End is in sight for the Lakers

For all their follies the last two playoff seasons -- Game 6 in last year’s Finals in Boston, Game 4 last Sunday against Houston -- there’s one thing the Lakers have done really well.

If they are one victory away from ending a series, they take care of it, winning all four of their last “close-out” games against playoff opponents.

Thanks to a breezy 118-78 victory Tuesday, the Lakers could finish their Western Conference semifinal tonight in Game 6 against the Houston Rockets.

If they need extra motivation, they could always study video of their last game in Houston. The Rockets found out they’d be without Yao Ming the rest of the playoffs, and the Lakers found themselves inexplicably down 29 points on the way to a 99-87 loss.

Each team had had something in common that day: their centers were missing. Yao was out with a fractured foot and Andrew Bynum went scoreless with three fouls, two rebounds and one turnover in 12 minutes.

The good news for the Lakers was Bynum’s semi-emergence in Game 5. He had 14 points on five-for-six shooting, made all four of his free throws and also took six rebounds in almost 20 minutes.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than his meager playoff averages coming into the game -- 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds a game.

“I thought he had pretty good energy out there,” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. “Rebounding was great, I thought his defensive spacing was good.”

Jackson declined to say if Bynum would again be in the starting lineup for Game 6, though Lamar Odom (bruised lower back) didn’t do much beyond taking a few shots off to the side at Wednesday’s practice after playing only 19 minutes Tuesday.

A healthy, productive Bynum might be the key to the Lakers’ championship aspirations, seeing how no other playoff team will be employing a 6-foot-6 center.

If the Lakers get past Houston, Denver will be waiting with physical pivot men Nene and Chris Andersen. The teams still alive in the East all have physical post players as well -- Cleveland’s Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Boston’s Kendrick Perkins.

Any hint of a Bynum rebirth would intrigue just about anybody, including Bynum.

“I definitely got in the flow, started early and kept it going,” Bynum said of his Game 5 effort. “It does wonders to be out there and playing with your teammates and being involved.”

He had two dunks and a short bank shot in the Lakers’ first few possessions and would have played more than 20 minutes if he hadn’t sustained a minor heel injury that was fine by Wednesday morning, Jackson said.

Bynum was dripping sweat when he came off the court after taking part in a scrimmage at practice. He was ready to hear that Game 5 might be the beginning of the end of his playoff problems.

“It definitely has a lot to do with rust and just getting the same explosion that you had,” Bynum said. “Jumping ability, quickness off the ground, was a good attribute of mine, something that I have to continue to work on and try to get back. And then, obviously, mentally, to go from playing to being on the bench is tough on anybody.”

There’s still a series to be sewn up, which the Lakers hope to do tonight.

“Houston’s going to come out very hard and they’re going to try to attack us just like they did [in Game 4],” Bynum said. “We’re going to have to go out there and be ready this time, clamp down on defense from the beginning.”

Maturity level

Games 4 and 5 showed the best and worst of the Rockets and Lakers.

Houston forward Ron Artest thinks he knows what’s happening out there.

“I guess both teams are very immature,” he said. “Both teams, they show immaturity. The good thing is that we still got two games left.”

Two games left? Well, maybe.

All-NBA

Kobe Bryant was selected first-team All-NBA for the seventh time in his career, the league announced Wednesday.

Pau Gasol earned All-NBA recognition for the first time in his career by being selected to the third team.

Bryant was on the first team in seven of the last eight seasons. He was a second-team selection in 2000 and 2001 and third team in 1999 and 2005.

Bryant was joined on the first team by Cleveland forward LeBron James, Miami guard Dwyane Wade, Orlando center Howard and Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki.

Times staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

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Killer instinct?

How the Lakers have fared in playoff close-out games the last two seasons:

2009

First round: Def. Utah, 107-96, Lakers win series, 4-1.

2008

Western Conference finals: Def. San Antonio, 100-92. Lakers win series, 4-1.

Western Conference semifinals: Def. Utah, 108-105, Lakers win series, 4-2.

First round: Def. Denver, 107-101. Lakers win series, 4-0.

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All-NBA

Selected by a panel of 122 sportswriters and broad- casters throughout North America. Statistics (points, rebounds, assists) are from the regular season:

*--* FIRST TEAM P PLAYER, TEAM STATISTICS F LeBron James, Cleveland 28.4; 7.6; 7.4 F Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas 25.9; 8.4; 2.4 C Dwight Howard, Orlando 20.6; 13.8; 1.4 G Kobe Bryant, LAKERS 26.8; 5.2; 4.9 G Dwyane Wade, Miami 30.2; 7.5; 5.0 SECOND TEAM F Tim Duncan, San Antonio 19.3; 10.7; 3.5 F Paul Pierce, Boston 20.5; 5.6; 3.6 C Yao Ming, Houston 19.7; 9.9; 1.8 G Chris Paul, New Orleans 22.8; 5.5; 11.0 G Brandon Roy, Portland 22.6; 4.7; 5.1 THIRD TEAM F Pau Gasol, LAKERS 18.9; 9.6; 3.5 F Carmelo Anthony, Denver 22.8; 6.8; 3.4 C Shaquille O’Neal, Phoenix 17.8; 8.4; 1.7 G Tony Parker, San Antonio 22.0; 3.1; 6.9 G Chauncey Billups, Denver 17.7; 3.0; 6.4 *--*