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For the second time in the series, the Lakers had a game in their hands, and for the second time, they let it get away. In the process, they allowed any realistic chance of advancing to get away, too.

This will be one the locals talk about for a while. Final score: Oklahoma City 103, Lakers 100. The Thunder lead 3-1, with Game 5 coming Monday in OKC.

Here are five takeaways:

1. Kobe Bryant continued attacking.

He came out of the gate hot Saturday, hitting three of his first five shots and earning four trips to the line in the first quarter en route to 10 points. At the half, Bryant had 16 points along with three assists. Certainly nothing to scoff at, but relative to what he did in the third quarter, it felt like a trifle. Bryant attacked relentlessly out of the break, pounding on Thabo Sefolosha in the high post, bullying him to favored spots on the floor before rising for baby jumpers. When he wasn't putting bruises on Sefolosha's upper body, Bryant went at the rim, earning seven free throws. He capped a brilliant 12 minutes with a 22-footer at the end of the quarter so tight against the buzzer, it made 0.4 look like an eternity in comparison.

Combined with the 18 free throw attempts he took in Game 3, Bryant now has taken 35 in the past two games after getting only nine attempts total in Games 1 and 2. This happens only if he's in full attack mode, sending all his energy forward, as opposed to settling for the outside game. When it happens, the results can be staggering.

2. Unfortunately, it came at a price.

While Kobe was red hot in the third quarter, he cooled off considerably in the fourth and, perhaps emboldened by the tear he had just finished, started forcing shots. He missed six of his first seven, and the one make was a brutally tough, don't-try-this-at-home baseline jumper on James Harden. In the process -- I'm talking about both the third and fourth quarters -- the post game with Andrew Bynum that served the Lakers so well in the first half was basically abandoned. Bynum had 11 shots and 14 points in the first half, and only four attempts in the second.

Not to say Bryant was the cause of Saturday's loss, but as brilliant as he was in the third, he shot the Lakers out of the fourth. The Lakers' offense, as productive as it has been through the first four games of the series, scoring 29, 27 and 24 points in the first three quarters, died down the stretch. Only 18 points, in part because Bryant made only two of his 10 shots (the second being a totally meaningless jumper at the buzzer).

There was no balance and very little ball movement. Blame his teammates for not capitalizing on opportunities or being aggressive enough -- Pau Gasol, for example, passed up an open shot off a pick-and-roll with Kobe, compounding the error by turning the ball over while trying to kick out to Metta World Peace on the perimeter. Kevin Durant jumped the pass and hit a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, tying the score at 98 with 33 seconds remaining. It was a horrible, horrible play from any player, let alone one of Gasol's caliber. Throw some blame at the coaching staff as well for not figuring out ways to penetrate an Oklahoma City defense once again fronting Bynum and working hard to deny post entries.

But in the end, it's telling that nine of the team's 18 fourth-quarter points came in the first three minutes with Kobe on the bench, two more just after his return, when Jordan Hill put back a Bryant miss, then one more on a technical free throw.

He finished with 38 points on 28 shots (he made 12), but combined with the free throws it shows how ball dominant Kobe was Saturday night. It had an impact on the offensive flow, for sure, even when things were going well. How much, we'll probably never know with certainty. But what was shaping up to be a spectacular game went south. Bryant is going to take plenty of flak for Saturday's result, and with cause.

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The Lakers knew their season was on the line Friday night in Game 3 at Staples Center against Oklahoma City, and put in an effort matching the gravity of the situation. After racing to an early 16-4 lead, they found themselves down by as much as seven with three minutes remaining in the third, but clawed their way back into the game, and at gut-check time in the fourth made enough good plays to win.

It wasn't easy, but did anyone expect anything different?

The Lakers now trail 2-1, with Game 4 coming Saturday night. Here are six takeaways...

1. Kobe Bryant played large.

At this point, it's fair to say he's not going to shoot a great percentage against the Thunder, who have defended him well in three regular-season games and now three more in the playoffs. But while Kobe's numbers from the floor weren't overwhelming (9-of-25) he made up for it by attacking. His best moments offensively came with forward motion, whether off high screens or plays away from the ball. He spent plenty of time in the paint, as well, including a critical driving layup with 1:31 remaining. The aggression helped facilitate 18 trips to the line -- all converted -- nine more than he had made in Games 1 and 2 combined. Six came in the final 1:08, including the pair ultimately icing things for the Lakers. Bryant finished with 36 hard-earned points, seven rebounds, and handed out six assists, as well.

His line reflects an overall theme for the Lakers. A couple warts, but great play as well, defined as much by the effort and intensity as the numbers themselves.

2. Turnovers (nearly) killed the Lakers.

Fifteen, leading to 22 points for Oklahoma City. The Lakers were simply too sloppy with the ball, killing possessions in a variety of ways. Pau Gasol was a major culprit with four, most coming on passes where he tried to be too fine, forcing high-risk passes into short spaces. The miscues were poorly timed, as well. Critical fourth-quarter mistakes from Steve Blake, Bryant, and Matt Barnes were nearly the team's undoing. Moreover, it was four early turnovers in the third helping OKC out to a lead the Lakers spent a great deal of energy eating up.

In the end, L.A. escaped, but if they continue playing with fire, the series won't last much longer.

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This. Is. A. Killer.

If I were to tell Mike Brown -- or Vegas for that matter -- before Game 2 the Thunder would have 76 points with .3 seconds remaining on the clock, both would have happily made the Lakers a giant favorite. Instead, the Lakers head back to Los Angeles down 0-2, after giving away a seven-point lead with two minutes to play. By now, most Lakers fans know the math when it comes to this scenario. It isn't good. The Lakers showed they can hang with OKC, get physical with them, and disrupt their juggernaut of an offense. They forced turnovers, they established Andrew Bynum inside, they kept a lid on Russell Westbrook.

And they still lost. In a playoff series, the lesser team -- and make no mistake, the Lakers are just that -- can't afford to give away games they ought to win.

Here are five takeaways ...

1. Kobe Bryant struggled with his shot all night, then struggled with everything down the stretch.

Shooting has been a chore for Kobe against the Thunder all season long, and it was again tonight. He kept the pressure on Oklahoma City, drawing doubles and recording all three of L.A.'s first half assists. He got his hands on balls defensively, and generally made himself useful. Enough to set the low percentage aside. But in the fourth quarter, he was inefficient and mistake prone, and the results were painful for the Lakers. He missed his last five shots in the final period, too many of them forced, and committed a crucial turnover with 1:45 left, springing Kevin Durant for a dunk.

Then, in a critical sequence with under 20 seconds left, Kobe allowed a ton of time to tick off the clock, with almost 13 second passing between him getting the ball and absorbing a foul-to-give from Thabo Sefolosha on the wing. That left L.A. with little time to do anything but run one more play. No chance to extend the game with fouls, or anything, making it the worst of all possible outcomes. Kobe didn't get a shot up early, or force OKC to take the foul faster.

The finish was an ugly one for Bryant, no question.

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It's only Game 1. There is a lot of basketball left to play.

That is not meant as a threat.

The Oklahoma City Thunder entered their Western Conference semifinal against the Los Angeles Lakers as overwhelming favorites, and Monday at Chesapeake Energy Center, absolutely nothing happened that might alter the conventional wisdom. After a quick start for the Lakers, the Thunder dominated (I'm avoiding any Thunder/roll combos at this point) in every facet of the game save turnovers committed and "absorbing monumental tail kickings," not exactly the most aspirational categories in a box score.

Here are six takeaways ...

1. The Lakers looked like a team without time to fully prepare

The Lakers are not as good as Oklahoma City and therefore needed every available edge in order to compete effectively. They needed to be on the same page in every aspect of the game. This opportunity went out the door when the Lakers botched Game 5 against Denver last week. Now, having played every other day since, with flights in between, not only did the Lakers tax their legs, they short-circuited prep time. Both were in play on Monday night as the Lakers lost big on the execution end of things.

Defensively, the Lakers were inconsistent in their pick-and-roll coverages. Sometimes they pressured the ball, other times they didn't. They tried to back off shooters including Kevin Durant (25/8/4), who had too many midrange J's without a hand in the face. Russell Westbrook (27/9) also was conceded a ton of elbow J's off the high screen, a reasonable strategy until he starts canning them and establishes a rhythm. Then something had to change, but it didn't. The big men, generally speaking, tried to contest, helpers generally tried to help. Unfortunately, the Lakers were so scattered and disorganized and OKC was so hot, it didn't really matter. No wonder Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol were on the bench well after the game, still talking through coverages.

That the Lakers were actually working hard (though not at all efficiently) on their end probably isn't all that comforting. At least against Denver they could play the "if we try" card after Games 5 and 6. Other discouraging signs: The Lakers used Kobe on Westbrook a ton on Monday, and it didn't work.

Offensively, the Lakers weren't any better. The ball movement wasn't good, and they didn't generate a ton away from the ball, either. At times, the Lakers effectively used Bynum on the block, helping him to 20 points on 7-of-12 from the floor. He and Gasol were both aggressive on the offensive glass. But as the game went along and the deficit grew, the Lakers naturally started gravitating away from the post. That's not something that will serve them well going forward.

More than anything, though, the Lakers didn't seem like they had a cogent plan to score in Game 1. Credit some solid defense from the Thunder, who locked down the Lakers in their three regular-season meetings, and tentative play from the Lakers. One big factor there.

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That was a fantastic game, exactly what you hope a Game 7 will be. Two teams laying everything they had on the Staples Center floor, and in the end it was the home team pulling it out. With the win, L.A. advances to face Oklahoma City, starting Monday in OKC.

Here are six takeaways ...

1. The bigs were huge.

Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol both came into Game 7 needing redemptive performances, though not necessarily for the same reasons. Bynum was widely criticized for his comments before Game 5 about the "kinda easy"-ness of closeout games, which he answered with a completely lackluster performance. In Game 6, he put up better numbers (16 rebounds, four blocks) but was frequently beat in transition, slow to contest and late to help defensively. Gasol, meanwhile, was pretty ordinary himself in Game 5, and followed with arguably the worst game of his professional career Thursday night.

Both had a ton on the line tonight, and both were outstanding.

The energy on both ends of the floor was light years ahead of the previous two games. Both Bynum and Gasol were aggressive contesting shots, and came out to give support to the pick-and-roll. Gasol, particularly, was animated, showing more emotion during dead-ball situations than I've ever seen from him. He backed up the fire with production, as well. A team-high 23 points, plus 17 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks. Bynum's line -- 16-for-18 with 6 blocks -- isn't a massive leap from what he put up in Game 6, but the overall quality of play was substantially better. He was a huge reason the Nuggets shot worse than 40 percent.

These are the bigs the Lakers will need going forward, fully invested in every play.

2. The Lakers displayed genuine pride and poise.

You'd expect no less in a Game 7, but tonight the Lakers brought serious intensity from start to finish. After Denver made its third-quarter push, the Lakers not only locked down defensively, but contested every rebound and hit the floor for every loose ball. Bynum was on the deck. Gasol was on the deck. World Peace threw himself into the courtside spectators. Down the stretch, they were the team making every significant play, keeping balls alive and establishing good position. In that "uh-oh" moment after Denver took a 73-69 lead with 10:44 to play, L.A. regrouped and shut the door, holding the Nuggets to seven points over the next 10 minutes to again take control.

Fundamentally, every fan wants a team he or she can feel good about, willing to clock in and play with superior effort. At points throughout the season, the Lakers did exactly that, but in Games 5 and 6 didn't deliver. Tonight, they did. Fans will happily take the reminder these Lakers have it in them. Big picture, it's reasonable to worry about a series that took too long to close out, or their ability to beat the Thunder going forward.

Small picture, take as long as available to savor what was a phenomenal effort in an epic 48 minutes.

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As the old saying goes, "It's tough to play 41 average-to-bad minutes and seven good ones and still expect to win a playoff game in the NBA."

It's not a saying that necessarily gets used a lot, but seems totally applicable for Tuesday's Game 5, in which the Los Angeles Lakers slept through almost all of the first half, stirred occasionally in the third quarter, then finally woke up late in the fourth, staging a furious rally only to fall short. The comeback, along with Kobe Bryant's 43 points, might overshadow the awful effort coming before it, but it shouldn't.

Credit the Nuggets for playing like their season was on the line. It was, after all. But the Lakers clearly didn't match the intensity There will be a Game 6 in Denver on Thursday night.

Here are five takeaways ...

1. The Lakers came out flat, and didn't find energy or direction until late.

Maybe, as Andrew Bynum said Monday afternoon, closeout games really are "kinda easy." But they're not that easy. The Lakers were very sloppy, and short on energy out of the gate. Kenneth Faried took advantage, repeatedly beating L.A. up the court in transition, one time off a missed free throw, something very high up on the list of basketball sins. He had eight points on four shots, almost entirely thanks to outhustling the Lakers. This would be a theme. In the half court, the Lakers were weak defending the rim. Offensively, they settled for and then missed too many jumpers, showing very little patience working the ball inside out. Bryant was aggressive working his way into the paint, but did a lot of dribbling and probing in the process, periodically limiting ball movement. He missed seven of his 10 shots in the quarter, one in which the Lakers shot only 34.6 percent.

Things tightened up in the second quarter defensively, but the offense couldn't find a groove. Denver flooded the post with bodies, and aggressively worked to deny entry passes. In response, the Lakers generally stood still and offered little snap with ball and body movement. Not much weakside cutting or off-ball action. There were exceptions -- Matt Barnes, for example, made some great cuts to the rack, and as team the Lakers hit the offensive glass hard -- but overall the product was underwhelming. Sitting on 35 points with three minutes left in the first half (in which they shot a robust 33 percent) the Lakers were fortunate not to find themselves in a hole too deep to climb out of.

Not that it mattered. In the second half, the effort and energy improved somewhat -- short of rolling futons to center court and watching a screening of "My Dinner With Andre," it was impossible for it not to -- and over the final few minutes it was outstanding, but by then it was too late. The Nuggets had just enough to get out of Staples with a win.

2. The inability to hit an outside shot is hurting the Lakers in a big way.

The Lakers aren't a good 3-point shooting team. This we knew coming into the postseason.

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You didn't think the Lakers would sweep, did you?

Friday night in Game 3, the Denver Nuggets threw that possibility out the window, jumping all over the Lakers early in front of their home crowd. They built a big lead, managed to hold it as the Lakers fought back, then extended it at the end. Game 3 goes to the home team, and the series now stands 2-1 Lakers.

Here are three takeaways ...

1. Rebounding dictated results.

In the first half, the Nuggets managed only nine fast-break points. Compared to Game 2, a totally tolerable figure. What killed the Lakers early were second-chance opportunities for Denver, which built its 30-14 lead after the opening quarter in part because six offensive rebounds gave it 26 field-goal attempts to L.A.'s 19. Offensive rebounds lead to defensive confusion, which leads to easier looks, helping explain Denver's 50 percent mark over the first 12 minutes. The Lakers, meanwhile, were cold out of the gate, missing 12 of their first 19 shots and failing to get an offensive rebound on any of them. Heading into the second quarter, Denver had a whopping 17-6 advantage on the glass. The Lakers improved somewhat in the second, but Denver still went into halftime with a plus-13 in rebounding margin.

Turnabout being fair play, the Lakers made their third-quarter comeback in part because they suddenly started beating up the Nuggets on the offensive glass. Seven in the third quarter, helping them to an 18-9 rebounding advantage in the frame. Lo and behold, the Lakers got themselves to within four points with about a minute remaining. When Denver stopped the bleeding, it was offensive rebounding helping them do it, as McGee converted a third-chance opportunity, putting the Nuggets up by nine a minute into the fourth.

Over the course of the game, the Lakers evened things out from a rebounding standpoint, outdoing Denver on the boards (statistically, at least) after the first quarter. Except the damage was done. Yes, the Lakers managed to claw their way back into the game and were spectacular in the third, but had to expend a tremendous amount of energy in the process. In the fourth, they stuck around but couldn't get over the hump, and Denver pulled away over the last three minutes.

On the glass or in any other category, no team can dig that deep a hole and expect to get out with a win.

2. Third-quarter Andrew Bynum was a dominant Andrew Bynum.

Watching the game with my father-in-law, he turned to me at halftime and said, "Wow, you really didn't know Bynum was there." A high compliment for a spy or an official, but not for the starting center for the Western Conference in this year's All-Star Game. No points on only three attempts, and some fairly passive work defensively. When paired together on the floor, Bynum was thoroughly outplayed by JaVale McGee.

Out of the break, however, Bynum ramped up his energy substantially.

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I'm not sure if it's possible to draw up a better blueprint for a win than the one executed by the Lakers Sunday afternoon at Staples Center in Game 1 of their first round matchup against the Denver Nuggets. They controlled the pace of play throughout, took the wind out of Denver's transition game and benefited from a balanced attack offensively, and now lead the series 1-0 after a 103-88 stomp job on the visitors.

Nobody knows how long this season's playoff run will last, but for one day at least, the Lakers looked like a team ready to make some noise.

Here are four takeaways ...

1. Andrew Bynum dominated the game.

His first field goal came with 4:24 remaining in the first half, a tip on a Kobe miss. He followed it with a dunk off a nice feed from Pau Gasol. He'd finish the first half with six points, his third bucket again coming on a dunk after a feed from Pau. But the modest production offensively tells little about the incredible impact Bynum had not just on the opening 24 minutes, but the game as a whole. He was absolutely dominant in the paint, nearly obliterating Denver's efforts to get to the rack in the half court. Bynum recorded three blocks in the first quarter, and in the second showed great mobility on the perimeter matched with Ty Lawson, sticking with him as Lawson drove left and sending the shot attempt into Denver's bench.

Bynum was a factor even when he wasn't blocking shots. Al Harrington air balled a second quarter jump hook around Gasol in part because he knew Bynum was there to contest, just one of the litany of Denver shots he altered in the paint.

In the third, Bynum continued the block party, swatting Kenneth Faried on Denver's first trip and adding three more to reach eight, establishing a career playoff high. He was quick in his help, recovered well, and did what he could to close on perimeter shooters. Most encouraging about Bynum's work is that it came while he was a relative non-factor offensively. George Karl continued his practice of aggressively double-teaming Bynum on the catch, forcing him to give up the ball. He did, leading to a ton of open looks for the Lakers and helping fuel a very effective attack from beyond the arc (50 percent through three quarters). He's spoken a lot this year about focusing on defense and rebounding even when he's not getting touches at the other end, and Sunday did just that.

He finished with 10 points, 13 boards and 10 blocks -- that's a triple-double to you and me, and the swats set a franchise record along with tying an NBA postseason record -- in arguably his most impactful game this season (and he's had a lot of them). We've talked a lot over the past few weeks about what the Lakers look like when Bynum is fully engaged.

This is it. The Lakers held one of the league's most explosive offenses to 35.6 percent from the floor. Denver isn't a great perimeter team. The Nuggets rely on attacking the rim, and with Bynum serving as catalyst the Lakers basically made it impossible.

2. The Lakers got their wild cards.

Before the game Karl talked about limiting damage from L.A.'s non-stars. To use his term, he didn't want to create any "wild cards." In that regard, the Nuggets were a total failure.

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It's difficult to decipher from one game what a team might do in the postseason, or how good it might be against different competition. What is a little easier to see, though, is the moments when a team has to decide its character. The Lakers, faced with just that Sunday against Oklahoma City, proved they would fight.

With a massive fourth-quarter comeback and gritty work in two overtimes, the Lakers scored their most impressive victory of the season in arguably their most satisfying win since Game 7 against Boston in the '10 Finals, beating the visiting Thunder 114-106.

Here are four takeaways:

1. The Lakers don't quit on games.

Even as they were being dusted by San Antonio on Tuesday night, the Lakers never really packed it in. That night, it didn't help.

Sunday provided a different story. Down 18, the Lakers absolutely shut the door on the Thunder during a tremendous fourth quarter in which the defensive intensity was cranked to a level rarely seen in the past few weeks. Kobe Bryant's work on Russell Westbrook was critical (see below). Devin Ebanks was asked to guard Kevin Durant thanks to the ejection of Metta World Peace and an injury to Matt Barnes, and did excellent work. Jordan Hill and Pau Gasol played OKC's pick-and-roll aggressively. Overall, the Thunder were 4-of-19 from the field, just a tick over 21 percent. They missed James Harden for sure, but credit the Lakers for not quitting on a game that looked like it was over. (I sure thought it was.)

The Lakers needed every bit of that dominance to push the game to extra frames, where the defense was equally strong. They got their hands on the ball and contested shots, stuck on OKC's stars and earned critical stops with the game on the line.

2. The bench was huge.

Hill, who had played about six seconds of meaningful basketball since joining the Lakers, was a force. Not necessarily because he knew exactly what to do on each play (pretty clear he didn't), but with his energy. Mike Brown, who said after he had a gut feeling following Friday's loss to the Spurs he'd give Hill some burn Sunday, rewarded his little used forward with critical minutes, and why not? They're probably not close in the first half without Hill's six points and four boards, and certainly don't do what they did in the second half without his work on the glass and aggressive play against Oklahoma City's pick and roll game. In all, Hill finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks in 35 minutes played -- obviously all highs since coming to L.A.

Ebanks was critical for his work on Durant and a steal with 24.5 seconds left in the second OT (a play created in part by a good rotation from Hill on Westbrook), helping seal the win for L.A. No surprise he got a kiss on the forehead from Brown as the clock wound down.

Perhaps lost in Hill's performance, the Metta Incident (again, see below) and the comeback was Steve Blake, who also played huge minutes in relief of Ramon Sessions in the second half and hit two huge triples in the fourth, and another in OT.

All season, the Lakers have needed the bench to play well against elite competition, and on Sunday it happened.

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After a pair of blowouts -- one for each team -- the assumption was Friday's rubber match in San Antonio between the Lakers and Spurs would finally give an instructive glimpse into how these teams might fare against each other should they meet in the playoffs. If it did, the Lakers might want to wiggle their way toward Oklahoma City's side of the bracket, because for the second straight game, the Spurs laid a beating on the Lakers.

Unlike Tuesday, it wasn't a parade of turnovers that led to L.A.'s demise. Instead, it was a surgical dissection of the Lakers' defense, with Tony Parker holding the scalpel but sharing cutting duties with virtually all his teammates.

Here are three takeaways:

1. Playing defense against San Antonio is an exercise in team defense, and as a team, the Lakers were shredded.

Certainly things start with perimeter defense and working against the pick-and-roll. As they did Tuesday, the Lakers started the game laying off Parker as he came over screens, whether set by Tim Duncan or Tiago Splitter. Sometimes Ramon Sessions went over, sometimes under, but always Parker was able to turn the corner almost at will. The result was a lot of clean midrange looks, or if he probed deep enough toward the bucket, pick-and-pop opportunities for Duncan. As the game went along, the Lakers tried to get a little more aggressive on Parker, but they never stopped the ball or made him alter his path.

The Spurs are masters at running multiple P 'n' R actions on the same trip, and those moments when the Lakers managed to stifle the initial attempt generally created havoc with subsequent actions. In the decisive third quarter, there were multiple instances of L.A. playing about 18 seconds of really good team D, only to break down in the final seconds, whether creating a wide-open cut at the bucket for Boris Diaw or, in perhaps the most frustrating instance, ending up with Sessions guarding Duncan after a late switch (as on Tuesday, the Lakers often found themselves on the wrong end of those) and fouling the future HOFer on a shot clock-beating jumper.

Duncan's line-drive shot fell, as did just about everything San Antonio aimed at the rim, and it was a great microcosm of the evening. It put Sessions on the bench with his fourth foul and showed the total powerlessness of L.A. against the Spurs' offense.

On the night, San Antonio shot 61 percent from the field, after torching the Lakers on Tuesday at a similarly gaudy 60 percent clip. The first game could be chalked up to hot shooting and a little luck. Do it twice, and it's pretty clear San Antonio knows exactly how to attack the Lakers, and it's equally clear the Lakers as yet have absolutely no idea how to stop it.

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It was a close game for a while, and then it wasn't, and then it was over.

The Lakers lose 112-91 Tuesday to the Spurs, snapping a four game winning streak and tightening the race for the Pacific Division crown.

On tonight's LLN, we go over what went wrong (that awful second half of the second quarter, for starters), and the now tighter race for the Pacific Division. That, plus the lack of useful takeaways after two regular season tussles between the Lakers and Spurs, Benny Hill style head slapping, and the silliness of what surely will be headlines/discussions Wednesday indicating how Tuesday's loss proves the naysayers wrong, that the Lakers really do need Kobe Bryant.

Really, who were those naysayers, and how many of them are there? Like, four? Who really thinks the Lakers are better -- genuinely better -- without Kobe?

Be sure to check out postgame videos from Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum below the jump.

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So last week's blowout of San Antonio showed the Lakers would dominate the Spurs in a seven-game series, right? They've got too much size! Who guards Andrew Bynum?

Or not. Tuesday at Staples, the Spurs returned the favor, waxing the Lakers on their home floor in a game functionally over by halftime. The Lakers had no answers defensively, giving up a hefty 63 points to San Antonio over an opening 24 minutes in which San Antonio shot 63 percent. (This meant no repeat of the 30-rebound game for Bynum. Can't work the glass when the other team doesn't miss.) The lone quarter in which the Spurs were held under 25 was the fourth, likely only because Gregg Popovich dug fairly deep into his bench.

Moral of the story: San Antonio is good, and if these teams meet in the postseason will be a very, very tough out. Obviously things change for L.A. with Kobe Bryant in the lineup, but the Spurs are the real deal. I don't know which Lakers fans thought otherwise, but just in case, San Antonio certainly proved the point.

Here are three takeaways...

1. Do not turn the ball over.

This isn't exactly a new problem, to say the least. L.A. gave up the rock 23 times against Denver Friday and still managed to win. Tonight ... not so much. They were plenty sloppy in the first quarter, with six turnovers creating six points for San Antonio. Fortunately for the Lakers, San Antonio was equally generous, with five turnovers of their own. Both teams deserved more punishment than they got. In the second quarter, however, the Spurs tightened up the ship while the Lakers, whether in some misplaced homage to Southern hospitality or an effort to add just a few more charitable donations to their tax return, just kept giving things away, whether off the dribble or through poorly executed post entry passes.

With 5:25 to play in the half, the game was tied at 41.

From there:

5:00 - Ramon Sessions blocked inside.

4:44 - Turnover (Matt Barnes).

4:08 - Turnover (Steve Blake).

3:05 - Turnover (Blake).

2:37 - Turnover (Pau Gasol).

2:16 - Turnover (Gasol).

Friday night, Denver wasn't able to make them pay. To say San Antonio took advantage is a mild understatement. Tim Duncan's 20-footer at the 1:59 mark gave the Spurs a 16-point lead.

Sixteen points in three minutes. Ballgame.

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First things first: The Lakers are not "better" without Kobe Bryant. Go ahead and push that thought from your noggin', and please stop sending emails claiming otherwise.

Still, following Friday's 103-97 win over a solid Denver squad at Staples, L.A.'s third win in four tries with Bryant in monumentally well-tailored street clothes, they've shown a great deal of strength and are piling up the sort of positive results likely serving them well once the postseason rolls around. Guys like Metta World Peace and Matt Barnes were massive. Steve Blake's recent recovery continued, as well. This while L.A.'s bigs, put in positions of leadership, made plays.

Here are three takeaways...

1. Andrew Bynum was a force inside.

George Karl's strategy was clear from the outset: When Bynum touches the ball, send as much powder blue in his direction as possible. It's been the m.o. for opposing coaches in the other three games Kobe missed and in those was effective, as Bynum was held well below 50 percent from the field overall. Friday, Bynum broke through and to his credit did so without getting frustrated by all the extra attention. He patiently tried to work the ball, feeding out of the post when possible, whether to Troy Murphy for a corner jumper or the aforementioned 3-pointer. He finished with three assists, and a few missteps aside did decent work out of the double.

When keeping the ball, Bynum was aggressive, working his full arsenal of drop steps and solid footwork to split through doubles, and other times simply muscling his way through them. The interior strength helped explain 11 trips to the line. Overall, he finished with 30 points on 11-of-19 from the field, his best night offensively since Kobe went out with the shin injury.

Defensively, Bynum showed the same sort of commitment to controlling the paint as he did Wednesday in the win over San Antonio. The results weren't as uniformly spectacular, but that's neither his fault nor the point. He's the guy who can make the Lakers into an elite level defensive squad on a night in, night out basis. His activity inside makes it easier for Pau Gasol (or anyone else, really) to hedge hard on the perimeter in pick and roll coverage, and also tends to be contagious. Bynum's activity adds continuity and confidence to the group, and Friday the Lakers worked hard to close out on shooters and fight over screens.

This when not putting themselves in bad situations in transition. (Speaking of which...)

2. Turnovers were a major problem.

Everyone makes mistakes now and again, but after establishing a very strong offensive rhythm early, the Lakers began turning it over and paid a price. Between the 7:42 and 2:06 marks of the second quarter, the Lakers were credited with four turnovers. In related news, over that stretch Denver ate nine points off L.A.'s lead. 11, really, if you want to include two points the Lakers didn't get because of a basket interference call on Barnes. Coming out of the locker room, the Lakers weren't much better, coughing up the rock four times in the first four minutes of play. That's a lot of lost scoring opportunities, teamed with opportunities for Denver to get out on the run.

Not a good formula.

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It wasn't pretty, but for a while it looked like it would be a lot uglier. Playing their second straight game with Kobe Bryant in street clothes, the Lakers managed a come-from-behind win over the Hornets in New Orleans.

In the standings, it counts the same as a 25-point blowout, right?

Here are three takeaways ...

1. Without Bryant available, the Lakers struggled to generate shots.

Defensively, New Orleans had a simple strategy. When the ball goes to the post, double. If it goes to Andrew Bynum in the post, double, maybe triple. For much of the night, Drew did a pretty good job trying to pass out of traffic. There were moments where he read the play wrong and spun himself into traffic, contributing factors to three turnovers and another inefficient night from the floor (7-of-17). Overall, though, he moved the ball. Pau Gasol did his usual work as a facilitator. Still, without Bryant available, they had no shot creation on the wings. Ramon Sessions did some work coming off high screens, but in terms of putting the ball on the floor and creating on his own, didn't offer a ton.

Without much coming from the perimeter (save Gasol hitting jumpers in the first half), the Hornets had absolutely no incentive to lighten the pressure inside. Periodically, the Lakers successfully managed to earn decent looks with a post/repost, but it didn't happen often enough. Fortunately, the Lakers managed to get a little timely outside shooting down the stretch, with clutch triples from Metta World Peace and Sessions (his coming on the same short-clock play the Lakers used with Kobe to beat New Jersey last week), but it's fair to say for much of the game points were hard to come by.

The tempo was definitely better, helping hold down New Orleans on the break, but I'm not sure if it was on purpose. Hopefully it was.

2. Down the stretch, the Lakers got stops.

New Orleans is a bad offensive team, missing its most explosive players. That the Lakers held them under 100 points is only an accomplishment when stacked up more recent defensive efforts. Against the pick and roll, there were too many breakdowns, too many open shots on the perimeter, and too often Bynum left a teammate out to dry by not aggressively challenging the ball handler. Gasol couldn't contain noted murderer of purple and gold Carl Landry. After a strong opening quarter (19 points allowed) and a decent enough second (23), the Lakers allowed 29 in the third. The opening minutes of the fourth looked like more of the same, but when push came to shove and it actually looked like the game would get away, L.A. dug in.

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No Kobe Bryant for the Lakers Saturday night, which is a shame. Given how he lights up the Suns like the Las Vegas strip, his production might have come in handy. Although in the end it wasn't points the Lakers needed, but prevention.

L.A. drops a second straight game, getting waxed by a much hungrier Phoenix squad, completely collapsing after a strong enough start. Here are six takeaways...

1. Tonight's defensive formation: Porous.

Anyone looking for a play truly summarizing the horror that was L.A.'s performance against the Suns defensively could choose any number of open perimeter jumpers surrendered, some in the half court, some in semi-transition, some on the run. They might choose any number of instances in which players simply didn't get back fast enough. Or at all. Or were a little too self-congratulatory after a bucket, letting the Suns run right by them. All of these issues contributed to the Suns racking up 99 points by the end of the third quarter.

My favorite, though, came in the second half when for the eleventyzillionth time, the Suns went high screen. Pau Gasol came out to hedge on Steve Nash up top, Robin Lopez rolled to the bucket. Literally nobody in purple and gold moved. No rotation, no help, no nothing. Gasol could only wave his arms trying to recover as the ball went over the top for an easy deuce.

In short, the Lakers were awful. Give Phoenix credit for hitting all sorts of shots. Guys like Shannon Brown and Sebastian Telfair, who have always had relatively shaky perimeter games, were en fuego. But overall, the Lakers weren't good, putting no pressure on the ball (three turnovers for the Suns), and never forcing any changes in their attack. This has been the trend, one that will sink them if they're not careful.

Along those lines...

2. The Lakers need to slow down.

A few weeks back, the Lakers realized they could get up and down the floor a little more effectively than they had been over the course of the season. Maybe they saw the Synergy numbers, which on a points-per-play basis had them as one of the league's most efficient teams in transition. Certainly the addition of Ramon Sessions, faster up and down the court than any player they've had in a long time, only encouraged a higher pace of play. But as we noted after Friday's loss, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

The Lakers simply have to be judicious in how they choose to push pace, the way they use the shot clock, and what kinds of shots they generate. Tempo must be their friend, and a consistently quick pace plays to their worst tendencies. It encourages home run plays, which they too frequently botch. It leads to poor shot selection, which puts pressure on very, very shaky transition defense. When the halfcourt D is built around a pair of seven footers, asking those guys to run up and down the floor for extra trip after extra trip is counter productive.

Watching the Lakers grind out every score wasn't any fun, and they absolutely needed to figure out ways to generate easy points. Now the pendulum has swung too far the other way.

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