Lakers play it fast without getting too loose

Fall behind and catch up? Done it a few times. Win with defense? Also been done. Outrun an up-tempo team? It happened Sunday.

The Lakers outscored the Toronto Raptors, beating them at their own push-the-pace preference, 112-99, at Staples Center.

Pau Gasol had 24 points, Kobe Bryant had 23, and perhaps the only other activity that needed to be mentioned was some inactivity -- neither Bryant nor Gasol played in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers (14-1) seem to be enjoying themselves, not that it's overly difficult to comprehend. Their average margin of victory (15.5 points a game) eclipses anybody else's, and they are now two victories shy of the 2001-02 team that set a Lakers standard by winning 16 of its first 17 games.

They seem to win via different dimensions these days, Sunday being the time to show they can out-point a relatively point-happy bunch.

The Lakers beat the Raptors in fastbreak points, 18-7, and drilled them in points in the paint, 58-32.

"We have the versatility to play any kind of way," said forward Trevor Ariza, who had 14 points. "The way the NBA is, that's a good thing because we can slow the ball down, we can run up and down the court, we can do whatever."

The Lakers again caught a break in the injury department, facing the Raptors without center/forward Jermaine O'Neal, who was sidelined because of a sprained ankle. (The Lakers beat Dallas on Friday when the Mavericks were without their second-leading scorer, Josh Howard.)

But the Raptors kept it interesting by making 10 of their first 19 three-point attempts, a sharp 52.6%.

The Lakers saw a 15-point lead trickle down to 90-84 early in the fourth quarter, but, in their now-familiar way, answered with a game-clinching 17-4 burst.

Sasha Vujacic scored on a driving layup, Ariza hit a baseline hook shot and then their fun really began.

Vujacic threw a lob to Andrew Bynum, who reached backward to corral the ball and dunk it. Then Bynum had another dunk off a lob, this time from Jordan Farmar. Less than a minute later, Bynum collected a rebound and heaved the ball downcourt to Lamar Odom, who no-looked a pass to Ariza for a dunk.

From there, it was just a matter of time before the purple and gold confetti dropped from the ceiling after another Lakers victory.