This Lakers’ Dozen Is Homemade

It’s not particularly loud or intimate, the lights are too bright and there’s an unsteady breeze that jets across the floor most of the time.

But it’s where Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers call home, so Staples Center is savage territory to all invaders these days and a mortal lock for Laker victory since late January.

Almost certainly, it’s also where the Lakers will start each playoff round.

The Lakers weren’t exactly at top form Friday, and the Phoenix Suns kept fighting back into it, but eventually O’Neal (40 points) and Bryant were too much, leading the Lakers to a 109-101 victory before 18,997 at Staples, the Lakers’ 12th consecutive at home.

“This is our home court,” said Bryant, who had 28 points, six rebounds and seven assists. “We don’t like people beating us at home, especially a team you might be able to face in the playoffs. You don’t want to give them any confidence.

“You want teams to come in and feel like they’re at a disadvantage immediately because we play so well at home.”

Brian Shaw said he sees something developing at Staples as the Lakers eye the playoffs.

“It’s a new building for us too,” Shaw said, “[but] it seems like the fans are starting to get a little more into it and it’s starting to become more intimate out there.

“Hopefully, by the time we get where we need to be going, we’ll have it all working for us.

The Lakers’ fifth victory in a row (and 24th in 25 games) lifted their NBA-best record to 58-12, and raised their home record to 31-4, tied with Indiana for best in the league.

The last Laker loss at Staples came on Jan. 22 to Portland.

The victory also maintained their six-game lead for the top spot in the Western Conference over the Trail Blazers with only 12 games to play.

O’Neal made three of four free throws in the fourth quarter (10 of 13 in the game) to reach 40 points for the fourth time in seven games. He also tied for game high with 14 rebounds and added five assists.

Playing their first game since their floor leader, Jason Kidd, suffered a broken ankle, Phoenix, with Shawn Marion and Penny Hardaway slicing and dicing, was able to run and bomb its way back into the game throughout the second half, though never enough to grab a lead.

“I thought Phoenix played a spirited fourth quarter,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said, “and gave us a run with their small-ball game.

“We were beat on the boards [48-38], we were beat on second-chance points tonight, a lot of things that I thought were just [signs of] a lethargic ballgame from us.

“And yet we were able to win it, which is a good sign.”

Said Shaw: “We knew that a lot of times when you have your star player go down for the next couple games the team actually plays better; they play a lot harder.

“They came out with their leader, Jason, being down, and guys were real aggressive, they hung in there. . . .

“They’re a great offensive team. when you can put five people on the floor that all have the versatility to handle the ball, hit the three-point shot and drive to the basket, it’s tough on any team.”

Right when the Lakers seemed ready to throw it into their regular third-quarter cruise control, when they bumped out to a 71-59 lead with five minutes left in the period, Phoenix fought back into the game.

Four consecutive Sun baskets--punctuated by back-to-back fastbreak dunks by Hardaway and Marion, a rare Laker transition breakdown--quickly cut the Laker lead to 71-67 with about three minutes left in the third.

In the middle of the fourth, Phoenix narrowed the lead to 89-84 after another Marion follow-slam and a Rodney Rogers three-pointer. All that did was trigger another Laker kick, powered, of course, by O’Neal.

Then, when the game should have been wrapped up, the Lakers got sloppy and Phoenix got hot from long distance and all of a sudden it was 104-101 with 41.4 seconds left after a Todd Day three-pointer.

But Bryant made two free throws, Phoenix missed a shot, and that was the end of it.