Qualifying Bid Is at Hand

On the second-to-last weekend of the regular season, the Lakers could clinch a place in the Western Conference playoffs with a win against the Phoenix Suns tonight, not the kind of thing they thought they’d be dealing with in Game 77.

That they are going to the playoffs at all is not without its heroic elements, starting with their 34-12 record since Christmas Day, ending for the moment with Kobe Bryant’s jump shot Friday night in Memphis.

They danced on the floor of the Pyramid, celebrating Bryant’s cool at the conclusion of their 23-point comeback, rejoicing in their own ability to make amends for a self-inflicted deficit, a small scale of the large task that lies ahead.

Whenever they stop playing, be it late April or late June, the Lakers will have played from their 11-19 start, and they won’t know until the end if it was what downed them or inspired them.

For three years, Phil Jackson’s regular-season perspective delivered them into the postseason with vibrant bodies and keen minds. Tonight, however, they’ll play to qualify for the playoffs, with 13 days left before Game 1 of the first round. They’ll play Dallas on Tuesday, Sacramento on Thursday and at Portland next Sunday.

“I’m not fearful of that,” Jackson said. “I think we’re in good enough shape that we can survive.”

Asked if it were more important to finish the regular season as the fifth-seeded team, avoiding Dallas, San Antonio and Sacramento for the first round, and at least one of them entirely, or simply to finish the season rested, Jackson said, “I think either way, we’re not going to jeopardize anybody with minutes. The only thing that could push us is if we happen to wind through to Portland and we have a chance to beat them a week from Sunday and have it mean something.”

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Jannero Pargo, the undrafted rookie from Arkansas, perhaps played himself onto the playoff roster Friday night, having defended Memphis point guard Jason Williams reasonably well through a frantic fourth quarter and then making the three-point basket that drew the Lakers to within 97-95.

Pargo and fellow rookie Kareem Rush comprised the Laker backcourt for the entire fourth quarter while Kobe Bryant played small forward.

“They earned it,” Jackson said. “They deserved to be out there.”

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The Lakers will honor Shaquille O’Neal’s 20,000th point tonight.... The Utah Jazz, tied with the Lakers for the sixth position in the conference standings, plays Dallas, San Antonio and Sacramento in the final week of the regular season.

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TONIGHT

vs. Phoenix, 6:30

Fox Sports Net

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- KLAC (570), KWKW (1330), KIRN (670).

Records -- Lakers 45-31, Suns 39-35.

Record vs. Suns -- 2-1.

Update -- The Suns have not beaten the Lakers at Staples Center in seven attempts, and the Lakers have won 23 of the last 30 games in the series.