Nets

WASHINGTON - The pace of job growth has begun gathering steam as the last missing piece in the recovery - the housing market - comes back to life nationwide and employers start to look past government budget battles and add to their thinned ranks. The Labor Department said the economy generated 236,000 net jobs in February, much more than analysts had expected. The improvement was enough to help drive the nation's unemployment rate down to 7.7%, the lowest point in President Obama's tenure.

After posting paltry sales numbers for its third quarter and missing analysts' forecasts by more than half, Monrovia drone maker AeroVironment Inc.'s shares plummeted in after-hours trading. The company reported net income of $3.9 million, or 17 cents a share, for the quarter that ended Jan. 26. That is down $1.8 million from $5.7 million a year earlier. Analysts on average had forecast a gain of 37 cents a share. AeroVironment attributed the downturn to decreased sales of its robotic aircraft and its electric vehicle charging systems.

MPG Office Trust Inc., the largest office landlord in downtown Los Angeles, unloaded enough assets in the fourth quarter to show a profit. The Los Angeles real estate investment trust, which also owns an office building in Pasadena, repeated its recent pattern of cutting loose its stakes in heavily indebted properties including One California Plaza and Two California Plaza downtown. MPG reported fourth-quarter net income of $205.2 million, or $3.52 a share, compared with a loss of $9.9 million, or 20 cents, a year earlier.

+ When will the Blackhawks lose in regulation? Their 2-1 shootout victory Sunday in a classic game at Detroit extended their point streak to 19-0-3 from the season's start. Patrick Kane tied it late in regulation and won it in the shootout on a clever, slow-down move. Their depth fuels them but Corey Crawford's surprisingly clutch goaltending has been crucial. Their only losses came in shootouts, against Minnesota on Jan. 30, Vancouver on Feb. 1, and the Ducks on Feb. 12. + So much attention has been focused on the Blackhawks - and rightfully so - that the Boston Bruins' excellent start has been overshadowed.

Millions of uninsured Californians will gain medical coverage under the national healthcare overhaul beginning in January, but Guadalupe Luna won't be one of them. Luna, an illegal immigrant and tamale vendor in Los Angeles, doesn't qualify. So she will continue going to the clinic where she has received free care for more than 20 years: Los Angeles County's Hudson Comprehensive Health Center. There, publicly funded doctors will help manage her diabetes and high cholesterol. An estimated 3 million to 4 million Californians - about 10% of the state's population - could remain uninsured even after the healthcare overhaul law takes full effect.

Wayne Shorter Quartet “Without a Net” (Blue Note Records) Three and a half stars There's a moment during Wayne Shorter's much-anticipated new album where someone, said to be a member of the string ensemble Imani Winds, lets out maybe the most natural response to Shorter's darting soprano saxophone. “Oh my God,” she says with a touch of disbelief, and the band twists further into the hypnotic 23-minute composition “Pegasus.” It's an understandable reaction. “Without a Net” is Shorter's first album for Blue Note Records in 43 years, and it's the sort of release that seemed preordained for superlatives.

Kobe Bryant is 34 years old, but he's not showing many signs of aging. He's averaging 27.6 points on 46% shooting, 5.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds a game. And on Tuesday, he showed that despite any aches and pains he's acquired over 17 seasons of play, he can still elevate with the best of them. With the score tied at 80 late in the fourth quarter of a game against Brooklyn, Bryant did a hesitation move near the half-court line, then drove down the middle of the lane, leaving Gerald Wallace, Deron Williams and Kris Humphries in his wake as he rose up for a hard one-handed slam dunk.  "I was pretty shocked that the lane was so wide open," Bryant said after the game.

At least one all-star center will be on the floor Tuesday as the Lakers (22-26) visit the Brooklyn Nets (28-19), but will there be two? Dwight Howard is still a question mark with a shoulder injury.  Team officials were hopeful he would be available against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday but he was still in too much pain. Brooklyn's Brook Lopez was named as Rajon Rondo's replacement on the Eastern Conference all-star team after the Boston star went down for the season with a knee injury.

Dwight Howard will not play Tuesday night against Brooklyn, sitting out a third consecutive game and sixth overall because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder. "I'm not in any rush. I don't want to reinjure it," Howard said. Howard did not take part in the team's morning shoot-around. The Lakers' next game after the Nets matchup is Thursday at Boston. Howard underwent a minor procedure Saturday in Los Angeles and did not play Sunday against Detroit, citing an inability to lift his shoulder high enough.

Lakers 92 - Nets 83 (end of regulation) The Lakers closed out an impressive win on the road, defeating the Brooklyn Nets 92-83. Playing without Dwight Howard (shoulder), Metta World Peace (suspension) and, in crunch time, Pau Gasol (out with a foot injury), the Lakers scored the game's final 10 points to come back from a one-point deficit with 2 1/2 minutes left on the clock. Earl Clark got a late stop, guarding Brooklyn's All-Star center Brook Lopez, and then scored on the other end to put the Lakers up by five with just over a minute left in the game.