1-2 Punch by Spurs

Maybe Kobe Bryant was right.

It appeared to be rhetoric, a not-so-subtle posturing for the underdog position, when he declared the rivalry with the San Antonio Spurs to be dead, a thing of the past, over and done, because the Lakers had some catching up to do.

Then the Spurs showed they were worthy of decisive-favorite status in a rivalry that usually extended into May or June, but never got closer than six points in the second half Friday, only then after a Laker rally that came too late.

The all-too-familiar combination of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had 42 points as the Spurs defeated the Lakers, 105-96, before 18,997 at Staples Center.

The Lakers weren’t as bad as they were Wednesday against Utah, when they set three team records for futility with only seven assists, 20 field goals and a 29.4% shooting percentage.

But they weren’t as good as they needed to be, failing to establish an inside presence and turning over the ball too many times against the apparent heir to the Western Conference throne.

Not even Derek Fisher could have helped Friday.

Bryant, who said beforehand the Lakers had a lot to prove to make the rivalry “fresh,” had 28 points on eight-of-22 shooting and four assists. Lamar Odom snapped out of a two-game funk with 24 points.

Other than that, the Lakers didn’t have an answer for the Spurs’ patient, precise halfcourt offense.

Spur guard Brent Barry, trying to express what sets the Spurs apart from most of the Lakers, suggested beforehand the Lakers could try something close to “sacrificing live chickens” to try to stop Duncan now that Shaquille O’Neal and Karl Malone are no longer around.

Sure enough, Duncan was his usual self Friday, scoring 26 points, taking 16 rebounds and representing a big enough presence in the key to free up Parker and Manu Ginobili for good looks from the outside. Parker finished with 16 points and Ginobili had 18.

“I think this is the top team, if not one of the top teams, in the league,” Laker Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said before the game. “I thought they were great last year and then you add [free agent] Brent Barry to this combination and, man, on paper it sure looks good.”

The top rivalry in the West, if not the NBA in recent years, the Spurs and Lakers met in the playoffs five of the last six seasons, with the winner taking the championship every time before last season.

Perhaps that’s why Spur Coach Gregg Popovich sounded wistful as he spoke of the Laker-Spur rivalry over the years, comparing the Laker off-season of upheaval to “the breakup of the Soviet Union.”

“They won three championships,” he said. “They were a great opponent. During that period, we were fortunate to get a couple when they didn’t knock us out. I wish they were all together as the team to go through to get it done.”

The Lakers had hoped to run the Spurs into the ground, using speed and skill to offset their loss in size and strength.

But the Lakers’ 16-7 edge in fastbreak points wasn’t enough to counter the Spurs’ 52-32 advantage in points down low.

The Lakers trailed at halftime, 59-47, and were down 18 later in the third quarter before making a run in the final few minutes of the game.

Chucky Atkins made a three-pointer with 3:53 left to pull the Lakers within 99-93, shrinking the Spurs’ lead to under eight for the first time since 8:44 of the second quarter.

But the Spurs countered with enough free throws and offensive rebounds to maintain their lead. Even Jack Nicholson got perturbed toward the end, standing up from his courtside seat, screaming at the referees after Chris Mihm was called for a foul.

“Not getting rebounds on free throws, you’ve got to get those,” Tomjanovich said. “Those are little things that eat away at you. We have work to do.”

A long night for the Lakers, and perhaps the beginning of the end of an entertaining rivalry.