Time for Top Teams to Get Reacquainted

The Lakers are unbeaten in three games against the San Antonio Spurs this season, but they have not seen the defending NBA champions since Dec. 3.

Since then, the Lakers have gone through their usual stretch of internal problems but are now injury-free and playing their best basketball of the season with an 11-game winning streak.

But the Spurs are also playing well heading into today’s crucial matchup at Staples Center, winning five in a row, and they have Tim Duncan back in the lineup after he sat out 13 games because of injury or suspension.

“We know that they’re still a pretty good team and we know that they have something to prove,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “They have the gold ball and you guys [reporters] really haven’t been talking about them that much. [The attention] has been on us, the Kings and the Timberwolves.

“You know that they’re going to be coming in playing hard and playing aggressive. We just have to continue to play the way we’ve been playing.”

And that’s hit first and keep on rolling, an attitude sparked by Karl Malone, directed by Gary Payton, driven home by Kobe Bryant and represented by O’Neal.

Coach Phil Jackson, who could not be happier with the Lakers’ recent rush of togetherness, is hoping that the team’s attacking mentally doesn’t get the best of them against the Spurs.

Especially Bryant, who will be defended by San Antonio’s defense specialist, Bruce Bowen.

“Bowen is a foul maniac out there, and it’s important that Kobe doesn’t take that bait and try to dribble all through and get himself tangled up into [Bowen] all of the time,” Jackson said. “If he gets [his points off] of passes and cuts, we’ll be in pretty good shape. He has to allow the time to come when he wants to face him one-on-one and go against him in certain positions.”

Jackson does not consider Bowen a dirty player but says part of his success is the result of a few dirty tricks.

“Makes incidental contact just enough to throw you off,” Jackson said of Bowen’s defensive techniques. “It’s a little bit like tai chi or kung fu.... It’s how you keep your opponent off balance and use his weight against him without appearing that you’re physically [making contact].”

The last time the Lakers played San Antonio, the Spurs were still going through early-season rotation changes. Rasho Nesterovic and Hedo Turkoglu were still figuring out their roles and Manu Ginobili started in the backcourt.

Over the last couple of weeks, San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich has settled on a starting five of Tony Parker, Turkoglu, Nesterovic, Duncan and Bowen, with Ginobili off the bench. It’s a lineup that has played well defensively.

“I’m looking forward to the game,” said Bryant, who is averaging 25 points in three games against the Spurs this season. “They are a good team.... They do what they do. They don’t change much.”

*

At the All-Star break, the Lakers trailed Sacramento by six games and were in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference standings. O’Neal told reporters that the Lakers needed to go 26-6 over the final 32 games to gain the top seeding in the conference.

Since the break, the Lakers are 22-4, the best record in the league.

“I was hoping that other teams would have problems,” O’Neal said. “Those teams were playing great, and it’s hard to play great [82] games. The last team to do that was Phil’s Chicago team that went 72-10.”

TODAY

vs. San Antonio, 12:30 p.m.

Channel 7

Site -- Staples Center.

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

Records -- Lakers 53-23, Spurs 51-25.

Record vs. Spurs -- 3-0.

Update -- With O’Neal shooting 50.1% from the foul line, the Lakers rank 28th in the NBA at 69.3%. San Antonio is 29th at 68% with Duncan shooting 59.9%, Bowen 59.4% and Nesterovic 47.4%. The Lakers have not lost since March 12 at Minnesota.