Memo to the Eastern Conference: One in a row.
OK, so the Lakers didn't beat Boston, Detroit or even Cleveland, but they jumped all over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, 116-109, a welcome sight for them after all their issues with the Pistons last Friday.
Pau Gasol had 34 points, Kobe Bryant had 21 and the Lakers returned to the winning side after a long weekend of "What happened?" queries.
Chicago is a middle-of-the-road team from the East, lucky to even to be called a Boston Lite or Mini-Detroit, but the Bulls play with enough punch to earn a "gritty" tag from Bryant the day before the game.
It wasn't quite enough to push away the memory of an 11-point home loss to Detroit, but the Lakers will gladly tuck away what happened Tuesday at Staples Center.
Their scoring runs are becoming familiar by now, practically built into the script of every Lakers act this season.
Just when they're ready to be counted out, they go on a 30-9 run against Dallas. Or they reel off 22 consecutive points against the Clippers. Or they outscore Houston in the fourth quarter, 39-17.
On Tuesday, the push came in the third quarter, the Lakers creating distance with a 12-minute, 29-18 advance that put them comfortably ahead, 90-74.
The Bulls (5-6) were done. The Lakers (8-1) had won.
"That's a sign of what this team should be about," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "I don't know if they're ready to claim that yet, but that's what makes a difference in NBA ballgames, is to find that one space where you can really bust open a game."
The Lakers were a frustrated bunch in the first half, botching several easy chances.
Sasha Vujacic missed an uncontested layup after stealing the ball on an inbound play near midcourt. Trevor Ariza couldn't quite grasp an alley-oop pass from Bryant for what would have been an easy dunk. Vujacic barely hit the rim on an open three-point attempt.
It got so frustrating that Ariza and Vujacic had words on the bench and had to be separated by Gasol during a timeout.
Ariza apparently wasn't thrilled with Vujacic's shot selection and wanted more ball movement from him.
"Trevor let it out, and it was unfortunate to see that on the floor," Jackson said.
Said Ariza: "It was just a little disagreement. We're all good now."
Driven apart in the first half, the Lakers drove a stake through Chicago in the second half.
