Fox Is Getting Point(s) Across

He can score, you know.

“I think out here on the West Coast, a lot of people don’t know that,” Rick Fox said.

This weekend may have taken care of that. His reputation as a defender and someone who does the little things that don’t always show on the stat sheet gave way to a Laker small forward who decided to concentrate on some of the big things, so he had 30 points on Friday against the Houston Rockets and 19 Sunday in the 119-89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Kind of like the player who scored 15.4 points a game last season with the Boston Celtics. It was a different time (bad) and a different lineup (without Shaquille O’Neal, Eddie Jones, etc.), to be sure, but he is still the same player, despite the 10-point average he took into Friday’s game.

“I’m capable of doing those things,” Fox said. “But I was trying to fit in. I forgot what kind of player I am. I’m an aggressive offensive and defensive player.

“I’ve stopped picking and choosing [spots]. I’m just playing . . . I’m a little less self-conscious about it.”

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The 27 points by Kobe Bryant on Friday against the Rockets came in only 12 minutes 47 seconds, from the first score with 2:29 to play in the third quarter to the last with 1:42 left in the fourth. “This was not a game for him,” Houston’s Clyde Drexler said. “It was an exhibition.”

Maverick Coach Don Nelson on the Lakers: “I think they are the best team, certainly, in the West when they get Shaq back.” . . . Nick Van Exel will visit the A Place Called Home community center at 2330 S. Central Ave. in Los Angeles from 1-2:30 p.m. on Dec. 23. He will conduct a clinic, sign autographs and distribute T-shirts and shoes. For more information, call (310) 419-3151.