By JOSEPH WHITE

Posted Jan 26 2010 9:35PM

WASHINGTON(AP) The Los Angeles Lakers broke out of their road funk by showing the distracted Washington Wizards what hustling, focused, never-let-up basketball is all about, shooting 59 percent and forcing six turnovers during a crucial second-quarter run in a 115-103 win Tuesday night.

Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant scored 26 points apiece for the Lakers, who had lost six of their previous eight road games and pulled to a 2-2 record midway through their current eight-game swing. Lamar Odom said before the game that the reigning NBA champs had become ``a little too overconfident,'' but it didn't show as he and teammates chased down loose balls and kept their hands all over the passing lanes.

Antawn Jamison scored 27 points to lead the Wizards, who lost the last four games of a six-game homestand. The game came one day after guard Javaris Crittenton received probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge, the latest fallout from last month's locker room confrontation between Crittenton and Gilbert Arenas.

The Lakers took over a tight game with a 20-7 half-ending run that included Wizards turnovers of every kind. Shannon Brown stole the ball from DeShawn Stevenson, Andray Blatche traveled, Mike Miller and Mike James threw bad passes, the shot clock expired, and Brendan Haywood committed an offensive foul with 2.5 seconds left in the quarter.

Brown, meanwhile, used the quarter to tune up for the slam dunk contest at next month's All-Star weekend. He put home an alley-oop, threw down a flying monster to end a fast break and stunned the Wizards by dunking a missed free throw by teammate Andrew Bynum. Derek Fisher's wide-open 3-pointer gave the Lakers a 60-44 lead at the break.

The Wizards stayed within shouting distance in the second half, mostly keeping the deficit between 10 and 15 points. Jamison cut it to nine, 91-82, by making a free throw with 8:58 left in the game, but the Lakers responded with a 12-2 run that included four points from Gasol, a 3-pointer from Brown and a pair of jumpers from Jordan Farmar.

Crittenton's probation means that 40 percent of the Wizards roster has now received some sort of punishment in connection with the guns investigation, including the four players who were fined $10,000 by the team for helping Arenas make fun of the saga when the three-time All-Star pantomimed shooting his teammates before a game at Philadelphia.

Coach Flip Saunders said before game that the Wizards are ``all pretty much numb to the whole thing right now'' - yet more punishment is to come. The coach said both Arenas and Crittenton were meeting with league officials this week, having to answer for breaking the league rule that bans firearms in the locker room as well as other facts that have come up in court.

Arenas, who has pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge and will be sentenced in March, is expected this week to learn the length of his punishment after receiving an indefinite suspension Jan. 6. Crittenton has yet to receive a league punishment, although he hasn't played all season anyway because of a foot injury.

None of that mattered to the Lakers, who beat the Wizards for the sixth straight time game and were honored on Monday by President Barack Obama at the White House for winning last year's NBA title.

Notes: Miller returned to the starting lineup for the Wizards for the first time since November. He had come off the bench in recent games while recovering from a calf injury. He scored 15 points to surpass 9,000 for his career. ... Saunders said Jamison played with a sprained foot. ... Saunders on Bryant, who is playing with a broken right index finger. ``If you're a shooter, you can have a broken arm and you're still going to get shots up.'' ... Pop singer Dionne Warwick was at the game.

Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

LAKERS HEAD COACH PHIL JACKSON
 
On tonight’s game:
“I thought we finished the first half well.  We extended the lead from nine to 15 by halftime.   That was something we had trouble with up in Toronto…we shot the ball well.  Third quarter, we were able to sustain a lead and finish the game off.  Our bench played well, Shannon played well, as well as Sasha and Jordan.”
 
On the Wizards:
“Well, I am impressed with how diligent Washington was with their execution. They did a lot of things to attack us.  They wanted Jamison to attack on Pau, and that’s what we wanted, to attack Jamison with Pau.  They did a lot of things to create a situation for their ball club’s advantage.  In the process, Caron got very active in the ball game and Miller, I thought did a very good supporting role tonight going into the starter’s position.”

LAKERS GUARD KOBE BRYANT

On the game:
“We played well and we didn’t blow too many assignments because it comes down to the execution.  We shot at a decent percentage from the field, and we forced some turnovers.  It’s a big deal to get offensive rebounds and loose balls, especially when we play on the road.”

On the White House trip:
“It was a great experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.  It was good to have my family there and to spend time with them and talk about that moment.”

On Caron Butler:
“He is like a brother to me.  When we played together in LA we did everything together.  We would get up at 6:00 am to shoot jump shots together, and that will never change even though he is on the opposite side of the court.”

LAKERS FORWARD PAU GASOL

On the game:
“We stayed in the lead when we began to play hard and work together.  We started to play together and we made the right plays.”

On his health:
“I’m feeling much better and my leg is feeling much better.”

WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS
 
On the second quarter:
“We played pretty hard tonight overall, but in the second quarter we struggled to get some quality shots.  Brown and Farmar came in and really put a lot of pressure on and they made shots.”

On the game:
“They shot close to 60% and we outrebounded them by nine.  Usually when a team shoots that way there’s not that many rebounds and you don’t get that many.”

More on the game:
“I can’t fault our effort, but at times in the second quarter we didn’t compete around the basket.  Sometimes when you play a team like that you have to show some physicality around the rim, and we didn’t do that.”

On the Lakers:
“They’re a very good team.  There’s a reason they are the world champs. Every time we’d get close, Kobe would take over and be a facilitator scoring-wise or getting Gasol involved.  You can see they don’t panic in situations.”

On putting Mike Miller in the starting lineup:
“I’m trying to change things up a little bit, trying to have another ball handler on the floor to try and take some pressure off Randy.  I thought he played pretty well.  He jumped up in the air a few times but at the end of the second half he started driving more with the idea of scoring rather than just being a passer.”

On the homestand:
“If we had played as hard in our last few games as we did tonight, we would have had a good home stand.  The Miami and Clippers games were two games that we didn’t come out with energy.  I think that a lot of things have happened that caught up to our guys.  We were playing so many games, with five games in seven days, we were almost on an adrenaline rush, then we had a couple days off and kind of came down from that rush and we didn’t have that same energy, but tonight we had energy.  We’ll take tomorrow off and come back on Thursday, and hopefully we’ll have energy to go against New Jersey.”

WIZARDS FORWARD ANTAWN JAMISON
 
On tonight’s game:
“The Lakers do a great job of capitalizing on opponents’ mistakes.  One bad quarter was a difference maker for us tonight.  If you take away the second quarter, things would have been easier.  That’s why the game is 48 minutes.  They took advantage of our mistakes and we weren’t able to come back.  That team continues to stay poised.”

On the Wizards:
“We knew what we had in store for us tonight.  The thing about it is that you have to bring the same type of energy to every game.  For some reason as a team we have not found a way to do it.  We have to find a way to be focused and professional enough to do it night in and night out.”   

WIZARDS CENTER BRENDAN HAYWOOD

On tonight’s game:
“I think that we had a couple of possessions where we didn’t get the shot that we needed to get.  That led to them getting a lot of transition buckets and getting fouled in the open court.  With a team like the Lakers that’s all it takes is a quick four or five minutes of you not playing your best and they take advantage of it.”

By BRETT HUSTON

Posted Jan 25 2010 1:03PM

A 5-5 record over a 10-game span would hardly be cause for concern for most NBA teams, but the Los Angeles Lakers have shown a few flaws since they've had to spend much of their time away from Staples Center.

A trip to the nation's capital could get them headed in the right direction.

The Lakers look to avoid a seventh loss in nine road games Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards, who wrap up a six-game homestand trying to snap a three-game skid.

Los Angeles (33-11) took full advantage of playing 17 of its first 21 games at home, and even looked good on its first lengthy road trip in mid-December, winning four of five.

It's been a different story for the Lakers on the road lately, however. They've lost six of eight after falling 106-105 to Toronto on Sunday and dropping to 1-2 on their current eight-game trip.

"We're going through a malaise a little bit,'' Kobe Bryant said after finishing with 27 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists but missing a potential game-winning jumper. "Things have kind of plateaued right now. At this stage of the season it happens, but you've still got to put a whole lot of effort and kick it into high gear and get it going.''

The Lakers' mediocre stretch has coincided with Bryant being banged up, but the reigning Finals MVP hasn't taken a game off despite a broken finger and a sore lower back. He's been held to 20.5 points on 38.1 percent shooting over his last eight contests.

While Los Angeles is going through a recent rough patch, it's been that way all season for the Wizards (14-29). Despite playing 10 of 14 games at home, Washington is 3-7 at the Verizon Center, including three straight losses.

The Wizards shot 39.5 percent for the second straight game Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers, and were outscored 21-10 in the fourth quarter of a 92-78 loss.

They've also struggled at the start of games. Washington has been outscored by an average of 8.7 points in the first quarter of its past three losses.

"It's not like we're doing it on purpose,'' said Antawn Jamison, who's been held to 11.7 points per game and 35.0 percent shooting in that stretch. "If I knew the answer to it, the solution to it, it would have been done a long time ago. We preach about it before every game, and we still get the same results.''

Aside from Jamison's struggles, the Wizards' bench hasn't stepped up. Washington's reserves are among the league's least productive (24.8 ppg), and they were held to 19 against the Clippers - the sixth time this month they've scored 20 points or fewer.

"Our bench, they talk about playing and wanting to play - they've had opportunities," coach Flip Saunders said. "They continue to not produce.''

The Lakers' bench hasn't been much better, averaging 25.8 points. Lamar Odom has averaged 11.4 points as a starter but just 7.5 as a reserve, which he's been for the past five games with Pau Gasol now healthy.

Los Angeles is 14-2 when Odom scores 11 or more.

The Lakers have won five in a row against Washington - three at the Verizon Center - and they've won the last three without much from Bryant. He's averaged 20.0 points and shot 30.8 percent.

Andrew Bynum keyed last season's two-game sweep, averaging 21.0 points and 12.0 rebounds, though Wizards center Brendan Haywood - averaging 11.4 points and 12.3 boards in his last 10 games - was inactive for both meetings.

Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Kobe Bryant (avulsion fracture, right index finger) is probable.
Sasha Vujacic (strained right hamstring) is probable.
Luke Walton (pinched nerve, back) is probable.

None

SEASON & SERIES NOTES; CONNECTIONS
The Lakers swept last season’s series with Washington 2-0 for the second consecutive year. This will be the 175th meeting between the two franchises with the Lakers leading the all-time series 111-63. Over the past 30 years, the Lakers have lost just two season series to Washington (1975-76; 1-3 and 2004-05; 0-2). The Lakers are 6-4 in their last 10 overall meetings with the Wizards but have taken their last five straight from Washington. In Washington, the Lakers have won three straight and have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games at Verizon Center. At STAPLES Center, the Lakers are 8-2 all-time against the Wizards. Under head coach Phil Jackson, Los Angeles is 14-4 against Washington. On December 17, 2006 at STAPLES Center, Gilbert Arenas and Kobe Bryant became only the seventh pair of opponents to put up 60-plus points and 45-plus points in the same game. In that game, Arenas became just the 8th player to score 60+ points against the Lakers while establishing a series record for points. Bryant’s Los Angeles series record 55 points against Washington came against the Michael Jordan-led Wizards in March of 2003 at STAPLES Center. In 22 career games including 18 starts, Bryant is averaging 25.1 points against Washington. Wizards forward Caron Butler played the 2004-05 season with the Lakers, averaging 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.43 steals in 77 games. Additionally, Luke Walton and Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas played collegiately together at the University of Arizona. Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton was drafted by the Lakers with the 19th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and played one season with the Lakers (2007-08), averaging 3.3 points in 22 games. Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak was a member of the 1977-78 Washington Bullets NBA Championship team. Wizards assistant coach Mike Wells was an assistant coach on the Lakers bench for the 2004-05 season.

BRYANT APPROACHING JERRY WEST FOR FIRST ON LAKERS ALL-TIME SCORING LIST (14th ON NBA LIST)
With 22 points 1/5 vs. Houston, Kobe Bryant moved past Patrick Ewing (24,815) for 15th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Earlier this season, with 41 points 11/6 vs. Memphis, Bryant moved past Allen Iverson for 16th on the all-time list. Bryant has been steadily moving up the list the last few years and last season alone, passed Charles Barkley (23,757) for 17th, Robert Parish (23,334) for 18th, Adrian Dantley (23,177) for 19th, Elgin Baylor (23,149) for 20th, Clyde Drexler (22,195) for 21st, Gary Payton (21,813) for 22nd and Larry Bird (21,791) for 23rd. Next on the all-time list ahead of Bryant (25,066) are Jerry West (14th/25,192) and Reggie Miller (13th/25,279).

Additionally, with his free throw at the 6:07 mark of the third quarter November 19th vs. Chicago, Bryant moved past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24,176) for 2nd on the Lakers all-time franchise scoring list. While only Jerry West (25,192) has scored more points with the Lakers than Bryant (25,066), at his current scoring average (28.3 ppg), Bryant would surpass West approximately five games from now 2/1/10 at Memphis.

JACKSON FOUR WINS SHY OF RILEY FOR MOST REGULAR SEASON VICTORIES IN FRANCHISE HISTORY
With a victory over the New York Knicks January 22nd, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson (529) moved within four games of Pat Riley’s franchise-record 533 regular season victories with the Lakers. The only coach in league history to win better than 70 percent of his games (.707), Jackson ranks 12th in all-time regular season games coached and 1st in playoff games coached (300), won (209) and playoff winning percentage (.697). Last season, Jackson became the fastest coach in NBA history to reach 1,000 career victories, needing 1,423 games to reach the mark, arriving at the mark 11 games earlier than Riley (1,434 career games). Earlier this season, Jackson (1,073) moved past Charlotte Bobcats head coach Larry Brown for 5th on the NBA’s all-time coaching win list with a victory over Detroit (11/17/09). Earning induction in his 1st year of consideration, on September 7, 2007, Jackson was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Owning a record 10 NBA Championships as a head coach, only Jerry Sloan (4th), Pat Riley (3rd), Don Nelson (2nd) and Lenny Wilkens (1st) have more career victories than Jackson while of the top five, Jackson has coached 1,000+ fewer games than Wilkens, 800+ fewer games than Nelson, nearly 500 fewer games than Riley and roughly 400 fewer games than Sloan.

PERFECTION FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Despite shooting just nine foul shots, the Lakers converted a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line on January 24 at Toronto, marking the first time the Lakers went perfect from the charity stripe in a regular season game since 3/8/05, when the Lakers converted 23-of-23 free throws against the Clippers. Furthermore, the Lakers have gone perfect from the foul line in a game in each of the last two postseasons, shooting 24-of-24 from the free throw line in the Lakers series clinching victory in Game 6 of the 2009 Western Conference Finals at Denver and 10-for-10 from the foul line in Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals at Boston.

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
On Wednesday January 20th, the Lakers headed east to Cleveland, embarking upon their longest road-trip of the season. The Lakers 8-game trip is the team’s 11th stretch of eight or more consecutive road games in franchise history and the 5th in the NBA’s modern era which includes the end of neutral court games prior to the 1974- 75 season and the inception of the 82-game schedule prior to the 1976-77 season. On the 8-game trip that takes them through Cleveland, New York, Toronto, the White House and Verizon Center in Washington DC, Indiana, Philadelphia, Boston and Memphis, the Lakers will travel more than 8,469 miles over 13 days through two countries.
* neutral court games included along with road games

BACK-TO-BACK
Tuesday’s game against the Wizards is the first of a back-to-back set with Washington and Indiana. This season, the Lakers are 7-4 in the first game and 8-3 in the second game of back-to-backs. On the year, the Lakers will play 20 sets of back-to-back games, the most the team has played in a single season since playing 22 sets of back-to-backs during the 1999-00 campaign. Last year, the Lakers played 19 sets of back-to-backs, going 14-5 in the first game and 14-5 in the second as well. Charlotte, Detroit and Milwaukee lead the league with 23 back-to-backs each in 2009-10 while New Orleans (15) and San Antonio (17) will play the fewest sets this season.

BRYANT YOUNGEST IN NBA HISTORY TO 25,000 CAREER POINTS; 15th EVER TO REACH MILESTONE
With a free throw at the three minute mark of the 2nd quarter January 21st at Cleveland, Kobe Bryant scored his 25,000th career point, becoming the 15th NBA player in league history to do so as well as the youngest ever to reach the milestone at 31 years and 151 days of age. Bryant surpassed Wilt Chamberlain (31 years, 186 days) in terms of youngest to 25,000, with Karl Malone (33 years, 228 days) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33 years, 249 days) ranking 3rd and 4th respectively. In terms of games, Bryant (989 games) became the 9th fastest to 25,000 career points, behind Dominique Wilkins (960) but ahead of Hakeem Olajuwon (1,057). Wilt Chamberlain was the fastest to reach 25,000, doing so in 691 games. Michael Jordan (782) and Abdul-Jabbar (889) rank 2nd and 3rd behind Chamberlain.

Earlier this season, with a second-quarter basket November 6th against the Grizzlies, Kobe Bryant (31 years, 75 days) became the youngest player in NBA history to score 24,000 points, reaching the milestone ahead of Wilt Chamberlain (31 years, 113 days). In terms of games, of the 17 players to now have scored 24,000 points, Bryant is the 9th fastest to do so in terms of games (954). Wilt Chamberlain was the fastest in league history to score 24,000 points, doing so in just 653 games.

Last season, with 34 points February 10 vs. Oklahoma City, Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to score 23,000 points (30 years, 171 days), reaching the milestone FIVE days younger than Wilt Chamberlain (30 years, 176 days). In terms of games, of the 21 players to score 23,000 points, Bryant was the 11th fastest to do so, reaching the mark in 917 games. Earlier in the year, with 28 points December 2 at Indiana, Bryant became the 22nd player in NBA history to score 22,000 points and in doing so, became the 2nd youngest player ever to 22,000 points (30 years, 101 days), one day older than Wilt Chamberlain (30 years, 100 days) who scored his 22,000th point on 11/26/66. The youngest player in league history to accumulate 15,000 – 20,000 and 23,000 – 25,000 points, Bryant became the 12th fastest to 22,000 points in terms of games, reaching the mark in 881 career games. Through his career, Bryant has been 29th fastest to 15,000, 22nd fastest to 16,000, 20th fastest to 17,000, 16th fastest to 18,000, 15th fastest to 19,000, 15th fastest to 20,000, 12th fastest to 21,000, 12th fastest to 22,000 and 11th fastest to 23,000 points in terms of games.

BRYANT RETAINS NO. 1 SPOT ON NBA’S MOST POPULAR JERSEYS LIST
On January 20th, the NBA released its Most Popular Jerseys list with Kobe Bryant’s #24 once again listed as no. 1, a ranking Bryant has now held since the start of the 2008-09 season. The rankings, based on sales at the NBA Store in New York City and NBAStore.com since the start of the 2009-10 season, once again list the Los Angeles Lakers as no. 1 in “Most Popular NBA Team Merchandise.” Additionally, Lakers forward/center Pau Gasol (10th) rounds out the top 10 most popular jerseys. (1) Bryant (2) James (3) Howard (4) Rose (5) Wade (6) Garnett (7) Paul (8) Pierce (9) S. O’Neal (10) Gasol / (1) Lakers (2) Celtics (3) Cavaliers (4) Knicks (5) Bulls

BRYANT LEADING VOTE-GETTER IN WEST, WILL START 12th CONSECUTIVE ALL-STAR GAME
On January 21st, the NBA announced the starters for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, TX. Kobe Bryant (2,456,224), who led all players in All-Star voting for the first four returns of balloting, finished second overall to Cleveland’s LeBron James (2,549,693) in total votes but still topped the Western Conference for the third consecutive season. Joining Bryant in the West are Carmelo Anthony (2,137,560), Tim Duncan (1,156,696), Amar’e Stoudemire (1,824,093) and Steve Nash (1,222,235). In the East, James will be joined by Kevin Garnett (1,978,116), Dwight Howard (2,360,096), Allen Iverson (1,269,568) and Dwyane Wade (2,327,550).

Pau Gasol (1,051,784), who made his second All-Star team last season as a reserve and became the 27th Laker in franchise history to be name an All-Star, ranked 4th in balloting among West forwards behind Anthony, Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki (1,093,005) but ahead of Kevin Durant (870,567) while Andrew Bynum (981,355) ranked 2nd among West centers behind Stoudemire. In selecting the reserves, the 30 NBA head coaches must vote for seven players within their conference, including two guards, two forwards, a center and two players regardless of position. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. After the coaches select the reserves, if a player is unable to participate in the All-Star Game, NBA Commissioner David Stern will select a replacement. Reserves will be announced 1/28/10 on TNT.

In each of the last two seasons, Bryant has led the Western Conference in all-star balloting. Last season, he accumulated 2,805,397 votes, finishing third in overall balloting behind Dwight Howard (3,150,181) and LeBron James (2,940,823). In 2007-08, Bryant garnered 2,004,940 votes to finish fourth in overall voting behind Kevin Garnett (2,399,148), James (2,108,831) and Howard (2,066,991). In 2006-07, when he earned his second All-Star MVP, Bryant finished third overall in balloting behind James and Yao Ming. A three-time All-Star MVP (2002 Philadelphia, 2007 Las Vegas, 2009 Phoenix), Bryant is now a 12-time All-Star and will start his 12th consecutive All-Star game on Sunday, February 14. Bryant, who was the youngest All-Star in NBA history in 1998, led all players in NBA All-Star balloting in 2003.

SHANNON BROWN TO PARTICIPATE IN 2010 SPRITE SLAM DUNK
On January 18, the NBA announced that Lakers guard Shannon Brown will compete against defending champion Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks, Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats and the winner of the NBA’s first ever All-Star Dunk-In between Eric Gordon of the LA Clippers and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors. Brown, who competed in the 2003 High School McDonald’s All American dunk contest against LeBron James, Von Wafer and J.R. Giddens, will be the fourth Laker to ever compete in the NBA’s Slam Dunk contest, joining Michael Cooper (1984), Antonio Harvey (1995) and 1997 Slam Dunk Champion Kobe Bryant.