their matchup on Tuesday against the Miami Heat.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Pau Gasol was able to go through an extensive basketball workout Tuesday for the first time since suffering a torn plantar fascia in his right foot five weeks ago.

"He’s starting to run now and he feels pretty good," said Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni on Tuesday before their game against the Orlando Magic. "So, I think every day without setbacks, without getting sore, he’ll just up it."

Gasol worked out for approximately 45 minutes with Lakers assistant coach Darvin Ham and strength and conditioning coach Tim DiFrancesco following shootaround, going through a variety of shooting and footwork drills.

The Lakers plan to increase Gasol's workout in Atlanta on Wednesday and have the 12-year veteran back to full-fledged running by Thursday when their three-game road trip continues on to Indiana.

"It’s close," D'Antoni said of Gasol's return to game action.

Gasol was originally slated to be sidelined a minimum of six to eight weeks with the injury. He will not need further evaluation by a doctor in order to return. It will be a joint decision by Gasol, the coaching staff and trainer Gary Vitti.

D'Antoni said he "hopes" to have Gasol back at practice next week when L.A. has three days off between its road game Monday in Phoenix and its home game Friday against Washington.

D'Antoni has not said whether he will bring Gasol off the bench when the forward returns, but said definitively it will be a challenge to keep the Lakers' pick-and-roll game flowing with another 7-footer on the floor.

"It’s going to be harder," D'Antoni said. "Spacing is a little better the way it is (with Gasol out); we’ll have to figure some things out, but he gives us so much else -- great passer, different things -- so we’ll just have to figure the spacing out."

Even though the Lakers had won eight of 10 games since the All-Star break without Gasol heading into Tuesday night's game at Orlando, D'Antoni said the team cannot reach its full potential without Gasol.

"We’re playing a lot better than we were," D'Antoni said. "We still got to get Pau back and get him integrated to get up to that top tier. We’re still not quite there."