Lakers keep on trekkin’

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The trip could go from historically long to simply historic.

The Lakers are on the verge of setting an NBA record for success on a long trip, their latest victory coming Monday against the Charlotte Bobcats, 106-97, despite another late-game hiccup.

If the Lakers win Wednesday in Minnesota, they’ll finish 7-2 on their trip and compile the league’s best record in nine or more continuous road games since neutral-site games were eliminated in 1974-75. (The San Antonio Spurs were 8-1 in a 2003 trip but came home before it ended.)

Already away from home for 13 days -- on their way to 15, the longest chunk of time on the road in team history -- the Lakers again used the Kobe Bryant-Pau Gasol combo to come away with a victory.

Gasol was hot early, scoring 12 of the Lakers’ first 14 points, and Bryant took it from there, scoring 31 points on nine-for-17 shooting. Gasol finished with 26 points, six rebounds and a team-high six assists.

The Lakers are now 4-1 with Gasol in the lineup, although the possibility of going 7-2 on the trip was the top talking point.

“That’s something to play for,” forward Lamar Odom said. “But even if it wasn’t, we feel this is a game [Wednesday] where we want to play well because it’s [the last] before the All-Star break.”

Minnesota (10-39) has the worst record in the Western Conference and will be coming off a road game today against New Jersey.

Win or lose, there will be a four-game rest for the Lakers (34-17) during the break, although Bryant will be in New Orleans for the All-Star game, and Jordan Farmar will be there for the rookie-sophomore challenge.

As has been the case, the victory Monday didn’t come without a late jolt.

Much as they did against Miami, the Lakers let a double-digit lead get away in the fourth quarter, even though the Bobcats played without leading scorer Gerald Wallace, who was sidelined because of a strained right foot.

The Lakers were ahead this time, 86-73, before Charlotte cut it to 89-86 on a three-point play by Matt Carroll with 7:17 to play. The Bobcats never came closer, but it was only a five-point difference until a 6-0 Lakers run that was capped by Bryant’s two free throws with 1:07 to play.

“That was very important,” Bryant said. “I think we’ve developed enough experience to know that on the road, teams are going to make a run. The important thing is just try to build up a big enough cushion.”

It was the small plays in the final minutes that won it.

Luke Walton made a 19-footer from the left side with 3:10 to play. Bryant, out of the corner of his eye, found Odom alone under the basket for a dunk. Odom deflected Nazr Mohammed’s pass, leading to a Bobcats turnover. Derek Fisher drew a charge on Raymond Felton.

The victory served other purposes, including an end to the Lakers’ puzzling struggles against the Bobcats.

They lost both games against Charlotte last season, including a grueling 133-124 triple-overtime loss here, and they lost here two seasons ago as well.

The players heard about it beforehand from Coach Phil Jackson.

“Charlotte’s always a challenge,” he said. “They’ve had a really good record against us the last couple years. That’s something we reminded [our players] of.”

The Lakers also improved to 6-2 in the second night of back-to-back situations on the road, an impressive statistic for any team.

Gasol, who was fighting a head cold, and Bryant combined to make 11 of 14 shots and score 34 points in the first half on the way to a 55-44 halftime lead.

The Bobcats noticed the new guy in the middle.

“Pau is out there playing great,” Mohammed said. “They are a veteran team that has been playing together for a while and they added a big piece.”

Along the way, Bryant passed George Gervin for 28th on the NBA’s career scoring list. He now has 20,722 points.

Only one step left on a trek that ends, finally, on Wednesday.

“We have one more game before we can say anything about this trip,” Jackson said.

--

[email protected]

--

Begin text of infobox

Road warriors

The Lakers are one win from completing a 7-2 trip, which would be the best continuous trip (of nine or more games) in NBA history. The San Antonio Spurs were 8-1 on a 2003 trip but came home before it ended. Best road records with at least nine games played:

*--* YEAR TEAM REC DATES 2003 San Antonio 8-1 1/27-2/16 2002 Utah 6-3 2/4-2/26 1993 Chicago 6-3 1/24-2/10 1977 Seattle 6-4 3/5-3/22 1974 Chicago 7-4 10/30-11/22 *--*

Source: NBA.com