It has become a challenge to get Ron Artest to explain anything, whether he has played well or poorly.

But after the defensive job he did on Thunder forward Kevin Durant on Sunday, Artest was surrounded by reporters looking for answers.

Artest had limited Durant to 21 points on eight-for-20 shooting.

So what happened, Artest?

"A lot of screens early. I was getting hit," Artest said. "His team, they did a good job getting him open early. Then later, they weren't hitting me with those screens. I'm in pretty good shape, so I can get hit all day, run all day."

OK, that explains some of it.

But Durant leads the NBA in scoring, averaging 28.6 points per game.

Artest made sure Durant didn't get close to his average — again.

"I don't mind somebody scoring 50 on me," Artest said. "I mean, that's never happened."

Artest looked up and smiled.

"If a player busts me up on the court and kind of destroys me offensively, then, 'Great game.' It doesn't happen often, in my 12-year NBA career," Artest said. "I don't know what NBA player can say that."

Before they became teammates in 2009, Kobe Bryant and Artest had their share of battles.

Now they work together.

Most of the time it is Artest who defends the opponent's best wing player.

"He's been doing an incredible job defensively," Bryant said. "He knows exactly what we expect of him — which [is] to just make life difficult for the opposing player.

"It's tough because they are going to get looks and they are going to run things for them to free them up. But you just try to make it as tough as you possibly can. He's doing a fantastic job of it."

In two games against the Thunder this season, Artest has held Durant to 22.5 points on 36.3% shooting.

In Bryant's eyes, some of that is Durant missing shots and some of it is the tough defense Artest plays.

"It's always a combination of both," Bryant said. "Durant had some shots that he missed and he had other opportunities where Ron was on him and bodied him. It's always a combination of both."

Artest had 10 points on five-for-10 shooting.

He also had three turnovers.

"I thought Ron played well," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "He took ball inside and lost it a couple of times. Obviously, those are things we don't want to happen. But his defense was good and he shot the ball well."

Defense is where Artest made his money again.

He had two steals, the biggest coming when Artest stripped the ball from Durant with 49.9 seconds left in the game and the Lakers leading, 90-87.

"He is able to use his strength and get himself through picks and keep a body on a player like Kevin, who is an extremely good scorer," Jackson said. "When Ron can use that strength to keep his body on people, he can be very good."

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Horace Grant is so enchanted by his adopted home on California's Central Coast that he might be mistaken for a Realtor or tourism-council spokesman.

"It's so serene," he says. "It's such a beautiful area."

At the moment, the former Lakers forward is seated in the living room of a rented hilltop home high above Pismo Beach.

Out the window on a clear winter day, views of the jagged coastline are magnificent, stretching from San Luis Obispo Bay to the northwest, the shimmering Pacific Ocean dead ahead and, to the south, the Pismo Dunes Natural Preserve and beyond.

Later, from the deck, the 45-year-old Grant points south toward Arroyo Grande, where his home is under renovation.

Grant, whose 17-season NBA career yielded four championship rings with the Lakers and Chicago Bulls, was introduced to the area by his wife, Andrea, who grew up in Santa Maria.

She and Grant met 10 years ago in Los Angeles, where Grant was helping Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers win the second of three consecutive NBA titles.

"When we first started dating, I knew that she was the one," Grant says of his wife, "so whenever we got time, we would drive up here from L.A. to visit her parents.

"And I said, 'Wow, I could get used to this.' I loved the small-town atmosphere, the relaxed feel, and I met a lot of good people around here. And so I put my foot in my mouth and said, 'I think I might retire here.' And she held me to it."

He laughs at the memory.

Actually, he notes, downshifting from the fast pace of the NBA wasn't easy — even for a native of tiny Sparta, Ga.

"It took me a year and a half to get used to the laid-back atmosphere," Grant says, relaying the tale of an evening when he walked out the backdoor and was stunned by the silence.

It was pitch black, and all he could hear were crickets.

He wasn't sure he could adjust to the sleepy lifestyle, but his wife told him to give it a few months. If he was still uncomfortable, she promised, they could talk about moving.

"I don't know what happened during that time," Grant says, "but I just completely fell in love with this place."

Says Andrea, "Now when we go to a big city, he says he can't imagine living there again and can't wait to get home."

Grant, in fact, is searching for a 15-acre parcel in the area on which to build an athletic training center, complete with dormitories. A dedicated weightlifter, he believes that conditioning played a major role in his long and successful career.

Of course, playing with great players didn't hurt.

Wearing his signature goggles, Grant spent his first seven seasons with the Bulls, who selected the 6-foot-10 former Clemson star with the 10th pick in the 1987 NBA draft.

Reporting from Oklahoma City — Physically and mentally, the four days of rest over the All-Star weekend seems to have benefited the Lakers.

It has been telling in how sound their defense has been and how alert they have been after looking so disjointed before the break when they lost three consecutive games.

A 90-87 victory Sunday over the Oklahoma City Thunder was another sign of how far the Lakers have come, how their defense has tighten up and how a four-game winning streak can change the direction of this team.

"I think the rest did the guys some good," said Kobe Bryant, who scored just 17 points but set another milestone. "It was kind of a chance to recover, regroup and focus on the opportunity that we have ahead of ourselves."

The Lakers, anchored on defense by center Andrew Bynum and forward Ron Artest, smothered the Thunder in the second half, limiting Oklahoma City to 31 points on 30% shooting.

Bynum blocked five shots.

Artest had the assignment of defending Kevin Durant, holding the All-Star forward to 21 points on eight-for-20 shooting.

The Lakers took five charges, another sign of how in tune they were on defense.

Even with that, the Lakers didn't escape until Durant and James Harden missed three-point shots in the game's final moments.

"We were fortunate to come away with that win," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "Two shots like they had at the end of the game were good looks. But we did the job in the second half defensively."

Perhaps the biggest defensive play was made by Pau Gasol.

The 7-foot Gasol took a charge against 6-3 guard Russell Westbrook with 17.3 seconds left and the Lakers protecting a three-point lead.

"It was a good charge," said Gasol, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds. "It was a big charge night."

So big that Jackson couldn't remember the last time the Lakers took so many.

"Never," Jackson said. "I can't remember our team doing this many. We talk to them about it and today they did it."

Artest again held Durant, the NBA's scoring leader, below his 28.6 points-per-game average.

Artest also came up big late in the game, knocking the ball away from Durant with 49.9 seconds left and the Lakers leading, 90-87.

"I've got to give 100% every night because I'm only getting older and he's only reaching his prime," Artest said.

Bryant didn't have a good offensive game, making just eight of 22 shots, but he passed Elvin Hayes for seventh on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 27,320 points.

His points against the Thunder didn't come easy, as Bryant didn't attempt a free throw.

"You just got to shoot through fouls," Bryant said.

When the Lakers faced the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs last year, it took six games to eliminate Oklahoma City.

The Thunder recently acquired centers Kendrick Perkins from the Boston Celtics and Nazr Mohammed from the Charlotte Bobcats, adding size and beef.

Perkins didn't play because of a strained left knee and Mohammed didn't play because of a coach's decision.

But the Lakers have taken notice of the additions.

"He's the best low-post defender we have in the game," Bryant said about Perkins. "It's a welcome addition for them, I'm sure."

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It was the ultimate compliment paid by his coach.

"Andrew [Bynum] was very good," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said about his young center.

Indeed, Bynum was a force for the Lakers during their 90-87 victory over the Thunder on Sunday.

It was more than his five blocked shots, which was telling. It was more than his 7-foot frame, which was a deterrent.

It was how active Bynum was.

He had 16 points, missing just two of his seven shots.

He had 10 rebounds, three offensive. He also had two assists, one steal and one foul in 31 minutes, 39 seconds.

"Today, mentally more than anything, I was in the right spots," Bynum said. "That's just what enabled me to have the kind of game that I did. Defensively, it's timing."

Late in the game, Jackson said he "reluctantly" replaced Bynum with Pau Gasol because he's more mobile.

"But Andrew was blocking and changing shots," Jackson said.

Bynum had right knee surgery over the summer and is still trying to get back to 100%, and he missed one game with a bone bruise in his left knee.

"His activity obviously is an issue," Jackson said. "A lot of it's due to how he feels physically. He's going to have knee issues as he goes along and he just has to monitor that. I think when he feels well, you see his activity level increase."

Barnes waits for go-ahead

If it were up to Matt Barnes, he would play right away.

But it's not up to Barnes to decide when he'll play again after having right knee surgery on Jan. 11.

His fate will rest in the hands of Jackson, who's not sure when his backup small forward will return to action.

"When he gets into a contact situation and we see him go through some contact, there'll be a decision that probably will be affirmative in that regard," Jackson said.

Jackson said he's not sure how effective Monday's practice in Minneapolis will be for Barnes, who is on this two-game trip with the Lakers.

When Barnes had surgery to repair a torn cartilage, the team announced that he would be out about eight weeks. Based on that schedule, Barnes would be able to play Tuesday when the Lakers face Minnesota.

"Progress has been very good," Barnes said. "Now it's really up to Phil. I've been practicing and rehabbing well. Just have to see when everybody wants me back. I feel good… When I'm back, I want to make sure I stay back and everybody on the staff is making sure that happens."

The Lakers return home Wednesday but may not practice. They will be back at practice Thursday.

The next game is Friday night against the Charlotte Bobcats at Staples Center.

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