With Luke Walton making his second consecutive start, the Lakers' triangle offense was sharp Friday night. Walton distributed eight assists in 25 minutes, and Jackson's plan to get Kobe Bryant's more scoring opportunities early worked as the Lakers avenged a Tuesday loss at Sacramento by outlasting the Kings, 112-103, at Staples Center.

Bryant displayed more of an early scorer's mentality than he has shown lately, but 18 of his game-high 32 points still came in the second half.

The Lakers needed all of his late-game scoring, too, because the last-place Kings, without their best player, Kevin Martin, stayed on the Lakers' heels all game.

The Lakers continued their trend as one of the league's poorer-shooting teams from the foul line as they made half of their 18 attempts in the first half that ended with the score tied.

Bryant missed two free throws in the half but little-used reserve Josh Powell was the worse culprit, missing 4 of 5. The Lakers ended up missing 14 of their 35 attempts.

The Lakers lead the NBA in points per game, but they have allowed more than 100 points in three consecutive games and seven of the past nine.

Guard Derek Fisher said part of the reason why opponents score that many points is a product of how the Lakers play offensively, which grants more offensive opportunities for opposing teams.

Yet, there are defensive breakdowns that the Lakers still need to mend. John Salmons pierced the Lakers for 26 points.

"When you're making adjustments on the move, sometimes it gets confusing on the rotations out there," Walton said.

Pau Gasol lent a helpful hand to Bryant in the scoring column, with 18 points. He also snagged 11 rebounds.

Center Andrew Bynum was a factor on the boards, with 10 rebounds.

But he was not sharp from the field (3-of-9 shooting) and he fouled out for the first time since last Dec. 30.

Jackson said he was not nervous or concerned presently about the Lakers' recent play, which has not been as sharp as it was when the team ripped out to a 14-1 start.

"I'd like to see them play with a better sense of purpose out there," he said. "But our leadership will take us there. Pau, Kobe, Fish ... they'll provide that."

The Lakers found themselves tied at halftime because the Kings outscored them by six points in the second quarter.

Sacramento shot only 44.4 percent from the field in the first two quarters but harvested their rally by making 11 of 13 free throws.

NOTES

Lakers forward Lamar Odom played despite a flu condition that he contracted at the end of the team's three-game Eastern Conference trip. Jackson said before the game that he was aware of Odom's condition and would monitor it during the game. Odom played 28 minutes and made 4 of 5 field-goal attempts. ...

Jackson's taped interview with "Pardon the Interruption" co-hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser aired Friday afternoon on ESPN. During the segment, Jackson said that the Lakers' Christmas day showdown at Staples Center with the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics would be an accurate assessment on how the Lakers stood as a team through the first 29 games of the season. ...

Jackson did not have any predetermined plans Friday night for how he was going to use recently deposed starting forward Vladimir Radmanovic, who lost his starting job two games ago to Walton. Jackson said he wanted to see how the game unfolded before deciding how or if he was going to use Radmanovic.

After starting the first 20 games, Radmanovic did not play at all in the Lakers' victory two nights ago over Phoenix. He was mired on the bench for a second consecutive game Friday.

Next

Minnesota at Lakers

Sunday,

6:30 p.m., FSN

Lakers forward Pau Gasol, left, appears to blind Kings center Brad Miller with his dunk over him in the Lakers' victory at Staples Center. Gasol scored 18 points and snared 11 rebounds.