Shannon Brown hammers it home for Lakers

He had been hyped so much before the All-Star game as the favorite to win the dunk contest. He had displayed so many exciting dunks that he had become a YouTube sensation.

Then came Saturday night’s contest and Lakers guard Shannon Brown was a disappointment, his dunks not worthy enough to get him out of the first round.

Three nights later, when he was back in the starting lineup again for injured Kobe Bryant, Brown shook off his poor performance in the dunk contest and produced a career game in helping the Lakers defeat the Golden State Warriors, 104-94, Tuesday at Staples Center.

“Actually, to be honest, I didn’t care what the story was after Dallas,” Brown said about the weekend. “I’d rather be remembered as a good basketball player than a great dunker.”

Against the Warriors, Brown demonstrated skills that showed he is more than just a dunker.

He had career bests in points (27), rebounds (10), shots attempts (19) and baskets (11).

It was the fourth consecutive game Brown started in place of Bryant, who missed another game because of a sprained left ankle.

“Actually, I didn’t know that Kobe was out or that I was going to start until we had our pre-game talk,” Brown said. “So I just tried to come out and be aggressive.

“We know that coming back off All-Star break is usually one of them times where everything is not clicking like it was leading into the All-Star break. So we just tried to come out and execute on both ends of the court and got a victory.”

Brown did have one of his highlight dunks, in which he floated in with the ball held high above his head.

“You know what’s funny? Josh Powell came up to me after the dunk during the timeout and was like, ‘Man, that looked like one of your dunk contest dunks,’ ” Brown said, smiling. “I started laughing.”

Brown was at his best in the fourth quarter, making four of five shots and all four of his free throws for 12 points.

He split two defenders and scored on a runner in the fourth.

He drove the length of the court for a floater, giving the Lakers an 87-83 lead.

With the Lakers ahead by five points, Brown dribbled the ball between his legs, looking to get some separation from the defender.

When he did, Brown rose up and made a 22-foot jumper that gave the Lakers a 98-91 lead, forcing the Warriors to call a timeout with 1:13 left.

Brown scored on a floater with 38.7 seconds left, capping his night.

“They are the type of team that likes to get up and down,” Brown said. “I kind of like to play like that. So I get the ball in the open court and I get to see what’s going on and attack and do whatever I’ve got to do from there. This was a great team to play against.”

Brown impressed his teammates with his all-around play.

He also had three assists, two steals and one blocked shot.

“He played a phenomenal game,” Lakers center Andrew Bynum said. “I know he has the talent and is a super athlete. He just had to wait for a good opportunity. The talent is there and he just went out and played a really great game.”

Bynum was having a really good night, too, until his right hip began to bother him.

He had missed the second half of the Portland game and the next two games against San Antonio and Utah with a bruised right hip.

Bynum came back to score 21 points on eight-for-11 shooting against the Warriors. He also had seven rebounds.

But as the game wore on, Bynum began to shy away from contact.

“It started hurting,” he said about his hip. “It’s going to be this way for a little while. I’m going to get treatment and go from there.”

broderick.turner@latimes.com

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