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It will be a tough task for Orlando tonight against the Lake Show but their chances may be improved with the uncertainty surrounding the game time status of Kobe Bryant. "We hope he'll be able to play," Coach Jackson said of the Lakers leader who injured his ankle during Saturdays clash with Dallas and missed the Lakers Sunday practice while not talking to the press to end the weekend. Kobe's fall on his ankle against the Mavs was self-dubbed the 'scariest' of his career and if he misses tonight's game he can rest until the Lakers take on their next opponent-Minnesota-on Friday. "Yeah, it would be great for him to have three days off to get better," P-Jax added. "But if he's capable of playing, he'll play." You know Kobe wouldn't have it any other way. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

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LOS ANGELES LAKERS 96-91 DALLAS MAVERICKS



Kobe Bryant overcame some struggles last night, playing like a maverick as he led his Los Angeles Lakers to a 96-91 win over Dallas. "I thought I was done, like done. I was praying that when I stood up, my foot was lined up straight,'' Kobe said of his ankle. "I thought I dislocated it.'' Bean gave everyone in Lakerland a scare when he hobbled off the floor in the third quarter but he returned mid-way through the fourth. Kobe showed his die-hard competitive spirit saying "It was a little sore. But I had to stop being a chump, suck it up and go out and play," but still Phil Jackson is unsure whether his team captain will play Monday against the Orlando Magic. Kobe scored 16 but was instrumental in the run that kept the Lakers ahead for good. When Kobe was out reserve guard Steve Blake drummed up two three point baskets that helped the Lakers case. Against these Texas rangers Kobe and his Lake Show displayed true grit. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

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LOS ANGELES LAKERS 88-94 MIAMI HEAT



In Twitter's top trending topic and the fans favourite NBA Finals matchup for this year LeBron James and his super Miami Heat team met Kobe Bryant and his champion Lakers met last night in a rematch that has become the Ali/Fraizer of the NBA. Following their Christmas Day freeze-out in Los Angeles. The Lakers hosed the Heat again at Staples in an attempt to cool them down. Their futile attempt was resisted by Miami, 94-88 however. "We had everything riding on this game, really, to be honest with you," Chris Bosh told press as he shed his 'Bosh Spice' tag with 24 points. LeBron recorded 19 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds and Wade also had 20 points with 8 coming in a big fourth quarter where he made a crucial steal on Kobe. Bryant had 24, Gasol 20 and Bynum had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Lake Show. Things where close throughout but Miami managed to scorch the Lakers giving the champions the burn notice that the contention this year is wide-open. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

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LOS ANGELES LAKERS 101-87 ATLANTA HAWKS



Kobe Bryant's 27 points passed Moses Malone for sixth place on the NBA All-Time Scorers list, still it was Andrew Bynum's 16 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks that helped the Lakers fly away from the Hawks by a scoreline of 101-87 in the ATL. "I'm just very fortunate, that's all," a humbled Kobe said about yet another milestone this season and he was fortunate for his frontcourt forces who took it straight to Atlanta's baskets. Pau Gasol also made his case with 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers won their eight wonder in a row since the All-Star break. Still as much as this game will go down in history for Kobe Bryant, it was 'Drew's night. "He wasn't the leading scorer but he still impacted the game," Lamar Odom told press as he got dressed, "that shows you how important he is to us." NBA legend Julius Erving watched from the courtside in Atlanta as chants of "MVP, MVP" rang out from the Atlanta home crowd towards Kobe. Now that type of respect is only due for the legends as Kobe furthers his storied legacy. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

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LOS ANGELES LAKERS 99-83 SAN ANTONIO SPURS



Now this is exactly the statement the Lakers needed. Adding to the the good news of Barnes and Fisher returning from injury the Lake Show gave the San Antonio Spurs a bad day at the office beating them 99-83 at the SBC centre. Showing the caliber that has made them defending champions the Lakers kept it under a century, keeping it 100 with an offence onslaught just one point shy of triple digits. The Spurs shot 36% as Tony Parker had 14 points but not much else, just like Tim Duncan and the rest of the Spurs. "We caught them by surprise at the start of the game," Coach Jackson said as the Showtime excited the so-called 'boring' team to death. Kobe had a trademark 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists while Pau Gasol had 21 points, 6rebounds and 5 assists of his own as this duo got real dynamic. Ron Artest also had an incredible game, hustling hard as he ended up jumping into the crowd and being sprayed with a beverage, but don't worry it was only for the ball and it was coffee. Through all this however the big numbers came from frontcourt presence of Andrew Bynum that took a jersey numbered 17 rebounds from Duncan and the Spurs and for his second-consecutive game. Now the Lakers are the ones focussing on the 'board'. Don't call it a comeback, call it a rebound. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

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LOS ANGELES LAKERS 92-84 CHARLOTTE BOBCATS



Down goes Fisher! Down go the Bobcats! Last night the Lakers finally overcame the cat calling to beat their bogey team Charlotte 92-84 at STAPLES. The 44-19 Lake Show won their sixth straight behind Kobe's 27 in three quarters, Pau's 20 and 9 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocks from frontcourt machine Andrew Bynum. Still, what got most of the Lakers fans out their seats was the injury to top, Point Guard and postseason owner, Derek Fisher. Just when the Lakers really need him the star went down with an elbow injury. Former Laker Kwame Brown yanked hard on Fish's elbow battling for a rebound and the Charlotte centre heard about it from the crowd. Just like old times huh? Fisher is listed as day-to-day but L.A. are confident he will be ready to go. "He's strong as an ox. He's got enough strength to probably hold it together," Phil Jackson testified to the warriors strength. Los Angeles are in the injury wars right now, swinging bench player Matt Barnes who recently returned from injury has aggravated his knee, while real rookie Devin Ebanks is expected to miss three weeks with a stress fracture in his left tibia. Even though the Lakers said they wouldn't do like Miami (Mike Bibby) and Boston (Troy Murphy) in signing another player maybe it's time they gave Carlos Arroyo a call. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

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LOS ANGELES LAKERS 90-79 MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES



With the New Jersey Nets taking on the Toronto Raptors twice this weekend in London, let's take a look back at the last NBA game played in England's capital. Last October the Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the Los Angeles Lakers and everyone in England and the world, putting on an exhibition with a preseason win. Even in other meetings this season the Wolves have howled down the Lakers neck, but not last night. The Lake Show are still in All-Star mode extending their win streak to 5 games post East vs. West game. Thanks to the Lakers frontcourt monster of Bynum, Gasol and Odom, rebounding machine Kevin Love was taken out of his game, en route to a heart-filled, 90-79 Lakers win. As L.A. made 28 second-chance points Pau Gasol had 17 rebounds and 12 points, while Andrew Bynum had the highest in the opposite category with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Kobe had 24, but only made 8 shots in a poor offensive game which was polished off on the glass by the teams respective window cleaners. K. Love did had 13 points and 11 rebounds for his 47th straight double-double but without a W in the box-score these stats did not have a positive correlation. The Los Angeles Lakers on the other hand are on the rise. TIM DAVID HARVEY.