Yes, They Can Get Along

The stories of the Laker season at the All-Star break: Kobe Bryant’s scoring spree, more than a half-dozen late-game gaffes and tenuous eighth-place footing in the Western Conference.

The Lakers’ non-story at the break: the relationship between Bryant and Coach Phil Jackson.

A blistering topic when Jackson agreed to rejoin the Lakers has cooled and hardened, the least of the Laker worries with 30 regular-season games left.

They have coexisted peacefully by all accounts, with Jackson’s occasional nitpicking of Bryant’s shot selection serving as a lone line of criticism. As such, early-season questions about their relationship have lessened significantly in scope and severity.

“It went through the pipeline for a week or so and it kind of dissipated,” Jackson said. “That came and went, which is natural. But now he’s having the best season of anybody in the NBA, really.”

Bryant, averaging a league-best 34.9 points, incurred some second-guessing when he responded to Jackson’s hiring last June with a brief written statement. When training camp began in October, he vowed to drop any ill feelings lingering from the aftermath of Jackson’s book, saying, “Who am I to sit up here and judge somebody?”

Bryant reiterated Wednesday that the past was just that.

“It’s just a matter of time because people are seeing there’s really nothing to it,” Bryant said. “People have kind of moved on from there.”

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Bryant concurred with the notion the Lakers are underachieving, pointing to their failure to nail down seven games in which they led or were tied in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

“We win some of those games and it’s a different story, we’re in a different position,” Bryant said. “But being a young team and not having experience in how to finish those ballgames, we lost them. So now the tables are turned because of it. The second half of the season is a matter of winning those games.”

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Lamar Odom, slowed by torn rib cartilage, and Kwame Brown, who has experienced pain in his left foot, each had MRI exams Wednesday that showed no structural damage.... Laker center Chris Mihm sat out his sixth game because of a sprained right shoulder. He is expected to play after the All-Star break.