Lakers Grind Out a Win

Showtime it ain’t.

But these are unusual times for the Lakers, days spent uncomfortably at or near the bottom of the Pacific Division. They played “I Love L.A.� late Tuesday night at Staples Center, and that’d be good enough for now.

The Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 101-91, as Kobe Bryant had a workmanlike triple-double -- 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists -- his fourth of the season, and Shaquille O’Neal scored 28 points.

They won for the second time in five games, both against the Grizzlies, inched their record to 7-12, and slapped hands wearily at the end, thrilled for the win, still unable to quite get the grind of it all. They had 20 turnovers. Six Grizzlies scored in double figures, and Memphis didn’t go away until the final moments, after a 17-7 Laker run.

“It’s a start,� forward Rick Fox said, and that’s all it was.

Bryant played on knees suddenly wracked by tendinitis and O’Neal huffed closer to better conditioning. They made a few shots at the end and the Grizzlies missed theirs, and then they went home for a short night and a 9 a.m. flight to Salt Lake City.

What they knew is they’re not there yet.

“The players were asking me to get out the sage or the sweet grass and smudge the locker room again, because it’s obvious that there’s something amiss in the air,� Coach Phil Jackson said with a smile. “But I just say it’s a matter of communication and we’re going to get that and we’ll be in sync soon.�

Bryant had seven points and four assists in the fourth quarter, when the Grizzlies drew to within a jump shot of them. O’Neal scored seven points and blocked three shots in the fourth.

“We’re getting there,� Bryant said. “It’s a process. We played pretty well in spurts, hit some big shots when we needed to. It’s just a matter of time.�

Jackson spent the week talking about defense and then started Mark Madsen over Slava Medvedenko at power forward, relieving Madsen halfway through the first quarter with Robert Horry. Medvedenko, who started against the Grizzlies on Friday in Memphis, had his problems staying between Drew Gooden and the basket.

Horry played for the first time since he went 38 minutes Wednesday in Orlando. He’d rested his sore left foot ever since, on Monday going so far as to get an MRI, which was negative.

After playing 10 minutes in the first half, Horry started the second half and scored 11 points, five in the final quarter.

Madsen had an odd moment that lightened a tense game. Near the end of the first half, he airballed consecutive free throws. Grazed the net on both. Bryant patted his butt between shots.

The crowd gasped. Players on the bench put their hands over their mouths, as though deep in thought. Jackson crossed his arms and pondered his next move.

A couple of minutes later, it was gone in the suddenness of a Bryant cross-over, a spin, and a slash to the rim. In a game fraught with turnovers and stilted, mechanical play, Bryant spun off Gordan Giricek on the right wing, burst past Gooden, past Pau Gasol and launched himself toward the far side of the rim. His dunk was loud and hard, and the crowd was lifted for a moment from the doldrums that have gripped Laker basketball for quarters at a time.

Bryant landed and did not pump his fist or shout or anything so flashy. He sighed. The Lakers led, 39-35. It should be easier, of course. There should be a discernible rhythm. In the absence of that, Bryant seemed to say, there could at least be a few moments like that.

Indeed, Bryant played with a certain grimness befitting the Laker situation, another December morning spent in last place, promises for grittier play followed by open jumpers for the Grizzlies, promises for control followed by 13 first-half turnovers.

“It’s been frustrating for all of us,� Bryant said.

So, as Hubie Brown wore out the hardwood in front of the visitors’ bench and the ears of his players, the impressionable Grizzlies were as advertised -- young, prone to mistakes, and a complete pain to play.

The Lakers, who shot 50.6%, made some plays in the fourth quarter, and Jason Williams kept coming and Wesley Person kept shooting and Lorenzen Wright kept banging, making the whole thing just a touch uncomfortable for a team trying to win, like, 15 games in a row.