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Pau Gasol finds his rhythm again

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Well, at least one Lakers big man ended a slump.

Pau Gasol had 27 points and 12 rebounds Tuesday against Golden State, breaking free of a quiet few games for the Lakers’ All-Star forward.

“Pau was very good tonight,” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said after the Lakers’ 124-118 victory.

Gasol hadn’t been so great since signing a three-year, $57-million contract extension last week.

He had only 13 points Monday against Phoenix and missed two free-throw attempts late in the fourth quarter last Saturday against Sacramento that could have prevented a double-overtime game had he made them.

Before that, he had 11 points on four-for-11 shooting Dec. 25 against Cleveland, perhaps his worst outing this season.

Jackson said before the Golden State game that he “really can’t” explain Gasol’s skid.

“He’s played very well up to this point,” Jackson said. “I think Cleveland went out and beat him up a little bit, made it physical for him. I thought he had a good game against Sacramento, but the finish wasn’t great, his numbers weren’t great.”

Gasol was happy the Lakers beat Golden State, period, emerging from a tight game with a 124-118 victory.

“It was kind of a toss-up game in the last several minutes,” Gasol said. “We closed well. The second half, we definitely played better.”

Andrew Bynum, Gasol’s frontcourt mate, had 11 points, seven rebounds and four turnovers against Golden State, extending his streak to 20 games since recording his last double-double.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

twitter.com/Mike_Bresnahan

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