Not Perfect, but Lakers Like This 10

The Lakers produced at least seven wonders of the whirl on Wednesday, and also about 15 other clunkier moments.

So, the highlights came fast and frantic in the Lakers’ 103-87 victory over the Phoenix Suns, from Shaquille O’Neal’s 25-foot alley-oop pass to Kobe Bryant to Bryant’s 360-degree spin-dunk after an O’Neal pass to a handful of other Laker marvels.

And, for stretches before 18,997 at Staples Center, so did some errant passing, haphazard defense and occasional rebounding lapses.

See how picky you can get when you lose once since Nov. 21?

This was the Lakers’ 10th consecutive victory, the longest winning streak in the NBA this season, and their 17th victory in their last 18 games, a procession that makes each new success instantly comparable with all the others that came immediately before.

“We’re not jumping for joy because we have a 10-game winning streak because we feel in our hearts that we could be playing a lot better right now,” Bryant said.

“We’re not playing the way we want to play. We could be playing a lot better. . . . We could be executing a lot better. Defensively, we could avoid a lot of the mental lapses we had out there during the course of the game.”

On Wednesday, the Lakers were flashier and more dazzling than usual--Rick Fox and Bryant made successive buzzer-beaters to finish the second and third periods; O’Neal had seven assists, adding to his 19 rebounds and 27 points.

At times against the injury-depleted Suns, the Lakers looked invincible, galloping along with no-look passes and aerial ballet.

Other times, Jason Kidd, Rex Chapman and Cliff Robinson sprinted up and down almost at will, always having just enough energy to get the Suns back into the game but not enough to pull it out.

The Lakers (25-5) raised their NBA-best home record to 15-2.

Laker Coach Phil Jackson, as usual, was clear that the Lakers are far from a finished product, as evidenced by the game just concluded.

“I wasn’t totally pleased with this ballgame,” Jackson said. “I thought we got mired into a running game, a scoring game, trying to outscore an opponent that’s a good scoring team.

“But in the second half I think we stiffened a little and they didn’t shoot as well.”

The Suns shot only 37.8% from the field and were 13 of 46 in the second half.

In the third quarter, repeating an earlier lull in the first half, the Lakers jumped out to a fast, 15-point lead, then sputtered for a few minutes while the Suns raced to close the gap.

The lead shrunk to 75-69 on a Kidd jumper with a little more than two minutes left in the third quarter before Phoenix finally started missing shots.

That allowed the Lakers to end the quarter ahead, 79-69, after a Glen Rice driving basket and Bryant’s lunging 20-foot swish at the buzzer.

But the Suns--especially Kidd and Robinson (who led them with 27 points)--kept coming and coming, once again narrowing the lead to six points, 90-84, in the final minutes.

From there, though, the Lakers finally put the hammer down, getting a three-point play from O’Neal and consecutive Rice baskets on Bryant assists to push the lead to 97-86 with 1:33 left and the Suns never got closer.

“We’re happy with winning 10 in a row,” Jackson said. “It’s a good feeling. I think we really feel like we’ve got some momentum. We’re going into the New Year on the right spell.”

Bryant, who finished with 18 points and six assists, said he agreed with his coach that the Lakers have at least 10 areas in which to improve.

“Maybe even more, he might be generous,” Bryant said. “The good thing about it is we still have a 10-game winning streak, we’re still winning.”

Hear players’ postgame comments from Wednesday night’s Lakers-Suns game at the Times’ web site: https://sports.latimes.com

HORRY IN A ZONE

After struggling early in the season, forward Robert Horry has become a solid contributor. Page 7

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That’s 10!

With their victory over Phoenix, the Lakers have won 10 in a row and 17 of 18. Here’s a look at the 10-game streak:

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Opponent Score at Vancouver 106-94 Detroit 101-93 Clippers 95-68 at Atlanta 95-88 at Minnesota 97-88 at Toronto 94-88 at Boston 99-90 San Antonio 99-93 Dallas 108-106 Phoenix 103-87 Laker Avg. 99.7

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Opp Avg.: 89.5