Buzz at Staples Becoming a Roar

Phil Jackson has had fun analyzing Staples Center crowds in the past, noting their politeness and wondering aloud why they were always so late to arrive to their seats, and to return to them for the start of the third quarter.

But the Laker coach couldn’t believe what he heard Friday night against Phoenix, a keyed-up buzz that was often blistering, even punctuated with chants of another player’s name besides Kobe Bryant.

“We’ve had some terrific support from our fans at Staples, but it’s not known for their raucous behavior or their verbal support,� Jackson said. “I didn’t think I’d ever hear the chants of ‘Kwame’ coming down.�

Neither did Kwame Brown: “I thought they were saying ‘Kobe’ at first,� he said Saturday.

The Game 3 noise came early, stayed late.

“When I came out of the tunnel, I got chills,� forward Luke Walton said. “I haven’t felt that way since college. It ran right up my neck.�

Bryant had his own observations.

“There was a lot of energy in the building, more so than even in the past,� he said. “For the fact nobody expected us to be here, nobody expected us to do much in the series, they’ve really rallied around us, just going nuts because the people in the building, they believed in us. It’s more of an emotional attachment.

“The only time we got energy like that in the building was for a Finals series or for a Game 7.�

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Brown has proven he can score down low and rebound as well, but a deft passer?

He had five assists in Game 3.

“That’s nothing new to us,� Bryant said. “He does it in practice. It might be new to the people watching the game, but not to us.�

Brown smiled when asked whether he could join Bryant and Lamar Odom as the triple-double threats of the team.

“I was pretty good at passing in high school,� he said.

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Jackson acknowledged being interested to see whether Bryant would buy into the share-the-ball mind-set after a subpar Game 1.

“You’re curious any time a guy’s challenged, or people make a big deal about [last] Sunday that he’s seven for [21] from the floor,� Jackson said. “He just went about his business, and that was really mature.�

Jackson was also asked whether, in the big picture, Bryant’s new approach could lead to more significant free-agent signings when the money eventually begins to spring loose from the cap-strapped Lakers.

“That’s a real big jump, I’ll tell you that,� Jackson said. “This is just like the maturing of a basketball club. Let’s hope they can continue through that. Then if you win, that makes a difference. Big difference.�

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Bryant, on the physical play in the series: “I’m the big brother here, and I’m not going to let anybody push around any one of my brothers.� ... Bryant had 17 points in Game 3, the first time he did not lead the team in scoring in 37 games. Smush Parker led with 18 points.... Sun forward Tim Thomas is expected to play today despite spraining his left knee Friday.... Laker forward Brian Cook suffered a dislocated middle finger on his left hand but will play today.