Bryant Is Cool as L.A. Breezes

A teenager playing some hoops had 24 points Tuesday night. It was the pivotal role, the most on the team, as the Lakers embarrassed the Golden State Warriors, 109-85, at San Jose Arena to regain a tie for first place in the Pacific Division and the second spot in the Western Conference, both with the idle Seattle SuperSonics.

“I just go out and play basketball,” Kobe Bryant said, smiling at the ridiculous notion that he could possibly feel the pressure of a pennant race, as if that’s supposed to happen to an 18-year-old without so much as an NCAA tournament game under his belt or something. “I understand these are big games. But I’ve played in big games before.”

In high school. Now, a loss could mean two spots in the conference standings. Now, the stakes might be bigger than he’s used to.

“He has no idea,” Byron Scott said after the Lakers got Elden Campbell and Travis Knight back and then got their seventh victory in eight games. “He’s just playing and having fun and enjoying himself. He knows he wants to win a championship. But I don’t think he knows all the stuff that goes with it.”

Or that’s supposed to go with it.

Bryant’s biggest offensive output of his rookie season and nine-of-11 shooting went with another big game from Sean Rooks, 20 points and seven rebounds, as the Lakers went from a first-half rout to making 55.7% of their shots. Joe Smith had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, but that couldn’t get Golden State closer than 16 after the break.

The lead that reached 32 points late in the second quarter before settling at 65-35 heading into the break, with the Lakers shooting 62.2% and the Warriors 31.1%, provided additional comfort in that it allowed Derek Fisher to rest in anticipation of facing John Stockton tonight. Imagine that.

Two games ago, his concern was getting in, having played only 42 minutes the previous five outings as Nick Van Exel went on a scoring tear. Then Van Exel was forced out Sunday by what was later diagnosed as a bruised bone in his right knee. And then Fisher started for the first time as a pro and played 36 minutes.

The boost for the Lakers was also a boost for Fisher himself, 21 points, six rebounds and four assists of reinforcement, some against an opposing guard, Derek Harper, who can make it difficult enough to bring the ball upcourt. More than the numbers, it was a reminder.

“When I got called on, that’s what I thought: go out and play the game and take advantage of the situation,” Fisher said. “Unfortunately, Nick is feeling the way he’s feeling. But it’s important to remember as an individual that you can still go out and do certain things.

“This is always something that can stick in my mind. Say it’s the playoffs and Nick gets hurt or something, sprains an ankle. Nobody knows what’s going to happen, but the coach throws you out. It’s the third quarter against Phoenix or Seattle or Utah, and you’re confident you can go out and do the job because you’ve already answered the call.”

Tuesday, he played only 12 minutes the first half and 26 in all. With Fisher’s freshness now a critical issue, what with Stockton tonight and Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson ahead Friday with the Lakers hopeful for Van Exel’s return, Bryant got to play point guard again.

Simply getting to play hasn’t been so much the issue with him these days, having gone into the game averaging 23.7 minutes in the six contests before Tuesday. Playing like this, though, was something else.

The contrast for the Lakers was Campbell, for whom running was trouble. Part of Harris’ decision to put him back in the starting lineup after a weeklong absence from games and all but one practice was so Campbell could go right from warmups to tipoff without the muscle having the chance to stiffen. No such luck.

Campbell played only nine minutes the first half and 20 for the night, grabbing two rebounds and missing six of eight shots. The other returning big man, Knight, went 15 minutes without pain in his sprained right knee and contributed seven rebounds.