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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.

LOS ANGELES -- At the very least, tip your hat to Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris.

The Los Angeles Lakers had no business beating the San Antonio Spurs on Friday with no Kobe Bryant, no Steve Nash and no Steve Blake in the lineup.

Despite Goudelock's MVP campaign in the D-League, they had no business having as much faith in a guy who spent all season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to start a playoff game against the team that won the second-most games in the West this season.

And even though Morris started 17 games this season and continued to stay in the gym late even when his minutes dwindled the last two months, there was no real evidence that putting the ball in his hands for a crucial playoff game could work.

But you couldn't peg this one on the backcourt. In fact, Goudelock tied Tony Parker with 20 points and Darius Morris scored 24 to go along with six assists.

OK, enough about the silver lining.

Friday wasn't the official death knell for this (literally) painful Lakers season as L.A. doesn't go fishing until the Spurs have won four games, but no team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit and this depleted Lakers squad certainly isn't going to be the first.

The 31-point blowout in Game 3 was the worst home playoff loss in franchise history, beating out Game 2 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals when Portland won by 29.

In a way, it seemed fitting.

In a season where everything that could go wrong seemingly did -- from a coaching change, to rampant injuries, slow-forming chemistry and even the death of legendary owner Dr. Jerry Buss -- why wouldn't a record like that be attached to this team?

How it happened: A whole lot of Tim Duncan (26 points on 12-for-16 shooting), some stingy Spurs defense (L.A. shot just 43.2 percent and 4-for-20 from 3) and too much depth from the guys in black and silver against the guys who are black and blue with injuries.

What it means: The offseason questions will begin sooner than a lot of us expected. Is Mike D'Antoni truly safe, or will those "We want Phil!" chants we heard on Friday actually come to fruition? Who gets waived via the amnesty clause -- Kobe? Pau Gasol? Blake? Metta World Peace? Anybody? Will Dwight Howard re-sign? Will Nash and Bryant be able to come back healthy for their 18th seasons?

Hits: Gasol had his third triple-double in his last six games with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Morris and Goudelock (see above).

Dwight Howard had 25 points and 11 rebounds but shot just 7-for-15 from the free throw line.

Misses: After 31 points combined in his last two regular-season games, Antawn Jamison has just 19 points combined in the playoffs.

Stat of the game: The Spurs bench scored 46 points. The Lakers' bench scored nine.

Up next: Game 4 is Sunday at 4 p.m. PT. There's a chance Nash will be back, but you get the feeling that chance would be better if L.A. had won Friday.

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 -- After sending out more than a dozen tweets during and after the game as the Los Angeles Lakers played the San Antonio Spurs to open the playoffs Sunday, Kobe Bryant vows he'll keep his 140-character contributions to himself come Game 2 on Wednesday.

"To tweet or not to tweet.. I CHOOSE not 2," Bryant wrote to his more than 2.2 million followers Monday. "Focus should be on the team not my insight. @georgelopez voice 'Can't DO nothin!' #vinospeare"

Bryant's tweets were the last thing Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni wanted to talk about after L.A. lost 91-79 in Game 1.

"It’s great to have that commentary,” D'Antoni said sarcastically before rolling his eyes to the assembled media.

In all, Bryant, who is recovering from the Achilles surgery he underwent last week, sent out 13 tweets during the game and postgame media availability time Sunday. For reference, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose has tweeted eight times to his 870,000-plus followers since the start of the 2012-13 season that he's missed because of an ACL injury.

"He’s a fan right now,” D’Antoni said Sunday. “He’s a fan, and you guys put a little more importance on that kind of fan. But he’s a fan. He gets excited and he wants to be a part of it so that’s good.”

Bryant did not seem too thrilled with D'Antoni's word choice, tweeting, "A fan?? Lol #microphonetalk," and later adding, "On to game 2. I will be watching from the crib again in a pau jersey and laker face paint ha! All jk aside We will be fine on wed #fanmamba"

Bryant made it clear he did not want to become a distraction for the No. 7 seeded Lakers as they try to upset the No. 2 seeded Spurs.

"I see my tweeting during the game is being talked about as much as the game itself," Bryant tweeted Sunday. "Not my intention , just bored as I guess #notagain"

He added, "I would but don't want my dudes having distractions plus some writers luv creating controversy so why give them the amo."

Bryant is expected to be out six to nine months while recovering from the Achilles tear in his left leg. He is planning to return for the start of the 2013-14 season, however.

The 17-year veteran has been immobilized at his Newport Beach, Calif., home since the surgery but tweeted earlier last week that he plans to be at Staples Center for Games 3 and 4 against the Spurs when the series shifts to L.A.

“He’d be coaching if he was here,” Lakers guard Steve Blake told reporters after Game 1. “He’d be telling us exactly what to do, when to do it. He’s just trying to stay engaged. He’s a competitor and he wishes he was out there. We all wish he was out there. But unfortunately for us, he’s stuck to being a sideline coach.”

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.

After one of the most arduous and pitfall-filled seasons in Los Angeles Lakers history, if not in the entire history of the league, the guys in purple and gold find themselves in the postseason with a first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs.

L.A. has to feel good about itself, finishing the regular season 28-12 after bottoming out with a record eight games below .500 in late January. They were even better in April, going 7-1, including winning their last five in a row to secure the No. 7 seed and set up their date with the No. 2 Spurs.

However, during that final postseason push, Kobe Bryant went out with an Achilles tear in his left foot, requiring surgery that will sideline him for six to nine months.

Can the Bryant-less Lakers upset a Spurs team that finished with the second-best record in the West and third-best record in the entire league?

Here are 10 things to think about heading into the series to determine just how realistic a possibility that is.

1. San Antonio's home-court advantage

Even though the Spurs looked somewhat ripe for the picking, having gone 3-7 over their final 10 games of the regular season, remember that the series opens up at the AT&T Center, where they went 35-6 this season. Meanwhile, the Lakers were just 16-25 away from Staples Center. It will be a major challenge for L.A. to bring the series back home with a split after the first two games in San Antonio.

2. Hamstrings

Definitely the body part that could have the biggest impact on the series for both teams. Steve Nash plans to play in Game 1 after missing the Lakers' last eight games because of a bum right hamstring, hip and lower back. Manu Ginobili only played one game in April -- an uninspiring 12 minutes in the season finale -- because of his own right hamstring injury. If Ginobili is healthy, he could have a field day carving up the Lakers' perimeter defense that is missing Bryant and has a hobbled Metta World Peace out there still less than a month removed from knee surgery. If Nash is healthy, L.A. gets another elite shooter to help open up the floor so Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol have more room to operate down low.

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LOS ANGELES -- Last week, before the Lakers' already nightmarish season seemingly veered completely off the tracks with Kobe Bryant's ruptured Achilles tendon, Bryant was still confident that the Lakers wouldn’t just make the playoffs but that they could win a championship.

As he sat in front of his locker following the media scrum he said, “Look at what the Kings did last year. They got into the playoffs as the eight seed and won the Stanley Cup. We’re trying to do the same thing.”

Bryant attended a number of the Los Angeles Kings' playoff games with his daughters during their magical and improbable run to the Stanley Cup last summer and didn’t understand why it couldn’t be duplicated on the basketball court this summer.

“There’s no reason we can’t do it,” Bryant said. “Everything resets in the playoffs.”

Of course, that was before Bryant was lost for the season and we found out that Steve Nash's assortment of injuries weren’t just day-to-day bad but taking-two-epidurals-just-to-practice bad. Nevertheless, Bryant’s stance doesn’t change and neither does the Lakers’ goal heading into the playoffs.

After the Lakers clinched a playoff berth that Bryant promised would happen back when the Lakers were well below .500, he tweeted, “And to think some said we wouldn’t make it.. #keepcalm #believe #playoffs now #makehistory”

He later tweeted, “Playoff promise fulfilled #ontothenext”

It doesn’t make sense that the Lakers will be entering the playoffs, without Bryant and possibly without Nash, as confident as they’ve been all season. But that’s exactly the way the Lakers were feeling after their 99-95 overtime win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday to clinch the seventh seed and a first round match-up against the San Antonio Spurs which begins on Sunday.

They are finally moving the ball the way Mike D’Antoni envisioned they could. They are finally playing defense with the kind of intensity that Dwight Howard hoped they would. And they are playing inside-out and relying on their bigs as Pau Gasol and Howard have pleaded for since November.

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LOS ANGELES -- The Lakers are in.

In what seemed like a remote possibility months ago and a dicey proposition even a week ago when Kobe Bryant went out with a torn Achilles, the Lakers not only got into the playoffs, they got in playing a brand of basketball that could equate to some continued postseason success.

Here they are, 16 wins from an unlikely championship No. 17, with a suddenly stingy defense that allowed its past two opponents -- one of them being the highest-scoring team in the league in the Houston Rockets and the other being the No. 2 team in the West in the San Antonio Spurs -- to average 93 points on 39.3 percent shooting.

Here they are, riding a wave of momentum and playing with one rock that is finding so many hands -- from the five guys who scored eight points or more against the Spurs to the six guys who tallied nine points or more against the Rockets.

Even when the ball was spread around Wednesday, it didn't always go in, of course; L.A. shot just 36.7 percent as a team. But the fact that it kept moving kept the Lakers' bodies moving on defense.

"The great thing about it was everybody contributed," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said.

Who makes up the "everybody" on the Lakers' roster that D'Antoni was referring to has changed drastically throughout the season and maybe even more so in the past two games without Bryant.

Suddenly Darius Morris has a place off the bench. And Steve Blake is relied on to score (47 points over his past two games, a dramatic change from the player who scored two points or fewer 16 times in 2011-12). And Jodie Meeks is starting in Bryant's place and even receiving "Jo-die! Jo-die!" chants from the crowd, taking Kobe's cheers.

Most important, the team identity is firmly established. The Lakers are an inside-out team controlled by Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol. They are not the second coming of Showtime. They are not Bryant freelancing with shades of the triangle. They are not Steve Nash running the pick-and-roll or Bryant running the pick-and-roll.

This is a team that will slow you down, grind you out, pound you all over and do it on both ends.

"Because [Bryant is] such a big, important part of what we did, and rightly so, it is different," D'Antoni said before the game Wednesday. "And then when Nash comes back, it will be a little different again. So, there’s always different layers, but he’s a big layer or two."

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LOS ANGELES -- In what has seemed at times like a never-ending Los Angeles Lakers season, the last game of the regular season came down to the last minute of overtime.

The Memphis Grizzlies seemingly took most of the drama out of the night for the Los Angeles Lakers before their game had even tipped off against the Houston Rockets.

Memphis beat the Utah Jazz to assure the Lakers a playoff berth for the eighth straight season and 19th time in the past 20.

So, as disastrous as the Lakers' season has seemed, L.A. did make good on Kobe Bryant's playoff guarantee even with Bryant out for the rest of the season after Achilles tendon surgery and, even with a loss against Houston, L.A. would finish the season 28-12 over its final 40 games.

But there was still the business of who the Lakers' and Rockets' first-round opponents would be.

The winner would get to play the No. 2-seeded San Antonio Spurs. The loser would have to face the Western Conference's top team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

L.A. gets the Spurs, it turns out, after a 99-95 overtime win over the Rockets. So instead of having to face a 60-win Oklahoma City team that ousted L.A. from the playoffs last season, the Lakers get a Spurs team that is just 3-7 over its last 10 games heading into the playoffs, including a 91-86 loss to the Lakers last weekend.

How it happened: L.A. fell down 18-12 early, prompting coach Mike D'Antoni to call a timeout, which spurred a 9-0 run by the Lakers. The Rockets built their lead to 11 in the second half before the Lakers' new "big three" of Steve Blake (24 points after 23 points Sunday against San Antonio), Dwight Howard (16 points) and Pau Gasol (17 points and a bunch of other great stats), gave the team a three-point lead with less than a minute left in the fourth. That's when the ball found itself in the hands of the Rockets' Chandler Parsons, who hit a dead-away 3-pointer from 36 feet to tie the score at the regulation buzzer.

In overtime, Jodie Meeks atoned for his 1-for-9 start from the field by throwing down a momentum-changing baseline dunk, and tacking on a huge free throw to put L.A. up by four with 14.5 seconds left. James Harden cut it to two with two free throws, but Blake iced it with a final two freebies to end the game 8-for-8 from the line.

What it means: The Lakers are 2-0 without Bryant, and even though San Antonio is still a tough place to open the playoffs, there is no denying the momentum they will take with them into the postseason whether No. 24 is in the lineup or not.

Hits: Gasol finished with 17 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists for his second triple-double in his last three games.

Blake's 47 points over his last two games are more than Steve Nash's highest two-game total this season (38, twice).

Antawn Jamison scored 16 points off the bench.

Misses: Nash missed his eighth straight game because of right hip, hamstring and lower-back pain. Nash revealed to ESPN's Chris Broussard during an in-game sideline interview that he received two epidurals this week to try to deal with the pain.

Stat of the game: L.A. held Houston, which had averaged 106.1 points coming into Wednesday, to just 95 points in 53 minutes of game time.

Up next: The Lakers will open up the postseason with Game 1 of its first-round series with the Spurs in San Antonio on Sunday.

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

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

Even Bryant proved to be not totally indestructible.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOS ANGELES -- Playing the Memphis Grizzlies on any given night is like signing up for an MMA fight. The Griz are among the NBA's most physical teams. Nothing comes easy against them and their stout defense, which gives up a league-low 89.8 points a game.

Of course that's nothing new for the Los Angeles Lakers in a difficult season. The next thing that comes easy for the Lakers will be the first.

Friday was no exception as the Lakers held off the Grizzlies 86-84 to maintain a tenuous grip on the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

While L.A. always seemed in control of the game, Memphis was never out of it. It took a key free throw by Dwight Howard with 4.1 seconds left, after a key rebound by Howard off Mike Conley's miss with 4.1 seconds remaining, and every bit of energy Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol had left to pull out the win.

How it happened: The Lakers built a 13-point lead in the first half and a seven-point lead late in the third quarter. But Memphis is the kind of team that never seems to go away. The Grizzlies, who came in having won four in a row, rallied time and again to keep the pressure on the increasingly desperate Lakers.

Ultimately though, the Lakers pulled it out behind clutch performances from Bryant, (24 points), Gasol (19 points, 9 rebounds), Earl Clark (13 points) and Antawn Jamison (13 points).

What it means: After the Utah Jazz took care of business at home against the lowly New Orleans Hornets, the Lakers basically had to win this game to maintain their slim half-game lead in what's shaping up to be a dogfight for the last playoff berth. With Utah owning the season-series tiebreaker, the Lakers need to finish a game ahead of the Jazz to get in as the No. 8 seed. This win was critical.

Hits: With Memphis' interior defense collapsing on Howard every time he tried to post up, Gasol had room to operate out of the high post and had one of his most effective games of the season. Gasol made 8 of 14 shots to finish with 19 points and 9 rebounds.

Clark had another nice game, finishing with 13 points, 5 rebounds and one very impressive fourth-quarter block on Grizzlies guard Quincy Pondexter that you'll be seeing on "SportsCenter."

Misses: Steve Blake had been on a roll coming into this game, averaging 13 points on 52.9 percent shooting in the two games he'd filled in for the injured Steve Nash. But he struggled in this one, finishing with just six points and turning the ball over five times, all in the first half.

Stat of the game: Jamison needed to average 16 points a game over the Lakers' final seven games of the season to get to 20,000 career points. With a badly sprained right (shooting) wrist, it's not going to be easy. But the crafty veteran continues to soldier on, finishing with 13 points in 25 minutes Friday night.

What's next: The Lakers will have a light workout Saturday to prepare for Sunday's 12:30 p.m. PT tip against the Los Angeles Clippers. It figures to be a heated game, because it always is between these two teams, but also because both are playing for playoff seeding, the Clippers for the critical No. 3 seed, the Lakers for the No. 8 spot.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The second quarter was so ugly that Kobe Bryant decided he had seen enough even while there was still time left on the clock.

Bryant left the court and stalked off to the locker room with 0.5 seconds remaining after the Golden State Warriors had upped their already ample 19-point lead to 23 with two tip-ins in the span of 1.4 seconds.

There was a comedy of errors from the Los Angeles Lakers to end the quarter, from Dwight Howard picking up a technical foul after getting smacked in the face by a David Lee elbow (causing a cut to his lip that required three stitches) to Metta World Peace nearly stealing a ball, only to deflect it to a wide-open Klay Thompson for a 3-pointer, to World Peace throwing a full-court inbound pass away, which led to the second of the aforementioned tip-ins by Andrew Bogut.

Sham-mockery, indeed.

The second half was better, as L.A. held Golden State to 44 points after allowing 63 in the first two quarters, but too much damage was done early on.

How it happened: The Warriors used runs of 8-0 and 7-0 in the first quarter to open up a 12-point lead after the first period. That was the closest L.A. would get the rest of the way. The last time the Lakers came to Golden State in December, they erased a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to win. That was not the case Monday. The Lakers attempted a rally, cutting the Warriors' lead all the way down to six, but a win wasn't in the cards.

What it means: "We’re in a fight for our lives, and let’s act on it," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said before the game.

If the Lakers didn't know that going into the night -- having lost consecutive games to the Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards -- they should certainly be well aware of it after getting embarrassed by Golden State.

It's the Lakers' first three-game losing streak since that air-it-out meeting they had in Memphis back in late January.

For a team that has said its strategy to get into the postseason is to win three out of every four games the rest of the way, that constitutes a crisis.

As bad as Utah has played, with a 4-9 record in March so far, the Jazz are just a game behind L.A. for the eighth seed in the Western Conference and hold the tiebreaker over the Lakers.

Hits: Dwight Howard had 15 rebounds.

Steve Nash neared a triple-double with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

This dunk by Bryant.

Misses: Three Warriors players -- Lee, Thompson and Stephen Curry -- scored 20 or more points.

Bryant, while scoring a game-high 36 points, shot 11-for-27 overall and 2-for-10 from 3.

Stat of the game: Jarrett Jack, who scored 29 points the last time the Lakers played in Golden State, scored 19 Monday and nearly matched the 21 points scored by the Lakers' bench contingent of Jodie Meeks (13), Antawn Jamison (five), Steve Blake (three) and Earl Clark (zero). The L.A. bench shot 7-for-26 overall while Jack was 9-for-16.

What's next: The Lakers continue their four-game road trip with a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday in Minnesota and Milwaukee, respectively, and then finish it up in Sacramento on Saturday.

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 -- 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.