Atkins Gives Lakers Protein

The Lakers continued to press onward without Kobe Bryant, staying well ahead of the unpalatable .500 mark, stubbornly, if not surprisingly.

It was understood that Lamar Odom would have to step up his game, along with Caron Butler, if the Lakers were to stay afloat, but few people pinned the burden on point guard Chucky Atkins, who has delivered regardless, his latest effort on display Friday against the Golden State Warriors.

Atkins had 26 points, increasing his average to 22.3 points in the four games Bryant has sat out, and the Lakers defeated Golden State, 105-101, in front of 18,997 at Staples Center.

Atkins also had 10 assists, giving him 21 over the last two games and capping perhaps the most productive four-game stretch in the six-year career of a guard who went undrafted out of South Florida.

It was asked mostly in jest, but Atkins answered a reporter’s rhetorical question -- Are you making a late run for the All-Star game? -- as honestly as he could.

“All-Star game ain’t for guys like me,� Atkins said. “I’m undrafted.�

Odom had 25 points, Butler had 14 and the Lakers improved to 3-1 in games Bryant has missed, 4-1 if the Jan. 13 game against Cleveland, where Bryant was injured in the first quarter, is to be counted as well.

“Sometimes when you lose a limb, the other senses pick up,� Odom said.

Derek Fisher hit the Lakers for a career-high 29 points last Saturday, punching holes in their zone defense with a variety of three-pointers. He added another efficient effort Friday at Staples Center, where he had suited up as a member of the home team for eight seasons. Fisher, wearing his familiar yellow headband, finished with 23 points on nine-of-14 shooting.

But the current Laker point guard was the bigger story.

Atkins, dubbed “Mr. Pressure� by Laker Coach Rudy Tomjanovich after a solid fourth quarter last Saturday against Golden State, did most of his work in the second quarter Friday, scoring 11 points and guiding the Lakers to a 52-51 halftime edge.

“Chucky again was tremendous, just becoming a great, great penetrator and finisher to set up his outside game,� Tomjanovich said. “His outside game has been fantastic.�

Atkins had been averaging only 11.4 points before Bryant’s injury. His scoring output the last four games: 20, 18, 25 and 26 points.

“I have no explanation for it,� he said, shaking his head. “I think we are depending a lot more on each other. Basketball is a team game and I think Kobe is so good, at times we tend to just throw the ball and leave him out there by himself. But now, without him, we know we have to depend more upon ourselves.�

The Lakers returned to their behind-the-arc ways after a brief break of only 10 three-point attempts Wednesday against Minnesota. The Lakers made 13 of 30 three-point attempts against the Warriors, Jumaine Jones making four of seven on the way to 16 points.

The Lakers trailed, 69-62, when the game was halted for a few minutes after referee Jess Kersey ran into Tomjanovich in front of the Laker bench. Kersey hit the floor hard but continued to work the game. The Lakers went on a 19-8 run to end the quarter.

The Lakers managed to hang on after an 11-point fourth-quarter lead was trimmed to two, Jason Richardson’s three-pointer pulling the Warriors within 101-99 with 18.8 seconds left to play.

Atkins made only one of two free throws with 16.7 seconds left, pushing the Laker lead to three. Richardson missed a reverse layup with 12.8 seconds left, and Odom made a free throw to provide a four-point cushion.

In the end, the Lakers won their second consecutive game and put themselves back where they have been eight other times without success: in position to win a third consecutive game. They play host to Seattle on Tuesday.

“Three in a row would be an important accomplishment for us,� Atkins said. “More important, if we win three out of every four games, that’s a bigger deal for us.�