The lone new addition to the Lakers this season was leaning forward in his Staples Center skybox seat next to Lakers owner Jerry Buss on Tuesday night. Ron Artest’s dizziness from his Christmas night concussion forced him to sit out his third consecutive game.
So it was an almost forgotten corner of the Lakers’ roster that used to help win a lot of games - young guards Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic - who helped the Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors.
Oh, and the longest-tenured Laker, Kobe Bryant, did his thing, too: 44 points, 11 assists. Despite playing with his fractured right index finger and sore right elbow, Bryant made all 16 of his attempts from the free-throw line.
Sidekick Pau Gasol’s push for another All-Star berth continued with a season-high 27 points, plus 12 rebounds.
It was the Lakers’ fourth game in five days. The physical and mental fatigue was such that after a sloppy entry pass from Derek Fisher to Bryant midway through the second quarter, neither Bryant nor Fisher moved for it, each expecting the other to go.
The ball bounced untouched … then out of bounds. Warriors ball.
The Warriors led by 15 points in the second and nine in the third before the Lakers rallied. Farmar gave the Lakers some higher-octane fuel in the second half and played more and later than Fisher for a change, creating more good than bad with his activity and finishing with 12 points and five assists in 25 minutes.
Vujacic played a season-high 22 minutes, including the entire fourth quarter in the backcourt while Phil Jackson played Bryant at small forward.
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