In battle of young and younger, Bynum gets tip

Kobe Bryant inspired chants of “MVP!” as he rolled to a 32-point night Sunday and Sasha Vujacic triggered roars with a trio of three-point shots in the fourth quarter, but the matchup within the matchup will be remembered long after the particulars of the Lakers’ 113-92 rout of the Clippers are forgotten.

Two young, ascendant centers -- 20-year-old Andrew Bynum of the Lakers and 25-year-old Chris Kaman of the Clippers -- were on display Sunday at Staples Center, and they didn’t disappoint.

Bynum, still baby-faced, still learning and growing in his third season out of high school. He played 31 minutes, had six blocks -- one short of tying his career high -- 14 points and nine rebounds, barely missing his 12th double-double this season.

Kaman, in his fifth NBA season after playing three college seasons, is one of the few bright spots on a team whose playoff hopes were effectively deflated when Elton Brand ruptured his Achilles’ tendon on a practice court in August. Kaman had 16 rebounds and 18 points Sunday but shot only six for 19 from the floor and had no blocked shots in just over 38 minutes.

Advantage? Pretty even.

But the nod ultimately goes to Bynum in this round because his team won.

Even Kaman acknowledged his adversary’s accomplishments.

“He’s so long and he’s got good timing in blocking shots. He got a couple of mine that I thought he wasn’t going to get. He surprised me a little there,” Kaman said.

“He does a good job for them. He’s going to be very good. I have a good feeling about his potential.”

That potential is manifesting itself more consistently now.

Bynum showed last season that he can dominate games, that he can soar above the rim and be a defensive force and an offensive pillar. But he has also been a kid sometimes, and he must prove he can maintain his fitness and his fire over a full season.

His teammates believe he can.

“Even from the beginning of this season to this point, which is the only way I can judge him, I think he’s improved. Vastly, greatly immensely,” Derek Fisher said.

“I think he’s taking seriously his role of being the protector for us on the defensive end, with shot blocks and really controlling the defensive boards, getting double-figure rebounds just about every night.”

Kaman has been doing all that, too. His numbers are All-Star-caliber, with averages of 18.6 points and 13.9 rebounds per game. But he can be too critical of himself, almost to a fault.

“The problem with him is he’s probably one of the few guys in the league with a conscience,” Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy said.

“So, the bottom line is if he’s not playing well it eats at him a little more than it does most guys.”

True to form, Kaman blamed himself for the Clippers’ slow start Sunday.

“I put a lot of that on myself, one for eight,” he said.

He was taking too much of the burden. “We wound up giving the ball to guys with low seconds on the clock, where Bynum could come and block and roam and time shots,” Dunleavy said.

And he did.

He was aggressive and smart, blocking two shots in less than a minute late in the second quarter, one by Richie Frahm and another by Kaman, an effort that helped the Lakers build a 13-point lead by halftime.

“I think he just wants to go out and show he’s the real deal, and I think he’s been doing that,” Fisher said.

Bynum credited Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the Lakers’ special assistant coaches, for his progress and his shot-blocking prowess. He has blocked 22 shots in his last six games, including a season-high seven against Orlando on Dec. 2.

“I’ve just been working with Kareem, backing up and not giving the guards my body, letting them stretch my body,” he said. “When they put it up, they still have to come up. I’m 7 feet tall and I have a height advantage. I’m closest to the rim, and they have to put the ball into it, so I back up.”

Watching film of Kaman before Sunday’s game gave him an idea of how he would play the Clippers’ ambidextrous 7-footer.

“I know he likes to go one way and come back the other and I was just timing, putting my hand in the way of his shot and it was working out,” Bynum said.

Sounds simple, and he made it look easy.

“We always knew what he can do. We see that during practice,” Vujacic said.

“It doesn’t surprise me. He’s on the right track. He’s getting more minutes and more confidence and in the NBA, whenever you get so many minutes from the head coach, you’re going to get it going.”

At this rate, sore-ankled Kwame Brown will have a tough time getting his job back.

Bynum showed Sunday that he’s not afraid of a little competition. Or a lot, for that matter.

Bynum called the victory “a nice liftoff game,” since it launched the Lakers triumphantly into a four-games-in-six-nights jaunt through the Midwest and East Coast. Bynum’s upward trajectory has only begun. It will be fascinating to see if he takes the Lakers with him.

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Helene Elliott can be reached at helene.elliott@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Elliott, go to latimes.com/elliott.