Three weeks ago, the Lakers left town with a gaping hole in their lineup and gnawing doubts about their short-term future.
Nine games and one astonishing trade later, they returned to Staples Center on Tuesday with a 7-foot souvenir named Pau Gasol and an air of invincibility.
Gasol, stolen from Memphis on Feb. 1, made his Los Angeles debut a night to remember.
Greeted with a roar during the pregame introductions and saluted during timeouts by fans waving the red and yellow flag of his native Spain, Gasol applied an emphatic flourish to the can-you-top-this trades that have made the Western Conference scaringly good.
Gasol scored 23 points in the Lakers' 122-93 destruction of the Atlanta Hawks, escalating the playoff-level buzz that electrified the building before he put on a home jersey for the first time.
"Once I jump out on the floor I let things flow and I've got the concept of the offense more or less," said Gasol, who also had six rebounds and two assists. "I'm still working on details and options and wrinkles here and there."
He showed he can dunk the ball, spinning around Zaza Pachulia for a right-handed slam that gave the Lakers an 18-12 lead with 4 minutes 52 seconds left in the first quarter.
He showed he could dish the ball, feeding Vladimir Radmanovic for a three-point shot to fuel a 13-0 run that ended the first quarter.
He made nine of 10 free throws, drawing cheers for his classic form and dead-on accuracy -- and for so forcefully plugging a hole that threatened to swallow the Lakers' season after center Andrew Bynum was felled by a knee injury Jan. 13.
The Lakers had lost four of five games before they acquired Gasol to prop them up in the post and provide offensive options.
They're 6-1 with him in their lineup and have won five straight games -- and eight of nine -- to move to within a game of the Phoenix Suns for the Pacific Division lead.
Take that, Phoenix, which will unleash its own newcomer -- a guy named Shaquille O'Neal -- against the Lakers tonight when the teams play at USAirways Arena.
Gasol has averaged 20.9 points with his new team, making a near-seamless adjustment from the woeful Grizzlies to the title-contending Lakers. He acknowledged he has been surprised by the smoothness of his transition.
