Parker pushes Lakers to win

This time, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson didn’t feel the urge to stay in the locker room at halftime and watch Christmas movies.

The Lakers looked like a team, felt like one too, and unveiled another road victory, replacing their uninspiring Christmas Day loss with a convincing 106-93 decision Wednesday against the Orlando Magic at Amway Arena.

Kobe Bryant had 27 points, but Smush Parker was the key, unleashing an 18-point third quarter on the way to a 20-point game. His season high before Wednesday was 17.

This season has been no different for Parker than his life, a series of hurdles ending with a grand opportunity.

He is in the final year of a contract that pays him $798,000 this season, significantly less than several Lakers guards, none of whom are starters: Aaron McKie makes $2.5 million, Shammond Williams makes $1.75 million and Sasha Vujacic earns $974,000. Even Parker’s rookie backup, Jordan Farmar, makes $939,000.

Parker, a New York playground legend whose mother died because of the complications of AIDS when he was 8, has been somewhat overlooked, if not maligned this season, as the other guard in the Lakers’ backcourt.

He was almost flawless against the Magic, making eight of 12 shots, seven of eight in the third quarter, and collecting three steals.

One of five Lakers in the final years of their contracts, Parker acknowledged the importance of playing earnestly this season.

“A game like tonight definitely helps, but I’m never satisfied,” he said. “Last year, I had the season of my life and then the last three games I played like trash. I just have to play through the end of the season.”

Indeed, Parker had a ragged finish in the latter part of the Lakers’ collapse against Phoenix in the playoffs. His outside shot deserted him, and so did his defense, as Steve Nash ripped through him and the Lakers for three consecutive Suns victories.

The Lakers selected Farmar in the first round of the 2006 draft to give Parker some competition, and he hasn’t answered strongly, averaging 10.2 points and 2.4 assists before Wednesday, down from 11.5 and 3.7 last season. His shooting had also dropped, from 44.7% last season to 42.6%.

He made his shots against the Magic, helping the Lakers turn a 47-46 halftime deficit into a 79-73 lead entering the fourth quarter.

“It’s a big help,” Bryant said. “He’s getting open looks, and it’s a matter of him being aggressive. Even though you have nights where those shots don’t go down, it’s still important for him to be aggressive.”

Not everybody was impressed with Parker’s burst.

“We can’t be giving the Smush Parkers of the league quarters like that,” Orlando Coach Brian Hill said. “If it’s Kobe, it’s different.”

Hill eventually grew a little more complimentary.

“He did a good job with his on-ball defense,” he said. “He’s long and rangy and besides the 18 points, he had a key steal in the stretch there. He played an excellent game.”

Farmar played only 14 minutes, his fewest since logging 13 against the Clippers 13 games ago.

The Lakers, 3-2 on their six-game trip, could pack it up and go home if they wanted: Jackson said ahead of time he simply wanted a 3-3 record on the trip.

But, of course, they boarded their flight to Charlotte after leaving a buoyant locker room that was heading in a good place 90 minutes before the game, when Andrew Bynum and Maurice Evans good-naturedly debated who won a controversial “Madden 06” video football game earlier in the day. (Despite McKie’s intervention, a verdict couldn’t be reached.)

On the court, Bryant passed with precision to get out of double teams, making only eight of 22 shots but collecting seven assists. One particular play was indicative of the game, Bryant passing to Parker, who found Brian Cook for a three-point shot from the corner as the third quarter expired.

After the Lakers’ listless 101-85 loss Monday to Miami, Jackson mused he would have rather stayed in the locker room at halftime and watched “A Christmas Carol.”

He was more accepting of Wednesday’s effort.

“This team has some players that are giving us a big bump,” he said.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com