Lakers Make a Break for It

It’s a small world after all in the East these days, which is OK as long as the smurfs are playing each other.

But Thursday night the gritty little New York Knicks had to deal with the great big Lakers, who stomped them like grapes, running up a 34-point lead, even if they then lost 30 points of it and had to claw their way to the final buzzer with a 114-109 victory.

The Lakers were thus spared the indignity of becoming the first three-time defending champion to enter the All-Star break with a losing record.

Instead, they’re 24-23 and over .500 for the first time this season, with a five-game winning streak, four of those on the road.

“It was impressive,” Coach Phil Jackson said of the Knick rally that pulled them from 95-61 down in the third quarter to within 113-109 in the closing seconds.

“I mean I’m not going to wax eloquent because it was a 30-point ballgame at the time.”

Yes, the Lakers feel good about themselves, once more.

Kobe Bryant, averaging 40.2 points in the streak, went for another 46, with a show that began in the second quarter when he started going one on one with Latrell Sprewell, beating him for a spectacular reverse jam, then a three-pointer before halftime.

Bryant then scored another 22 points in the third quarter, two off the club record held by Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, giving Kobe 40 by the end of the third quarter.

“That was special,” Derek Fisher said of Bryant’s shot before halftime. “You know it’s special when you’re out there on the court and you have a reaction to a play because, you know, we see so many plays, and a lot of times something that looks great from a distance, it was OK....

“I think we got into caught up in how well he played in the third quarter. We continued to give him the ball and we didn’t continue to move the ball. Fortunately, we were able to hang on and get out of here with this win.”

The Knicks started the night with seven victories in 10 games, although, with their 6-foot-9, 6-7, 6-5 front line, they knew they were in for it.

It didn’t matter if Coach Don Chaney put Kurt Thomas or the bulkier Michael Doleac at center, Shaquille O’Neal was going right at him.

Late in the first quarter, the Lakers put on a dunk show, throwing down four in five possessions, two by O’Neal (33 points), the other two off passes by O’Neal. Then Bryant began his highlight reel, complete with celebratory gestures, seeming to enjoy himself hugely on this biggest stage of them all, with the celebrities (Spike Lee, Tom Brokaw, Kevin Bacon) back for a night.

“I wouldn’t be upset about that,” Sprewell said of the gestures. “I was upset the fact they were beating us. If anything, I was more upset with that than anything he was doing.”

In the Knicks’ previous game, Sprewell made nine three-pointers in as many tries and now he started again, if belatedly.

Having already made two three-pointers, he knocked in three more in the fourth, with the Knicks scoring the first 16 points of the quarter, as the Lakers started their All-Star break a little early.

The Lakers made one shot -- Bryant’s jumper -- in the last 5:55, so you wouldn’t exactly say they regained their poise. It was more like they made enough free throws and the Knicks ran out of time.

“The Knicks, that’s what they do, they play hard all the way to the final buzzer,” Bryant said. “We’ve got to take our hats off to them for that.

“This was a tough stretch for us. Coming into these games, there was a lot of doubts about how many of these games we could win because we were playing against some very tough teams. And to go into that stretch and come out 5-0, that says a lot about our character and how we were able to respond to the challenge.”

Indeed, it says something about these characters, er, their character. As Jackson said the other night, asked if the Lakers are back:

“We’re close.”

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Turning Up the Offense

Key per-game statistics for the Lakers and Kobe Bryant in their last five games compared with their first 42:

*--* LAKERS LAST 5 FIRST 42 Record 5-0 19-23 Points 106.6 96.9 FG pct 484 438 BRYANT Points 40.2 27.2 FG pct 496 445 FT pct 879 823

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