The Lakers didn't appeal to a higher power Wednesday, though Archbishop Jose Gomez was at their practice, as was Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani from Peru, taking in a scrimmage from folding courtside chairs.

Gomez used to be a San Antonio Spurs supporter but switched allegiances after taking over leadership of the L.A. Archdiocese this month.

"A lot of people were praying and telling me to switch from the Spurs to the Lakers. Prayers work. Now I'm a Lakers fan," Gomez said. "I'm also praying for the Spurs, but a sign from God is that the Lakers are playing much better."

Lakers keep sights on Dallas

It's been that kind of a run, the Lakers 15-1 since the All-Star break.

Kobe Bryant spoke to both Catholic dignitaries after practice. Coincidentally or not, the Lakers play their biggest game of the regular season Thursday at Staples Center against Dallas.

The Lakers lead the Mavericks by half a game for second place in the Western Conference. The season series is tied at 1-1.

How big is Thursday's game?

Enough to turn Lamar Odom into a Clippers fan.

"I hope the Clippers get to beat [Dallas] up a little bit," he said a few hours before the Clippers played the Mavericks on Wednesday at Staples Center. "Hopefully, the game goes into two or three overtimes, a couple guys foul out, get nicked up."

It didn't quite work out as the Clippers lost to Dallas, 106-100.

Lakers database: All things Lakers

The dog days are long behind the Lakers, who are trending upward like no other team in the NBA.

Bryant rarely gives credence to a game before April, unless it falls on Christmas or, back in the day, is against Shaquille O'Neal, but he acknowledges the importance of Thursday's matchup against Dallas.

The Lakers (53-20) have nine games left in the regular season. They trail San Antonio by 3 1/2 games. Playoffs begin in a little more than two weeks.

"Around this time is when it starts," Bryant said. "Games start becoming big games because you're trying to build rhythm, you're trying to build consistency. All these games are good measuring sticks to see how we're going to go into the playoffs."

The Mavericks (53-21) have somehow stayed close to the Lakers despite losing third-leading scorer Caron Butler to a knee injury almost four months ago.

"I'm not surprised at all," Bryant said. "They have so much talent, so much depth. You look at their roster individually, and they're stacked."

Small forward Shawn Marion has picked up a lot of the scoring slack for Dallas, hovering near a 15-point average this month.

Their attention is on the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers maintained, and not on the sliding San Antonio Spurs.

Besides, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said after practice Tuesday, it would be a "longshot" for his team to catch the Spurs for the league's best record.

The Lakers hold a one-game lead over the Mavericks for the second-best record in the Western Conference, a team they host Thursday night.

Lakers database: All things Lakers

Home-court advantage throughout the playoffs remains a goal for the Lakers, but it's not their primary focus.

"Without a doubt, you would always want to go for that," Jackson said. "But right now, our sights are Dallas and Thursday night's game."

The Lakers (53-20) are 3 1/2 games behind the Spurs for the best record in the NBA and tied with the Chicago Bulls for the second-best record in the league.

San Antonio, which has lost four consecutive games, has eight regular-season games left. The Lakers, who host the Spurs on April 12, have nine games left.

It would take a collapse by the Spurs for the Lakers to overtake San Antonio.

"It's still a real longshot for that," Jackson said. "They only have to win a couple of games here and we have to go perfect. So it's real difficult to see that. But we still play it out. It's still what we do."

After a shaky stretch, Lakers' reserves get it together

The Lakers took Monday off, went back to work Tuesday and will practice again Wednesday.

Kobe Bryant, who Sunday became the franchise leader in games played (1,094) ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Derek Fisher didn't practice Tuesday.

Lakers' surge

The Lakers 15-1 record after the All-Star break made them only the fifth team to produce that mark since the All-Star game was introduced in 1951. Three of the four teams to do so — Detroit (1989-90), Chicago (1990-91) and the Lakers (1999-2000) — went on to win the NBA championship.

Etc.

Rookie forward Devin Ebanks had an MRI exam Monday that showed he still has a stress fracture in his left tibia. The Lakers said he'll be out three more weeks…Rookie Derrick Caracter was assigned Tuesday to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League. Caracter, who has played in 40 games for the Lakers and averaged 5.2 minutes and 2.0 points, will play Wednesday night when the Jam plays at the Utah Flash…

Fisher was voted No. 4 of the top five floppers in the NBA in a recent Sports Illustrated poll...

The Lakers' charity golf event Monday raised more than $200,000, but it was the play of Lakers Hall of Famer Jerry West that stole the show. West had a hole in one on the 16th hole at Riviera Country Club, which came with a prize.

Lakers spokesman John Black said the tournament offered a car for a prize on the fourth and 14th holes, a watch for the sixth hole and two Lakers tickets for the 16th hole, which was the prize West won.

Lakers blog

But West traded the tickets for the watch, which he then donated, along with an autographed golf ball. The two items were auctioned for $8,000, with the money going to the Lakers Youth Foundation.

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There were plenty of blunders earlier this season — and, yes, some as recently as last month — but the Lakers finally see something ahead of them.

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FOR THE RECORD:
Lakers' playoff seeding: An article in the March 29 Sports section about the Lakers' playoff prospects said the winner of the Lakers' March 31 game with the Dallas Mavericks would own the first playoff tiebreaker between the teams. In fact, the Lakers currently hold the first tiebreaker because they are a division winner. —

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It's not the finish line. It's the staggering San Antonio Spurs.

The Lakers suddenly have a Texas-sized carrot in front of them for their final nine games: San Antonio is down to a 3 1/2 -game lead atop the Western Conference after another loss Monday.

The Spurs' four-game losing streak is entirely injury-driven, their Big Three limping a lot these days, be it Tim Duncan (sprained ankle), Manu Ginobili (bruised thigh) or Tony Parker (bruised knee). All three sat out Monday's home loss to Portland.

The Lakers have noticed.

"There's a lot of motivation," guard Shannon Brown said. "We know their situation. We know they're trying to get home court. They've been playing well all year. If we can catch them and get home court, that'll be the best thing."

It would require a complete collapse by the Spurs, though the Lakers haven't been this close to them since losing three in a row at the end of November.

The Lakers (53-20) have won a well-documented 15 of 16 since the All-Star break, when they trailed San Antonio by nine games. The 15-1 surge also has allowed them to pull even with Chicago for the NBA's second-best record.

San Antonio's next four games are against teams that are in the playoffs or in the hunt: Boston, Houston, Phoenix and Atlanta. The Spurs (57-17) also play the Lakers at Staples Center on April 12.

Duncan's injury is being called day-to-day, but it seems more week-to-week. Ginobili could not finish Sunday's loss to Memphis and Parker joined them on the sideline Monday.

It was Parker who tried to sound in control after the Spurs fell to Memphis.

"We don't have time to worry about [injuries]," he told reporters. "Timmy is not coming back any time soon, so we just have to keep playing and make sure we pound that rock. Hopefully, it will go our way."

Not all the Lakers are showing interest in the Spurs.

"It doesn't matter to us whether we catch them or not," Kobe Bryant said. "We try to win every game. If we catch them, so be it. If we don't, so be it."

Before the Lakers took the court Sunday against New Orleans, Derek Fisher walked past a TV in the locker room just as Memphis was finishing off San Antonio. Fisher showed no expression. In fact, he didn't even stop.

For what it's worth, the Lakers trail the Spurs in the season series, 2-1.

For all the criticism heaped upon them before the All-Star break, not to mention the angst of a fan base that yelped with every surprising loss, the Lakers are now on pace to surpass their victory total from last season (57).

They could even hit the impressive 60-victory plateau, which would give them a better record than they had in the last two steps of their "three-peat" in the early 2000s.

The Lakers face a more immediate threat this week, a Dallas team that doesn't seem to realize it's been without Caron Butler for almost three months.

The Mavericks (52-21) are only a game behind the Lakers for second in the West. The teams play each other for a third and final time Thursday at Staples Center.

The season series is tied at 1-1, with Thursday's winner owning the first playoff tiebreaker.

"We want to secure our spot, so beating them would pretty much do that for us," Andrew Bynum said.

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Times correspondent Mark Medina contributed to this report.

They had been asked to protect an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter, to give the starters a rest, to perform better than they had in recent games.

But the Lakers' reserves could not hold it together, struggling to maintain the lead they had been given.

Even when they let the lead slip to six points in the fourth, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson didn't yank any of his bench players during a timeout at the 7:51 mark.

Instead, Jackson left reserves Matt Barnes, Luke Walton, Shannon Brown and Steve Blake in the game along with starter Andrew Bynum to clean up their own mess.

Lakers show off postseason form to Hornets in 102-84 victory

And for the most part they did, going inside to Bynum to help lead the way during the Lakers' 102-84 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night at Staples Center.

"I guess that was to see how we were going to respond," Brown said. "That's good. That's why we love Coach, for things like that and letting us go out and play and get it together. I think we did and 'Drew did a great job sticking with it too. We went to him in the fourth quarter."

As a group, the Lakers' reserves shot 11 for 26 from the field and scored 23 points.

Lamar Odom was the most solid in the group, scoring eight points on four-for-six shooting. He also had five rebounds and four assists.

Photos: Lakers vs. Hornets

"They had open shots," Jackson said about his reserves. "They worked the ball the right way."

The fourth quarter began so well for the reserves.

Brown made an 11-foot jumper and a 23-foot three-pointer, giving the Lakers a 12-point lead.

But then they couldn't get any stops and the offense dried up.

NBA playoff standings

When the Suns got to within 78-72, the fans began to stir.

After a timeout, the Lakers went inside to Bynum.

Bynum made the first of two free throws.

When he missed the second free throw, Barnes stepped in and tipped the ball in for a basket.

Walton fed Bynum for a dunk and Blake fed Bynum for a shot, giving the Lakers a 13-point lead.

Given a reprieve, the reserves came through for the Lakers.

"Playing hard is no problem," said Brown, who had eight points on four-for-10 shooting. "It's just playing as one. It's not like we're not doing it on purpose. We've just got some things to fine-tune."

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On the Lakers flipping their switch again. . . .

They wish.

If today's Lakers bear little resemblance to the ones who didn't beat any of the top teams until February, going 0-4 against the Heat, Spurs, Mavericks and Celtics . . . after trailing by 21, 19, 16 and 16, respectively . . . it's not because they flipped any switch.

Lakers show off postseason form to Hornets in 102-84 victory

Believe this, if there was a switch, they'd have flipped it a long time ago.

Seven weeks after the Christmas embarrassment against Miami when Kobe Bryant vowed to kick teammates' backsides, they went into the All-Star break in an 0-3 spiral, capped by a barely-imaginable loss in Cleveland.

At that point, people weren't talking about switches.

Photos: Lakers vs. Hornets

They were talking about Carmelo Anthony going to the Lakers . . . an idea believed to have originated among Lakers players, or the Laker player.

With Sunday's win over New Orleans, they're 15-1 since the break, with everyone back on the bandwagon, trying to look cool, as if they never left.

As for the players, who looked cool throughout the search for themselves . . . when not in rages, getting technicals or being ejected . . . they were scared, or as they like to put it, concerned, to the max.

NBA playoff standings

"Every season, you've never quite known for sure that you're going to end up where you want to be, until you were there," said Derek Fisher. "And that's where that emotion when the final buzzer goes off and you're the champions comes from.

"Because you've been literally hanging over the edge of the cliff for months on end."

There was a time when the Lakers were so good, they could flip a switch.

It was circa 2000 with Shaquille O'Neal and Bryant, who were so devastating together . . . assuming they were together . . . they could turn it on at will, and had to, since O'Neal wasn't a conditioning zealot.

Lakers' Lamar Odom in tight race for Sixth Man Award

Now it's more like rubbing two sticks together to start a fire.

Even if it works, it takes a while.

One thing's for sure as the Lakers improved to 15-1 since the All-Star break.

They would love to play New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs.

The Hornets continued to be the NBA equivalent of an intentional walk for the Lakers, the latest meeting much like the last several, this one a 102-84 Lakers victory Sunday at Staples Center.

Lakers will see you on the flip side . . . or not

The Lakers led for almost the entire game, their fans cheered, then the Lakers won by a lot and their fans would be forgiven for yawning. They've seen this game already, the Lakers moving to 4-0 against the Hornets this season by an average margin of almost 11 points.

If the playoffs started today, the Lakers (53-20) would get the Hornets (42-32), though Memphis and Portland are the other main first-round possibilities.

The Lakers aren't foolish enough to provide inflammatory material to be used against them next month, but the Hornets just aren't a threat, especially after perennial pillar David West went down with a season-ending knee injury last week.

Lakers' Lamar Odom in tight race for Sixth Man Award

It really wasn't a surprise to see the Lakers beat the Hornets for the ninth time in 11 games, including five in a row at Staples Center.

"The size difference is really it," center Andrew Bynum said. "Normally Pau [Gasol] and I have a good night out and Kobe's Kobe."

Bryant continued his recent run with 30 points, Gasol had 23 and Bynum had 13.

NBA playoff standings

Despite still being listed on the Lakers' injury list with a sprained ankle, Bryant looks plenty fresh, averaging 36.3 points over the last three games.

"Just getting into playoff mode," he said.

The Lakers won their seventh consecutive game and stayed one ahead of Dallas for second place in the Western Conference.

Photos: Lakers vs. Hornets

In a story to be tracked over the next two weeks, they also moved to within four games of the suddenly struggling San Antonio Spurs, losers of three consecutive games.

Can the Lakers somehow catch the Spurs? Probably not, though Jackson has seen it all in a coaching career spanning from the CBA's Albany Patroons to 11 NBA championships. "All things are possible in this game," he said.

If there is a criticism of the Lakers, it's their reserves, who can't hang on to many leads these days.

Lamar Odom has been fine, but Shannon Brown, Steve Blake, Matt Barnes and Luke Walton were a combined seven for 20 against New Orleans.

Jackson said he "wasn't happy" about it.

The backups faltered in the fourth quarter, allowing the Hornets to cut the lead to six, but Bynum picked up his game and pushed it to 13. After the Hornets cut it to eight, the Lakers went on a 12-2 run to end the game.

Even without West, Jackson said the Hornets should be a concern with Chris Paul and West's replacement, Carl Landry, a trade-deadline acquisition who had 24 points and 10 rebounds Sunday.

"They still have some backup there," said Jackson, still irritated that the NBA allowed the trade with Sacramento to happen. The league temporarily purchased the Hornets earlier this season and maintained day-to-day operations of the franchise.

"Turned out that it was [divine] providence or the NBA that really helped [the Hornets] get back and get Landry when they needed a player," Jackson said sarcastically.

The Lakers don't play again until a key home game Thursday against Dallas.

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