Lakers Catch Second Wind

Victories haven’t fallen at the feet of the Lakers as in previous seasons, but that doesn’t mean they are celebrated and commemorated when they come.

The Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers, 103-94, in a game that wouldn’t be a good idea to consume when sleepy. The Lakers were labeled as sluggish by their coach and complacent by their point guard after a 17-point lead fell to five in the last few minutes Sunday in front of 18,997 in Staples Center.

That the Lakers managed to pull away from a tight game, unlike their three road losses last week, was almost lost among the critical comments after the game.

Coach Frank Hamblen said the Lakers were “still a work in progress,” noting that the Pacers were without two injured starters, leading scorer Jermaine O’Neal and point guard Jamaal Tinsley.

“I’m happy we won,” Hamblen said. “I’m not happy how we played. I thought we were very sluggish out there.”

Part of Hamblen’s ire could be traced to coughing up a lead that shrunk from 17 points early in the fourth quarter to five in the last two minutes.

“They seemed tired,” Hamblen said. “They seemed like they just flew in from the East Coast and got in late last night. But we’ll take it.”

At least the Lakers could fault a new wrinkle, if necessary.

Winners of two consecutive games after losing four in a row, the Lakers might have found something on which to build.

Lamar Odom handled the ball more often than in any game since Kobe Bryant’s return from a 14-game injury layoff, and Bryant appeared in the post more than in any game this season.

Bryant had 37 points on 12-for-24 shooting, making his 13 free throws and taking 10 rebounds. Odom had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Chucky Atkins had 16 points and made eight free throws in the last 1 minute 27 seconds.

“I’m more of a free-throw line and below player,” Bryant said. “Lamar’s natural position since high school has been ball-handling. He’ just a natural at handling the ball. Lamar’s been playing out of position since he’s come into the league.”

The Pacers had not won in Los Angeles since the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, a streak that wasn’t about to end Sunday with O’Neal sitting out because of a sprained shoulder and Tinsley sitting out because of a bruised left foot.

Stephen Jackson, the Pacers’ only reliable scorer left, had 29 points. Reggie Miller, playing his last game in Los Angeles after 18 years in the league, had 11 points on five-for-16 shooting.

“It’s special every time you step on the court, but obviously it takes on a little more significance to come home and play,” said Miller, who played at UCLA and Riverside Poly High and has spent his pro career with the Pacers.

“I don’t think I played particularly well and our team got in a little rut early. It’s hard to play catch-up against a team like the Lakers.”

The Lakers had an 84-67 lead after Luke Walton’s free throw with 9:58 to play, but the Pacers closed to 95-90 on Miller’s baseline floater with 2:14 left.

“We got such a big lead, we got a little complacent,” said Atkins, who made two free throws on four consecutive possessions, and the Pacers were never a threat from there.

For once, it seemed, the Lakers weren’t the team firing three-point shots at will, shooting four of 11. The Pacers made nine of 29.

They even played defense for three quarters, holding the Pacers to 65 points before allowing them to spring for 29 in the fourth quarter. The Lakers had given up an average of 108.6 points in their previous five games, four of which were losses.

“Holding a team to 94 points is good for us,” Hamblen said.

The Lakers also managed to move half a game ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and last playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“We just have to keep on working, become better by playing better every game,” Odom said. “We want to control our own destiny and right now we are in that position.”