So who looks old now?

SAN ANTONIO -- The Spurs may be old, but they don’t appear to be aging.

The league’s eldest team whipped back into shape in Game 3, winning in dominating fashion over the Lakers and gaining some needed traction heading into Game 4.

The Spurs lost a couple of games in Los Angeles, but they still have their confidence and swagger.

“To be honest with you, we never lost it,” point guard Tony Parker said. “We just lost two games. . . . It happened in New Orleans [against the Hornets] and we are in the same situation right now. We won Game 3 and we know Game 4 is going to be even harder. We are just happy to play better basketball, and now we have to maintain it.”

It’s better basketball, but the same basketball they played in Los Angeles, according to Coach Gregg Popovich.

There was one pretty big difference: the Spurs were 103-84 winners Sunday, two days after losing, 101-71, at Staples Center.

“It was the same offense we ran in L.A. and we lost,” Popovich said. “So, everybody says if you win the game, then your offense was great and it was smooth. And if you lose . . . then you stood there and that kind of thing. So, same offense.”

That offense finally got refined Monday, when the Spurs were able to fit in a practice for the first time in eight days.

Game 4 is another steppingstone as the Spurs again look to win a series the hard way -- after being down, 2-0. “We have to play well at home and we eventually have to win one over there,” Parker said.

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Kobe Bryant was sent to the free-throw line only once in Game 3 after he was fouled while making a three-point shot. He missed that lone attempt and has shot only six free throws in the three games.

That is a far cry from the physical Western Conference semifinal series against the Utah Jazz, in which Bryant averaged 16 free throws a game.

“It’s something we try to do,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said of limiting Bryant’s access to the line. “Sometimes, you just can’t, but if you give Kobe -- besides all those shots that he takes -- 20 free-throw opportunities, then it becomes really difficult.

“If he starts making all those threes, I think you can live with it. It’s a risk you can allow yourself to take, but I believe it was a really good job for us not to foul him while shooting or send him to the line as much.”

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Spurs forward Robert Horry, a teammate of Bryant’s during the Lakers’ three-title run in 2000-2002, has noted a difference in him from afar.

“He’s more vocal in a teammate type of way,” Horry said. “I know that’s kind of funny to say, but he’s talking to his guys, he’s pointing guys in the right direction, not just saying, ‘Hey, give me the ball.’ So, I think that’s the big key. His vocal is more communicative than being more forceful.

“To be honest, I think he looks happier. And that’s the most important thing when playing basketball. If you’re happy in a situation, you’re going to play well and enjoy who you’re with.”

jonathan.abrams@latimes.com