Lakers have great present

This is getting serious.

The Lakers, left for dead in many NBA circles before even hitting the ground in Honolulu for training camp, pushed through another level Tuesday by dropping the Phoenix Suns, 122-115, and moving to within a game of them in the Pacific Division standings.

Andrew Bynum outplayed two-time All-Star Amare Stoudemire, Kobe Bryant provided a stirring second half on the way to 38 points, and the Lakers won for the ninth time in their last 11 games while continuing to build an impressive resume, all in front of an amped-up Christmas Day crowd at Staples Center.

The Lakers’ ledger, as it now stands: victories over Houston, Detroit, Utah, Phoenix (twice), Denver (twice) and a depleted San Antonio team.

A very merry Christmas for them, indeed.

It started with Bynum, who delivered a career-high 28 points on 11-for-13 shooting. He also had 12 rebounds. His counterpart, Stoudemire, had 19 points and six rebounds.

Bryant did his part after a quiet 12-point effort in the first half, bursting through with 26 points in the second half. He made 12 of 20 shots overall, 13 of 14 free throws and had seven assists to go with five rebounds.

Derek Fisher had 19 points, Lamar Odom had 15 (with 14 rebounds) and surprise starter Trevor Ariza scored 14, making the Lakers 5-0 when all five starters score in double figures this season.

“We have a solid foundation,” Bryant said. “We’ve got length, we’ve got speed, we have quickness, we have shot-blocking, we have guys that get after the ball and steal it, we have playmakers. It’s looking very solid.”

Beyond that, the players offered few self-congratulatory observations while speaking mainly of a long road ahead, although they did find time to poke fun at Coach Phil Jackson’s red-and-white bow tie that was, well, ornate.

“I thought it looked nice, you know what I mean?” Bynum said before pausing for effect. “You wouldn’t catch me in it, but, you know . . . “

Bynum caught the Suns (19-9) off guard throughout the game, mixing in equal parts emotion and efficiency, as he has with greater regularity in recent weeks. After a second-quarter dunk on Stoudemire, he bounced up and down with a huge grin.

“I don’t know if he’s up and coming,” Suns Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s there.”

Bynum also played a season-high 42 minutes.

“I feel like I could play another game right now,” he said. “They were hitting me right under the basket, so I have no choice but to dunk the ball.”

The Staples Center crowd seemed more fiery than usual, perhaps because of the lingering tension between the teams, or possibly the anticipation of seeing the Lakers (18-10) continue to blow past mediocre expectations.

Fans even offered a seldom-heard derisive chant toward an opponent in the waning seconds, a boisterous reminder that the Lakers appear to have come a ways since consecutive first-round playoff flameouts against the Suns.

The Lakers themselves seemed slightly less enthused, perhaps because the recent rallying cry has been their 26-13 start last season, which dissolved into a 42-40 record and a five-game playoff loss to the Suns.

Bryant, aware he kept uttering one-day-at-a-time cliches, finally made a comparison to bland New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick.

“I really don’t want to get too Belichick-y on you guys, but it’s really getting hard to say the same thing,” he said. “I don’t know what better way to put it.”

Whether they want to admit it or not, the Lakers are 2-0 against the Suns this season, including their surprising 119-98 victory on the road Nov. 2.

This one was much tighter, with Bryant’s spinning, twisting dunk giving the Lakers a 92-89 edge with 3.4 seconds left in the third quarter. They extended the lead steadily in the fourth, Fisher’s free throws with 57 seconds left giving them a 118-108 lead.

Afterward, in the budding glow of the Lakers-Suns rivalry, Jackson declined to further stoke the tension between the two coaches, although he did allow one last salvo when asked if they spoke during the game.

“I’m not one of the coaches that does that,” Jackson said wryly. “But I did wave down there at their end of the bench.”

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Decking their halls

The Lakers have played on Christmas Day the last nine

seasons, winning only three times:

2007: at Lakers 122, Phoenix 115

2006: at Miami 101, Lakers 85

2005: at Miami 97, Lakers 92

2004: Miami 104, at Lakers 102 (OT)

2003: Houston 99, at Lakers 87

2002: Sacramento 105, at Lakers 99

2001: at Lakers 88, Philadelphia 82

2000: Portland 109, at Lakers 104

1999: at Lakers 99, San Antonio 93

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Rising?

Lakers have won eight of 22 games against Phoenix in the last three seasons (* playoffs):

*--* Date Result Nov. 3, 2005 Suns 122, at Lakers 112 Jan. 20, 2006 at Suns 106, Lakers 93 April 7, 2006 at Suns 107, Lakers 96 April 16, 2006 at Lakers 109, Suns 89 April 23, 2006 at Suns 107, Lakers 102* April 26, 2006 Lakers 99, Suns 93* April 28, 2006 at Lakers 99, Suns 92* April 30, 2006 at Lakers 99, Suns 98 (OT)* May 2, 2006 at Suns 114, Lakers 97* May 4, 2006 Suns 126, Lakers 118 (OT)* May 6, 2006 at Suns 121, Lakers 90* Oct. 31, 2006 at Lakers 114, Suns 106 March 4, 2007 at Suns 99, Lakers 94 April 8, 2007 Suns 115, at Lakers 107 April 13, 2007 at Suns 93, Lakers 85 April 22, 2007 at Suns 95, Lakers 87* April 24, 2007 at Suns 126, Lakers 98* April 26, 2007 at Lakers 95, Suns 89* April 29, 2007 Suns 113, at Lakers 100* May 2, 2007 at Suns 119, Lakers 110* Nov. 2, 2007 Lakers 119, at Suns 98 Dec. 25, 2007 at Lakers 122, Suns 115 *--*

Source: NBA.com