Lakers work it out at end

Just another typical game in the state capital: a rowdy crowd, an embarrassingly small visitors’ locker room, a new package of barbs lobbed by Phil Jackson and, of course, the requisite problems at the team hotel.

But here’s something new, if not surprising: The Lakers, short-handed and everything, fought through a recent sticking point on their NBA road map with a 132-128 overtime victory Thursday against the Sacramento Kings at Arco Arena.

With Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom staying back in L.A., the Lakers lost a 21-point lead, then forced overtime on Smush Parker’s driving layup with one-tenth of a second left in the fourth quarter.

Surreal? Yes. Surprising? Most definitely.

The Lakers improved to 21-11, 10 games over .500 for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

Kobe Bryant had 42 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, Brian Cook had 26 points, and Andrew Bynum, in his first start since Nov. 28, had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lakers haven’t won the season series against the Kings since 2001-02, and had lost three consecutive games here by an average of 11.3 points.

Then came Thursday.

The Lakers trailed, 116-112, after John Salmons hit two free throws for the Kings with 6.7 seconds left in regulation. But Vladimir Radmanovic made a three-pointer from the corner with 4.7 seconds left and, after Kevin Martin made only one of two free throws, Parker took a feed from Bryant and drove the lane for a layup.

“We were lucky to come out a winner in this one,” Jackson said. “I always tell guys to keep playing because you never know what’s going to happen. We had three-point shooters in the game, Vlade knocked that one down and we had an opportunity.”

Overtime started in the Lakers’ favor and ended that way too.

After Bryant provided a two-point lead, Cook stole the ball from Mike Bibby and fed Parker for a dunk and a 120-116 Lakers lead.

Before the game, shortly after he ducked his head to enter a tiny locker room that would make a high school coach blush, Bynum wolfed down a nutritional bar and mentioned the obvious. “I’m hungry,” he said.

Starving, yes, and maybe a bit thirsty too. The Lakers were without water most of the day at the team hotel thanks to renovations that began before 8 a.m. and ended eight hours later. Some of them were awakened by hammering and drilling, and others couldn’t grab a pregame nap later for the same reason.

Some of them had to change rooms just to shower. Or, the alternative, as suggested to some of them by hotel management: a publicly shared bathroom on the second floor.

The Lakers had seen something like this before, when Bryant experienced food poisoning at a different hotel here a few years back.

They have also gotten to know what to expect in Arco Arena.

Kings fans were fiery and assertive as usual, beginning a “Beat L.A.” chant an hour before tipoff as assistant coaches Kurt Rambis and Brian Shaw shot around with a handful of players.

Jackson continued his hate-hate relationship with the city and its basketball fans, comparing the visitors’ locker room to a dungeon and joking that Kings fans must not really be fans at all because a ballot measure for a new arena was shot down two months ago.

With Brown out approximately four weeks because of a sprained ankle, the pregame lens focused on centers Bynum and Ronny Turiaf. Almost forgotten was Cook, who started at power forward, hit his first six shots, and had 13 points in the first quarter.

Bryant and Cook each had 18 points in the first half as the Lakers led, 74-58, making a blistering 59.1% of their shots.

That both teams survived the second quarter was worthy of an award. They shot a combined 47 free throws, only three off the league record for free throws in a quarter.

The Lakers, in apparent control, found time for a chuckle or two. After Cook banked in a free throw, Bryant tried to hide his expression by pulling his jersey over the lower part of his face.

“I feel a lot better now than when we were down by four in the final seconds,” said Luke Walton, who had 16 points before fouling out. “It was a long day, but it ended well.”

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com