Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Team

On the bright side for the Lakers, they beat the spread, Denver minus 29 points. Actually, the betting spread was Denver minus 4 1/2 , but after the Lakers' Game 4 no-show in Houston, when they were down by 29 after three quarters, it remained to be seen if they a) had learned this lesson of history, and b) could do anything about it if they had. In the good news in Lakerdom, they tried this time.

What a weird, wacky thing the NBA schedule can be. As sure as the Lakers rushed back from a four-game, five-night trip to play the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day, they are in the midst of the NBA equivalent of a bye week, with four full days between a romp over Golden State and, gasp, another game on Friday. Coach Phil Jackson shrugged at all the downtime and gave the Lakers a rare two-day break from the practice court, gathering them together again Wednesday for a scrimmage and video session.

The Lakers practiced Thursday, the better to prepare for an upcoming stretch of 14 games in 26 days. In other words, break time's over. Tonight's game against Utah will be only their second in eight days, a quirk in the schedule that allowed them to savor their Christmas Day victory over the Boston Celtics, among other things.

All-Star votes continue to be tallied, and, no shocker, Kobe Bryant leads the Western Conference. Pau Gasol, however, lags far behind the top West forwards. He was sixth at last glance, trailing Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki and Ron Artest, but comfortably ahead of Bruce Bowen and Shane Battier. "It's tough to get voted in," Gasol said. "You need to get all the fans to make a constant effort to send that vote in."

Andrew Bynum was the toast of the town a year ago, averaging 17.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in the month of January before a knee injury prematurely ended the party. Can he get that feeling back? Bynum has had one double-double in his last seven games. He had eight points and two rebounds in 25 minutes of the Lakers' 113-100 victory Friday over Utah. Coach Phil Jackson paused several seconds when asked for his present-day thoughts on the 21-year-old prodigy.

Lakers forward Luke Walton sat out Sunday's game against Portland because of a sore right foot and will see foot specialist Kenneth Jung today to determine the extent of his injury. Walton is believed to be experiencing sesamoiditis, a condition in which there is irritation in the sesamoids, which are small bones bundled with tendons that run to the big toe. The condition typically requires a to-be-determined rest period but not surgery.

Movement in the standings, however slight, can even be detected in January. It was more like a ripple than a wave, but the Lakers found themselves with the league's top record Sunday night after beating the Portland Trail Blazers, 100-86, at Staples Center. Kobe Bryant had 26 points, Pau Gasol had 19, and the Lakers moved ahead of Boston for the first time since Dec. 2. After the Celtics and Cleveland lost to sub-.

Meanwhile, back in the Western Conference . . . The Lakers couldn't help but take a peek into the East after reclaiming the NBA's top record Sunday, but they're getting one of the best teams in the West tonight at Staples Center. The New Orleans Hornets (20-10) have righted themselves after a 5-5 start that included losses to Charlotte and Sacramento.

If the Lakers ever get too jaded by their success, assistant coaches Kurt Rambis and Brian Shaw will be shaking their heads. Rambis and Shaw played on Lakers teams that ran out to sparkling records and found ways to stay interested during the long, winding road of the regular season. Rambis was a sharp-elbowed power forward on teams in the 1980s that started out 25-9, 24-10, 33-9 and 45-9 on the way to winning championships.

The Lakers lost another player, and then a game, ending their brief stay atop the other 29 teams in the league. Lamar Odom went down with a hyper-extended right knee Tuesday against New Orleans, joining teammates Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton on the injured list. The Lakers' six-game winning streak came crashing down as well, amid a flurry of Chris Paul and a dash of David West.