Gasol and Bryant each score 26, Lakers shake off road doldrums, outhustle Wizards, 115-103

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Lakers shake off road funk, beat Wizards 115-103

WASHINGTON — The Los Angeles Lakers broke out of their road funk by showing the distracted Washington Wizards what hustling, focused, never-let-up basketball is all about, shooting 59 percent and forcing six turnovers during a crucial second-quarter run in a 115-103 win Tuesday night.

Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant scored 26 points apiece for the Lakers, who had lost six of their previous eight road games and pulled to a 2-2 record midway through their current eight-game swing. Lamar Odom said before the game that the reigning NBA champs had become “a little too overconfident,” but it didn’t show as he and teammates chased down loose balls and kept their hands all over the passing lanes.

Antawn Jamison scored 27 points to lead the Wizards, who lost the last four games of a six-game homestand. The game came one day after guard Javaris Crittenton received probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge, the latest fallout from last month’s locker room confrontation between Crittenton and Gilbert Arenas.

The Lakers took over a tight game with a 20-7 half-ending run that included Wizards turnovers of every kind. Shannon Brown stole the ball from DeShawn Stevenson, Andray Blatche traveled, Mike Miller and Mike James threw bad passes, the shot clock expired, and Brendan Haywood committed an offensive foul with 2.5 seconds left in the quarter.

Brown, meanwhile, used the quarter to tune up for the slam dunk contest at next month’s All-Star weekend. He put home an alley-oop, threw down a flying monster to end a fast break and stunned the Wizards by dunking a missed free throw by teammate Andrew Bynum. Derek Fisher’s wide-open 3-pointer gave the Lakers a 60-44 lead at the break.

The Wizards stayed within shouting distance in the second half, mostly keeping the deficit between 10 and 15 points. Jamison cut it to nine, 91-82, by making a free throw with 8:58 left in the game, but the Lakers responded with a 12-2 run that included four points from Gasol, a 3-pointer from Brown and a pair of jumpers from Jordan Farmar.

Crittenton’s probation means that 40 percent of the Wizards roster has now received some sort of punishment in connection with the guns investigation, including the four players who were fined $10,000 by the team for helping Arenas make fun of the saga when the three-time All-Star pantomimed shooting his teammates before a game at Philadelphia.

Coach Flip Saunders said before game that the Wizards are “all pretty much numb to the whole thing right now” — yet more punishment is to come. The coach said both Arenas and Crittenton were meeting with league officials this week, having to answer for breaking the league rule that bans firearms in the locker room as well as other facts that have come up in court.

Arenas, who has pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge and will be sentenced in March, is expected this week to learn the length of his punishment after receiving an indefinite suspension Jan. 6. Crittenton has yet to receive a league punishment, although he hasn’t played all season anyway because of a foot injury.

None of that mattered to the Lakers, who beat the Wizards for the sixth straight time game and were honored on Monday by President Barack Obama at the White House for winning last year’s NBA title.

Notes: Miller returned to the starting lineup for the Wizards for the first time since November. He had come off the bench in recent games while recovering from a calf injury. He scored 15 points to surpass 9,000 for his career. … Saunders said Jamison played with a sprained foot. … Saunders on Bryant, who is playing with a broken right index finger. “If you’re a shooter, you can have a broken arm and you’re still going to get shots up.” … Pop singer Dionne Warwick was at the game.