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For a franchise that has won 16 titles, any Los Angeles Lakers season that doesn't end with a championship is considered a failure. But rather than just dole out a blanket "F" for the Lakers' disappointing 2012-13 season, we're going to break down each player's production in groups, beginning with the bench backcourt. Check back for grades on the bench front court, starters and the Lakers' coaching staff and front office.

STEVE BLAKE

In the four starts Blake made after Kobe Bryant went out with season-ending Achilles surgery, Blake was the Lakers’ most consistent offensive threat on the floor. Blake averaged 18.8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.5 steals in those four games -- two wins to end the regular season and get L.A. into the playoffs and two losses to start off the postseason against San Antonio before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury of his own.

The pulled hamstring was a particularly unfortunate way for Blake to go out. The Lakers' injury-plagued season was perhaps cruelest for Blake, as he also missed 27 games during the regular season with a groin and abdomen injury and had the bizarre incident when he stepped on a spike strip in a beach parking lot that caused him to miss a chunk of training camp.

“As everybody knows, it was a tough year injury-wise, not only for myself but for the entire team,” Blake said after his exit interview. “Whenever we took a couple steps forward, there was an injury there to make us take steps back. But, I was pleased with the way I played throughout the year even though I was hurt.”

Stats

7.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.8 rpg, 26.1 mpg, .422 fg, .421 3fg -- all of these averages were Blake’s best in his three seasons with L.A.

Outlook for 2013-14

Blake is one of four players on the team -- along with Bryant, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace -- who is eligible to be waived via the Lakers’ one-time amnesty clause this summer. At one time, it seemed feasible for L.A. to use it on Blake. Not anymore. Blake’s $4 million deal for the last year of his contract looks like a bargain for next season, especially because the Lakers can’t rely on the 39-year-old Steve Nash to stay healthy all season.

Grade

B: Blake was a very important piece for L.A. this season and stepped up when he was needed. His grade would have been better if he hadn’t missed so many games because of injury.

JODIE MEEKS

The Lakers had very limited resources available to them last summer to attract free agents and used up half ($1.5 million) of their mini mid-level exception on Meeks. The 6-4 shooting guard had a rocky season in L.A., but eventually settled in along with Blake and Antawn Jamison as one third of the Lakers’ core group off the bench as they made their playoff push.

He certainly had his moments -- a baseline dunk in overtime to seal a win against Houston in the regular season finale, 14 points in a must-have road win in Sacramento late in the season, 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter during an incredible comeback in New Orleans, and 21 points on 7-for-8 shooting from deep against Denver -- but he was largely inconsistent. After staying healthy all season, he too fell victim to the injury bug, missing the Lakers’ final three playoff games with a sprained left ankle.

Stats

7.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.9 apg, .387 fg, .357 3fg -- Meeks’ numbers took a dip across the board from his previous season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Outlook for 2013-14

The Lakers have a team option for Meeks at $1.55 million that Meeks’ camp expects to be exercised. If he can improve his accuracy and consistency, he could be a steal. Plus, with Bryant’s status up in the air for the start of the season as he recovers from his Achilles, Meeks could be leaned on more in the early going. “My shooting was up and down this season for whatever reason. I’ll be ready to come back next year and (get better); this system fits me perfectly and (Mike D’Antoni) has a lot of confidence in me,” Meeks said at after his exit interview.

Grade

C: Meeks was an X-factor at times, but hard to trust night-in and night-out.

DARIUS MORRIS

It’s rare in the NBA for a team to have a player considered a home-grown talent, but Morris fits that description as he matriculated at Winward High School in L.A. and then was plucked in the second round out of Michigan to learn at the feet of Bryant the last two seasons. “He gave me a lot of insight about stuff on and off the court,” Morris said of Bryant. “He became a mentor to me, kept me encouraged, and I really appreciate that.”

If Morris’ rookie year was about improving his body, as he added 15 pounds of muscle, his sophomore season was about getting that body to perform in games. Morris made incremental improvements, most notably on defense, but he still has a lot to learn. He finished off the season strong, however, averaging 14 points and 4 assists in the Lakers’ final three playoff games after Bryant, Nash, Blake and Meeks went out.

Stats

4 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, .388 fg, .364 3fg -- Morris’ points, rebounds and assists all went up from his rookie year, but his shooting percentages slid significantly.

Outlook for 2013-14

Morris could be brought back on a minimum deal. The Lakers like his attitude and work ethic and he likely hasn’t done enough in his two seasons in L.A. to generate much interest around the league. Bryant said the Lakers’ top needs heading into next season were “length, speed and athleticism” and Morris fits two out of three, which isn’t a bad place to start.

Grade

C -: After starting 17 games early on in the season, D’Antoni didn’t trust Morris’ decision-making skills enough to play him so much that when L.A. was plagued with injuries, the coach limited his rotation to seven players at times rather than give Morris another shot.

ANDREW GOUDELOCK

In one of the few feel-good parts of the Lakers’ nightmarish season, Goudelock -- a 2011 second round draft pick by the Lakers and a 2012 training camp cut -- was called up from the D-League shortly before the playoffs, after Bryant was injured. His time back with the team was short as the Lakers’ season was over two weeks after he was signed, but Goudelock reminded everybody why he deserves a chance back in the NBA, averaging 17 points in two starts in Games 3 and 4 against San Antonio.

“I definitely think I’ve come a long way,” Goudelock said at his exit interview. “From getting cut [by the Lakers in training camp], going to the D-League for the whole season, winning the MVP and then coming back and getting significant minutes [in the playoffs] . . . It was crazy.”

Stats

12 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.7 spg, .444 fg, .200 3fg -- Goudelock’s playoff stats in three games played in the first round.

Outlook for 2013-14

Goudelock proved that he can not only dominate the D-League, he can perform in the NBA when the playoffs pressure cooker is on. There are still deficiencies to his game, most notably his lack of size on defense, that won’t make it an automatic for him to latch back onto an NBA roster, but his shooting will give him a chance. Whether that chance will be with the Lakers will be worked out after L.A. goes through its other major offseason moves.

Grade

A: Goudelock couldn’t have reasonably done any more with the opportunity he was given. He maximized it.

CHRIS DUHON

Duhon was not targeted by L.A., but rather came to the Lakers as part of the Dwight Howard deal to make the numbers work. Ten games into the season, Duhon found himself with an ally in new coach Mike D’Antoni, who coached him back when they were both with the New York Knicks. Injuries to Nash and Blake, coupled with D’Antoni’s trust, gave Duhon an opportunity to start nine games and he filled in capably -- 6.9 points, 5.4 assists and a 42.1 percent mark on his 3-pointers. The nine-year veteran was a back-up and solid bench presence the rest of the season, but seldom used once D’Antoni settled on a shortened rotation when the Lakers were making a late-season push for the playoffs.

Stats

2.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, .382 fg, .363 3fg -- Not impressive stats, but his 3.3 assists to turnover ratio was respectable for a point guard.

Outlook for 2013-14

Duhon’s $3.8 million salary for next season can be bought out by the Lakers by June 30 for approximately $1.5 million. L.A will go that route and Duhon will not be back with the team next season. He mentioned in his exit interview that he is interested in getting into coaching.

Grade

C: Duhon remained a professional in a topsy-turvy season for the Lakers.

SAN ANTONIO -- Without the guy with the reputation for being basketball's ultimate closer, the Los Angeles Lakers looked lost and overmatched in the final minutes of quarters all night in their 102-91 loss in Game 2 to the San Antonio Spurs.

While the Spurs' Tim Duncan, who turns 37 on Thursday, was able to put his stamp on the game with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks, the Lakers' 39-year-old Steve Nash looked, quite literally, to be on his last leg.

Playing for only the second time since missing the Lakers' final eight regular-season games with nerve damage in his right hamstring stemming from a right hip injury, Nash was just a shell of his former two-time MVP self.

Nash gave it his all in 32 minutes, shooting 50 percent from the field (nine points on 4-for-8 shooting) and dishing out a game-high six assists, but he didn't have the type of impact on the game he's used to having, and was seen limping around the court in dead-ball situations.

The Kobe Bryant-less Lakers just didn't have an answer on offense or composure on defense at the end of quarters, whereas the Spurs hunkered down and made what started off as anybody's game, another W for the team in silver and black.

How it happened: The Spurs were 35-6 at home and the No. 2 team in the West during the regular season for a reason. As much as it was Duncan's consistency, it was about Tony Parker's brilliance (28 points and seven assists), Matt Bonner's timeliness (10 points on 4-for-5 shooting, five rebounds and three steals), Kawhi Leonard's athleticism (16 points, seven rebounds) and Manu Ginobili's Manu-ness (13 points and seven assists in 19 minutes).

What it means: The Lakers played inside-out as planned and it wasn't enough. Dwight Howard (16 points, nine rebounds, four blocks) wasn't as dominant as planned (five turnovers, five fouls), nor was Pau Gasol (13 points on 5-for-14 shooting).

Hits: L.A. made slight improvements in 3-point shooting (8-for-22 instead of 3-for-15) and turnovers (13 instead of 18) from Game 1.
Steve Blake had 16 points before injuring his leg late in the game.

Misses: Jodie Meeks (sprained left ankle) did not play.

Stat of the game: The Spurs had seven players with seven points or more.

Up next: The Lakers are sure to get an emotional lift with Bryant in the building for Friday's Game 3 at Staples Center. As they say in this business, a playoff series doesn't truly start until a team wins on the road. If the Lakers can hold serve and win on their home court, then going into Game 4 down 2-1 doesn't seem so daunting. Of course, if they lose Friday then it will just about be time to turn the lights off on the Lakers' thoroughly disappointing 2012-13 season.

SAN ANTONIO -- Jodie Meeks sat with his left leg elevated on the chair next to him as he watched his teammates shoot around after practice Tuesday.

Meeks missed his second consecutive practice after spraining his left ankle in the first half of the Los Angeles Lakers' 91-79 Game 1 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

Despite sitting out, the Lakers backup guard said he plans to "give it a go" in Wednesday's Game 2.

"It's the playoffs, man," Meeks said. "If it was the regular season, I'd sit out."

Meeks, who averaged 7.9 points during the regular season, scored just four points in Game 1 on 1-for-4 shooting, and also had two turnovers in 20 minutes.

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said there was "no doubt" the team would turn to Darius Morris to fill in with some minutes if Meeks is too hampered to play. Morris went 0-for-1 from the field and picked up one foul in eight minutes Sunday.

D'Antoni said recent signee Andrew Goudelock could play as well.

"We need somebody to put the ball in the basket," D'Antoni said.

The Lakers shot just 3-for-15 from 3 (20 percent) in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series with the Spurs.

D'Antoni says he hopes Steve Nash is one of the players improving that shooting line. Nash scored 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting Sunday and missed the only 3-pointer he took, playing for the first time in nine games because of nerve damage in his right hamstring stemming from a right hip injury.

Nash was able to practice Monday and Tuesday, however, and D'Antoni said he was going to rely on the 17-year veteran guard in Game 2.

"I think about 5-6 minutes is all he needs to go [at a time]," D'Antoni said about Nash, who contributed to the Lakers being a plus-2 in the 30 minutes he played Sunday. "Then he starts going over the hill a little bit. So, we'll watch out. But, we're going to need him out on the floor. So, he'll get through some stuff. He's a competitor, once he gets out there, he wants to go. So we'll try to watch it and then try to watch how he looks physically."

SAN ANTONIO -- Sometime during the third quarter of a Game 1 that just couldn't find a rhythm, Kobe Bryant chimed in on Twitter some 1,350 miles away from San Antonio at his Newport Beach, Calif. home.

"This game has a 'steal one' written all over it for us," Bryant tweeted.

It looked that way for a little while, with the Los Angeles Lakers cutting the San Antonio Spurs' lead that was 12 shortly after halftime down to four after a Steve Blake fadeaway jumper midway through the third. But rather than wilt with a little pressure, San Antonio had the cushion back to 13 heading into the fourth and ultimately held firm for a 91-79 victory.

Coming into the series, the Lakers talked about their defense needing to show up and set the tone, and guess what? That happened.

The Spurs shot just 37.6 percent from the field, but L.A. was more anemic on offense, shooting three for 15 (20 percent) on 3-pointers.

We'll see if the Lakers missed a golden opportunity Sunday or if they just needed to flush a game out of their system before Game 2.

How it happened: Quite simply, the Spurs' guy with the injured hamstring outplayed the Lakers' guy with the injured hamstring. Not that Steve Nash was terrible out there, he gutted out 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting in 31 minutes with three assists and just one turnover, but he was a step slow on defense and missed a few timely shots that really could have made it a tight game in the third. Manu Ginobili, meanwhile, only scored two more points than Nash (18) and shot slightly better (6-for-13), but he made timely contributions with a momentum-swinging 3-pointer late in the third quarter to put the Spurs up 12 and a nail-in-the-coffin assist to Matt Bonner, who hit a 3 late in the fourth, to seal it.

What it means: The Spurs came into the game having lost their last five regular-season games against Western Conference playoff teams, and coach Gregg Popovich admitted that his team looked "discombobulated" when he spoke to the media before Sunday's game. Meanwhile, the Lakers had won five straight, including two in a row without Bryant, and seemed to be clicking. So, what does Game 1 mean? That the regular season is ancient history. The Spurs got back to their game when it counted. Now L.A. has to prove it can do the same.

Hits: Pau Gasol (16 points, 16 rebounds, six assists) was just four assists away from his third triple-double in his past four games.

Dwight Howard had 20 points and 15 rebounds and was able to manage playing with five fouls without fouling out.

Misses: Jodie Meeks (1-for-4) not only had a rough day from the field, but he suffered a mild sprain of his left ankle. Lakers trainer Gary Vitti re-taped Meeks, and the backup guard was able to get back in the game, but they’ll have to monitor the swelling heading into Game 2.

Howard started off 2-for-2 from the free throw line and finished 4-for-8.

Stat of the game: Howard (8-for-12) was the only Lakers player to shoot better than 50 percent.

Up next: The teams get two days of rest before Wednesday's Game 2. The time off should benefit the Lakers, as it will give Nash and Meeks two days to recover and Mike D'Antoni two days to make adjustments.

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 -- There's been little doubt who the best basketball team in Los Angeles is for a while now. The Los Angeles Clippers took care of that with a 17-game winning streak earlier this season and the first 50-win season in franchise history.

But just to put an exclamation point on that statement, the Clippers dealt a devastating blow to the Lakers' desperate playoff push Sunday with a 109-95 win at Staples Center.

The win marked the first time the Clippers have swept the season series from the Lakers since moving to Los Angeles. You have to go back to the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves for the only other time in franchise history it's happened.

The Lakers put up a fight early, but this one was never really close. The Clippers were too good. The Lakers looked too tired after what's been a frantic last month of the season as they try to salvage what's left of this awful season.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 25 points but took 19 shots to get there. Twelve of his points came at the free-throw line.

It didn't help that the Lakers got virtually nothing from their starting backcourt of Steve Blake (eight points, two assists in 39 minutes) and Jodie Meeks (six points in 31 minutes.) while point guard Chris Paul led the Clippers with 24 points and 12 assists.

How it happened: The Lakers jumped out to an early lead, but the Clippers went on a run as soon as Dwight Howard came out of the game and wasn't around to protect the rim. The Lakers rallied to make it close at the end but just didn't have enough firepower to match the Clippers, who got another nice game from Sixth Man of the Year candidate Jamal Crawford (20 points) and ex-Laker Matt Barnes (12 points on 5-for-6 shooting).

What it means: Every game is critical for the Lakers the rest of the way as they try to nose out the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth. Because Utah holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Lakers must finish a game ahead of the Jazz to get in. All the storylines about the rivalry between the Lakers and Clippers were far less important Sunday than what's become a rather desperate playoff push for the NBA's highest payroll and most disappointing team.

Hits: Dwight Howard has the size and speed to dominate inside against the undersized Clippers. Pau Gasol has the skill and savvy to be effective against them as well. The Lakers' big men combined to score 37 points and grab 17 rebounds Sunday. You'd like to see more than four rebounds from Howard, but on this disappointing day, his 25-point performance passes for a positive.

Misses: Kobe Bryant came into the game having missed his past 16 3-point attempts, which makes sense considering the heavy minutes he's been logging and the effect that has had on his legs. Though he finally made a 3-pointer, he had an off shooting night overall (6 for 19). To his credit, though, he switched into facilitator mode when his shot wasn't falling and finished with 10 assists.

Stat of the game: The Lakers made just seven of their 24 3-pointers Sunday. Seven. It was ugly.

Up next: The Lakers have a day to recover from this one before their final back-to-back of the season -- at home against New Orleans on Tuesday and on the road in Portland on Wednesday. The Lakers have yet to sweep a back-to-back this season.

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.

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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NEW ORLEANS -- Crisis averted.

This one was a wrap. Until it wasn't.

Win of the season?

Sum up the Los Angeles Lakers' 108-102 come-from-behind victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday any way you want, but know that it was as important a game as the team has played all season.

You can say a lot against these Lakers, but they have certainly figured out some mental toughness, if nothing else.

Who was the hero in this one? Kobe Bryant with 42 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds? Dwight Howard with four blocks, including one to save the game? Jodie Meeks with 19 points off the bench?

Singling out one wouldn't give proper due to Metta World Peace sticking those second-half 3-pointers when the team was stagnant or Pau Gasol in street clothes keeping Howard mentally in the game during timeouts or Steve Nash's mere presence opening up space on the floor for Bryant to operate.

What a win.

Here's a look at what L.A. did to get back to 31-31 …

How it happened: The Lakers shot just 38.5 from the field for the game and 33.3 percent on 3-pointers (4-for-12) in the first half as the Hornets hit at a 56.8 percent clip overall en route to leading by as many as 25. L.A. trailed by 18 heading into the fourth before mounting a furious comeback. Bryant put them ahead with a pull-up jumper with 32.6 seconds left, and Howard followed that up with a block on 7-footer Robin Lopez on the other end before L.A. cushioned its lead at the end.

What it means: It could have been more of the same one step forward, two steps back basketball the Lakers have toyed with all season long. After that ever-so-brief sigh of relief L.A. had after beating the Atlanta Hawks at home in thrilling fashion, the Lakers came precariously close to going back to 30-32. But they somehow figured it out and got some help from Utah, which lost 104-101 to Cleveland, and Houston, which lost 112-108 in Dallas to boot. And so, the Laker playoff push continues.

Hits: After being limited to just seven points and three rebounds in the first half while playing only 11 minutes because of foul trouble, Howard was a beast in the second. He finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and the aforementioned four blocks.

Bryant had the first 42-plus point, 12-plus assist effort the NBA has seen in three seasons since LeBron James did it.

Misses: Exhibit A of why the Lakers should have been aware of what could be coming Wednesday night:

The last time the Lakers played the Hornets at home back in late January, L.A. saw its 18-point fourth-quarter lead cut all the way to one before holding on to win by five.

If that wasn't enough of a wake-up call, how about Exhibit B: The last time the Lakers played a true bottom-feeder on the road in the Charlotte Bobcats -- who had the worst record in the East just like the Hornets have the second-worst record in the West -- they trailed by as many as 20 before rallying to win.

When will they learn? Or maybe, more appropriately, will they ever learn?

Stat of the game: The Lakers outscored the Hornets 33-9 in the fourth quarter.

What's next: The Lakers host the Toronto Raptors (who followed up six wins out of seven games around the All-Star break by losing five straight) on Friday and then get the Chicago Bulls at home in a Sunday matinee.

LOS ANGELES -- There's no sugarcoating that Steve Blake's time with the Los Angeles Lakers has been mostly a disappointment so far.

Blake signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Lakers in the summer of 2010 and has yet to live up to the expectations as a player that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said the team coveted since Blake's pre-draft workout with the team in 2003.

But it hasn't been all Blake's fault.

First there were schematics that worked against him. Both Phil Jackson's triangle offense and Mike Brown's post-up sets did not allow Blake to play his natural flow-based, read-and-react game. Mike D'Antoni's style finally seems to be a fit.

Blake's body has also been to blame.

Blake has been through enough bizarre injuries in his three years with the team to fill a season's worth of scripts for "House, M.D." He had a case of the chicken pox in 2010-11, then dealt with a costrochaondral fracture (a fracture of the cartilage connecting the rib to the sternum) last season. This season he had his training camp derailed when he stepped on a spike strip in a beach parking lot and punctured his foot, and then went on to miss 37 games because of a groin/abdomen injury that required surgery.

However, now the backup point guard is both healthy and confident, and it's showing on the court.

The Lakers' bench scored 52 points in their 116-94 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. Even though Antawn Jamison was the Lakers' leading scorer as a reserve against the Wolves with 17 points, he credited Blake (13 points, seven rebounds, six assists) as the key reason L.A.'s second unit was anything but second rate.

"That's nice of him," Blake said about Jamison, in his typically understated style.

Blake is averaging 5.3 points and 3.4 assists this season for L.A. -- both his highest marks since joining the team -- and he was even better in February, averaging 5.8 points in 19.0 minutes per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from 3-point range.

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DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki's facial hair says the same thing Kobe Bryant said aloud earlier this week: The Lakers and Dallas Mavericks are desperate to make the playoffs.

"We're both fighting for our lives," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said before Sunday's game at the American Airlines Center.

Both superstars played like it Sunday, going at each other in a wonderfully feisty duel that the Lakers pulled out, 103-99.

After scoring 40 in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, Bryant flirted with a triple-double Sunday, finishing with 38 points on 13-for-21 shooting, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting and 13 rebounds, but Dallas just didn't get enough from its supporting cast. Dallas' four other starters had just 21 points.

Steve Nash had a season-high 20 points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 1:44 to go that gave the Lakers a 99-95 lead.

How it happened: Bryant put the Lakers on his back once again, scoring 38 points after dropping 40 on the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

The Lakers continued a recent run of solid production from their bench as Antawn Jamison (13), Jodie Meeks (11) and Steve Blake (five points) gave them a nice lift and made up for an awful game by Metta World Peace, who was held scoreless until the final minute of the game and finished with just one point on 0-for-6 shooting.

Dallas' backcourt continued to let it down as Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo combined for only 15 points and shot just 5-for-20 from the field.

What it means: The Lakers and Mavericks have won three of the past four NBA titles, but if the playoffs started today, both would miss the playoffs for the first time since the 1993-94 season. Unacceptable for two proud franchises. With Houston off today, both teams had a chance to gain some ground.

The Lakers' win put them two and a half games behind the Rockets. Dallas is now four and a half games back.

Hits: Nash bounced back from his awful 2-for-11 shooting performance Friday night with 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Nash tweaked his lower back early in Friday's loss and wasn't effective running the pick and roll, or fluid with his shot. It's nothing Nash hasn't dealt with before, though, and he was clearly recovered by Sunday's game.

Misses: Dwight Howard got into early foul trouble and never really got going offensively in this game. After averaging 21.5 points and 14 rebounds in his past two games, Howard finished with just nine points and 13 rebounds against the Mavs.

Stat of the night: Bryant picked up his league-leading 13th technical in the first half. Three more and he'll be suspended for a game. He always pushes that envelope and stops just short. We'll see if he's as disciplined this season.

What's next: The Lakers will fly into the teeth of a snowstorm that's hitting Denver on Sunday night. It won't be much easier when they get to the Pepsi Center on Monday night, where the Nuggets' 23-3 home record is tied with the Miami Heat for the best in the NBA.

MIAMI -- If Sunday's Los Angeles Lakers-Miami Heat matchup had any less meaning because of Los Angeles' sub-.500 record, nobody informed the teams that was the case.

Even though Miami came into the game winners of four in a row and owners of the best record in the Eastern Conference at 33-14, that didn't mean coach Erik Spoelstra was about to overlook the 24-27 Lakers.

"What you notice is that they have won seven out of their last nine despite everything that is circling around their team," Spoelstra said before the game. "They have found a way."

Spoelstra called it a way, Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni called it a route.

"I think they’ll be back up," D'Antoni said of Kobe Bryant's assist totals that had dwindled to just 9 total against Boston, Brooklyn and Detroit before dropping 8 dimes on the Bobcats. "I think he’s trying to get a feel, but obviously the right route is keep passing and trying to find open guys."

Bryant was back on the distribution wagon against Miami, doling out nine assists and putting his stamp on the game with 28 points and 6 rebounds, but as well as Bryant played, Miami had LeBron James on the other side of the ball.

James, who came into the game shooting 43-for-59 in his past four games (72.9 percent), was just as hot against L.A. After starting the game 4-for-4 for 12 points in the first half but having his playing time limited by three fouls, the three-time MVP exploded for 14 of his 32 points in the third quarter. He ended up shooting 12-for-18 from the floor.

"He’s unbelievable," D'Antoni, who coached James in each of the past two Olympics, said of the Heat forward. "His work ethic, his energy -- when everybody is down in practice, he’s the guy that gets it going, his love of the game. Besides winning the lottery gene pool that he won, besides all that, he takes it to a different level that I don’t know if anybody can go there to be honest with you. He’s unbelievable and he studies the game, there’s just a lot of great things that he does."

Not so great if you're a Laker fan.

Sunday wasn't exactly a classic James-versus-Bryant battle. They were rarely matched up with one another and as brilliant as Bryant has been in his 17th season, he's no match for James steamrolling his way through the league in his 10th.

The bigger takeaway was that Bryant's teammates didn't have nearly the same impact as James' running mate Dwyane Wade (30 points on 12-for-18 shooting), who dominated right there with James.

L.A. got 15 points and 9 rebounds from Dwight Howard, but he also had 3 turnovers and 0 blocks. Steve Nash had 15 points but just 2 assists against 3 turnovers.

How it happened:The Lakers led by one point after the first quarter and the game was tied up 53-53 at halftime as the Heat were able to erase an early 7-point deficit. James started to take over in the third, but L.A. kept plugging away and made it close thanks to a couple of early fourth quarter 3's by Earl Clark (18 points, 9 rebounds) and Jodie Meeks (six points on 2-for-3 shooting). But after just 7 team turnovers through the first three quarters, the Lakers coughed it up an additional 8 times in the fourth quarter alone, and Miami made them pay in transition to turn the close affair into a blowout.

What it means: L.A. went 4-3 on its all-important Grammy trip. Not the end of the world, but at 24-28, they didn't do themselves any favors, especially with Pau Gasol out for the next 6-8 weeks. Blowing that sure win in Phoenix hurts even more now after they squandered the game in Miami.

Hits: The Lakers had four players with 15 points or more and shot 50 percent as a team (35-for-70).

Misses: The Heat outscored the Lakers 19-4 in fast-break points.

Miami outrebounded L.A. 38-29.

Stat of the night: Metta World Peace shot 3-for-11 from the field, extending his shooting slump to 13 straight games shooting less than 50 percent from the field. World Peace has been particularly bad as of late, going 22-for-82 in his past seven games.

What's next: The Lakers return home for two games against the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers before the All-Star break.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Mike D'Antoni still wasn't over the Lakers' blowout loss to Boston before their game against the Bobcats Friday.

"It just didn’t seem like there was a commitment there of, no matter what, we got to win this game," D'Antoni said, thinking back at the way the Lakers trailed by as many as 32 points in an embarrassing loss to the Celtics. "We’ve been doing that -- play good, play bad, it doesn’t really matter if you play with your head and heart and everybody for everybody. It didn’t seem like it was there [Thursday] night, so hopefully something’s changed in 24 hours and we can get it."

For the first 2½ quarters against the Bobcats, nothing seemed to change.

The Lakers were lackadaisical on defense. They turned the ball over on offense. Their flow and cohesion were pretty much nonexistent.

But they kept at it in Charlotte, which they didn't do in Boston, and cut a 20-point deficit down to nine heading into the fourth quarter.

By the end of the game, they had a seven-point lead and one of their most balanced box scores of the season, with six Lakers players scoring in double digits and the shots evenly distributed throughout the lineup.

How it happened: L.A. completed a remarkable turnaround thanks to sharing the ball and clamping down on defense, holding Charlotte to 15 points in the fourth.

What it means: Don't put a fork in them just yet. If they can bottle the chemistry they showed in the fourth quarter, they will still make some noise in the race for the Western Conference playoffs.

Hits: Jodie Meeks scored 14 points off the bench on 5-for-7 shooting, including 4-for-4 from 3.

Antawn Jamison scored nine off the bench, including five in the fourth quarter, playing where he makes his offseason home in North Carolina.

Misses: Steve Blake was 0-for-5 from the field.

The Bobcats outscored the Lakers 24-11 in fast-break points.

Stat of the night: Kobe Bryant was scoreless in the first half for the first time since March 31, 2012, going just 0-for-2 from the field. The second half was a completely different story as he went 6-for-13 from the field and scored all 20 of his team-high total after intermission and received "MVP" chants in a road arena for the second time in three games.

What's next: The Lakers finish off their seven-game "Grammy" road trip Sunday in Miami, with a chance to go 5-2 on the jaunt. Considering all that has happened from Pau Gasol's foot, to Dwight Howard's shoulder, to the blown lead in Phoenix and the blowout in Boston, a win over the Heat would be a pretty spectacular finish to the trip.

BOSTON -- A couple of Lakers players' nicknames seriously need to be called into question after this one.

So much for the "Magic Mamba" moniker the pass-happy Kobe Bryant has picked up in recent weeks.

Bryant, who had amassed 75 assists in his last seven games to pick up the nickname, finished with zero assists to go with his 27 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes on Thursday.

And so long to the "Superman" pseudonym by which Dwight Howard has been known for so long.

Howard, who played for the first time in four games after aggravating the torn labrum in his right shoulder at the start of the Lakers' seven-game trip, had just nine points and nine rebounds while shooting 1-for-6 from the free throw line in 28 minutes before fouling out Thursday night. Those numbers were nearly equaled by Boston backup big Chris Wilcox (eight points, nine rebounds), and nobody is calling him Superman. In fact, when I tweeted that Wilcox was playing in the game, several people hit me up on Twitter surprised that he was even still in the league.

The loss can't be put on just Kobe Bryant and Howard, of course. The Lakers' defense gave up a ridiculous 116 points to a Celtics team that had just played the night before on the road in Toronto. The Lakers missed 12 free throws as a team. Other than Bryant and Howard, the Lakers shot just 23-for-64 (35.9 percent) from the floor.

How it happened: Howard's return didn't give the team the type of boost right from the start that it was hoping for in Pau Gasol's absence. The Lakers trailed by four at the end of the first quarter and 14 at the half, as both their offense (just 37.8 percent shooting as a team overall, not to mention going 2-for-12 from 3 and 8-for-18 from the free throw line) and their defense (allowing Boston to shoot 51.1 percent as a team) struggled mightily in the first half. It didn't get any better after halftime.

The Celtics used a flurry of fast-break points and 3-pointers to break the game wide open and take a 26-point lead into the fourth. Boston shot 16-for-21 (76.2 percent) in the third quarter and scored 37 points in the period to run away with it.

What it means: All the good feeling from the Lakers' winning six out of seven games is gone, and reality is creeping in for a 23-27 Lakers team that will be without Gasol for a minimum of six to eight weeks, according to the team. The hard work is still ahead of the Lakers if they're going to pull off this improbable playoff push.

Hits: Bryant shot 9-for-15 from the field. After that? Umm …

Misses: The Celtics outscored the Lakers 58-36 in the paint.

The Celtics outscored the Lakers 22-4 in fast-break points.

The Lakers' biggest lead was one point. The Celtics' biggest lead was 32.

Devin Ebanks ended his string of 13 straight DNP-CDs only to go 2-for-6 from the field in five minutes in the fourth.

Stat of the night: Kevin Garnett (15 points) became just the 16th player in NBA history to score 25,000 career points, passing the milestone in the first half.

What's next: The Lakers will escape the major snowstorm set to blanket Boston with up to 2 feet of snow Friday afternoon by flying to Charlotte late Thursday night. (We'll see whether we beat writers are as lucky with getting out of Beantown on Friday morning.) The Lakers play the Bobcats in Charlotte on the second night of a back-to-back Friday, and while they've done OK this season on the second night of back-to-backs on the road (3-2), they are just 2-5 all time on the road against the Bobcats. Then, they finish up their road trip Sunday in Miami.