It’s Been a Command Performance by Kobe

Kobe Bryant has scored 90 points in the last two games, as per request by point guard Chucky Atkins, as it turns out.

Bryant, who has tried to be a part-time passer this season, said Atkins gave him a score-more directive a few minutes before tipoff of the Lakers’ Dec. 22 game against New Orleans.

“He came up to me and said, ‘Hey man, when can I get like a 40 or 50 from you?’ ” Bryant said. “I said, ‘I’m just going with the flow.’ He said, ‘Man, [forget] that. You’ve got to get us going.’

“I said, ‘All right. Say no more.’ ”

Bryant had 29 points in a win over the Hornets, then 42 in an overtime loss to Miami and 48 in Tuesday’s victory over Toronto.

“I just put on my aggressive hat,” said Bryant, whose scoring average increased from 27.1 to 28.4 points after the two-game outburst. “It took a game for me to really get in rhythm against New Orleans. After that, I just got right back into rhythm. It feels like us as a team are feeding off of that. It’s a different rhythm when you go from thinking playmaker first as opposed to scorer first.”

Bryant talked of an “open relationship” when it comes to talking strategy and such.

“We have voices on the team that speak for the whole,” Bryant said. “They wanted me to just be more assertive, to be more aggressive because that gets them going.

“If I’m sitting back passive and being more of a playmaker, we felt like we’re letting the defense off the hook as opposed to me just going and attacking, then that keeps the defense on their heels.”

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Rookie guard Sasha Vujacic has played in only five games, although his minutes could increase with the Lakers looking to squeeze in a few more minutes of rest for Bryant.

Vujacic, selected 27th overall in the draft last June, has seven points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.

“I talked to him [Friday] about looking for opportunities,” Laker Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “I told him early that a lot of it is going to be watching early and learning and using the practices. His opportunities are coming.”

Bryant is averaging a league-high 43.7 minutes a game.