Lakers Find Their Level

The Lakers reached April looking something like they’d hoped, in record and standing, if not on every single possession.

On a Thursday night at Staples Center when the playoffs felt near, Shaquille O’Neal faced down Yao Ming, the Lakers pushed their winning streak into a new month, and the Pacific Division was no longer entirely the Sacramento Kings’.

They beat the Houston Rockets, 93-85, for their 10th consecutive victory, this a defensive lift, often more grind than glitz. They have won 21 of 25 games since the All-Star break and, with seven regular-season games remaining, are tied with the Kings atop the division, both teams 52-23, one of them with momentum.

“We’re proud of ourselves,” Kobe Bryant said. “We climbed a pretty steep hill.”

Near the end against the Rockets, O’Neal and Karl Malone left the floor together to a standing ovation, O’Neal having defended Yao (three for 15 from the floor, no free-throw attempts, six points), Malone again having prodded the Lakers through the difficult spots.

Malone had 20 points and 14 rebounds. O’Neal had 18 points and eight rebounds. Bryant scored 26 points. Gary Payton had 12 points and 13 rebounds.

So, though they shot only 37.7% from the floor, the Lakers outrebounded the Rockets, 58-35, and took the early fourth-quarter scoring initiative, allowing them to run a span of nine consecutive games on Chick Hearn Court.

It is why Phil Jackson played them playoff minutes, and snapped at them during timeouts, and, well, called timeouts.

Afterward, before they climbed aboard a bus that would take them to a jet that would fly them to Seattle for tonight’s game against the SuperSonics, Jackson reminded them, “Push yourself through it. Push yourself through this thing and find a way to get back Sunday and defend your home court against San Antonio.”

The Kings had lost in Dallas, and the Rockets were a possible postseason foe, and the Lakers were scattered on offense, leaving only defense and effort, both of which pleased Jackson.

Bryant played unevenly, the Lakers generally shot poorly, and O’Neal had only one rebound in the first half. The Rockets were similarly possessed, as Yao was inaccurate, Steve Francis was distracted by fouls, and Charles Oakley played half a possession with one shoe in his hand.

It would not be the end-to-end game that beat Sacramento and Minnesota last week, or the sledgehammer that beat New Orleans on Tuesday. The Lakers -- as well as the Rockets -- played many possessions to the final ticks of the 24-second clock.

Cuttino Mobley, forgotten by Bryant early and smothered by him late, made his first seven shots and finished with 26 points for the Rockets. Francis scored 17.

The Lakers shot 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and put away the Rockets from there, not surprisingly, in a game that lacked fluidity. Not that the Lakers were complaining.

“We want to be playing flawless basketball right now,” Malone said, “but that is 10 in a row.... It’s not pretty, but it is about how you execute.... I will take them right now.”

By halftime, the Lakers had shot 16 free throws to the Rockets’ six, and Francis got a technical foul for yelling at the officials from the bench with 35 seconds remaining in the second quarter, none of which, apparently, sat well with Rocket Coach Jeff Van Gundy, who had to be dragged off the court at the half with the Lakers up by seven.A month ago in Houston, Yao scored 33 points and prompted many observations that he was gaining on O’Neal. On Thursday, O’Neal spent the night on Yao’s hip, on Yao’s shooting hand, on Yao’s back. As a result, the help never came for O’Neal, just the way he preferred it.

While the Rocket offense fell in behind guards Mobley and Francis, and the Lakers leaned toward Bryant, the game followed the eye, to O’Neal and Yao.

“The other times that we played them I tried to help too much and [Yao] would get deep position and get the ball inside,” O’Neal said. “He is 7-6, so when [he] gets the ball in there, there is not much anybody can do. So tonight, I just tried to stay with him and put a body on him and he just missed some shots.”

Yao made a shot in the first quarter and two in the second. That was it.

“It’s just one game,” Yao said. “You’re always going to have bad games, and I didn’t play well tonight. But it’s already in the past.”

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Back at the Summit

The Lakers’ victory Thursday put them in a tie with Sacramento for the best record in the Western Conference, having made up six games in the last month and a half. The standings at the All-Star break and through Thursday.

ALL-STAR BREAK

*--* W L GB Sacramento 37 13 -- Minnesota 37 15 1 San Antonio 35 18 3 1/2 Dallas 33 19 5 Lakers 31 19 6

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THROUGH THURSDAY

*--* W L GB Sacramento 52 23 -- Lakers 52 23 -- Minnesota 52 24 1/2 San Antonio 50 25 2 Memphis 48 26 3 1/2

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