`24' STILL A BIG HIT WITH LAKERS BRYANT DEBUTS WITH NEW JERSEY, SCORES 23 LAKERS 118, SEATTLE 112.

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

The new number will take some getting used to for Lakers fans, who could look out on the court Friday night and find the only No. 8 belonging to Seattle guard Luke Ridnour.

The right knee will take some getting used to for Kobe Bryant, who put aside the questions about scar tissue and soreness, and played for the first time all season.

It was a new-look night all around at Staples Center. Bryant debuted his No. 24 jersey and the Lakers beat the Seattle SuperSonics 118-112, with the superstar guard taking a backseat to his teammates.

Bryant finished with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting with six assists and six turnovers in 41 minutes. He played the entire fourth quarter, but the two biggest plays down the stretch were turned in by Smush Parker and Ronny Turiaf.

Parker curled around a screen, took a pass from Bryant and drove for a go-ahead layup that put the Lakers in front 109-107 with 1:21 remaining. It was a play that showed progress, in Bryant's mind.

``That's an example of experience,'' Bryant said, ``because in the past we would have relied on me doing an isolation situation. Now what we do is execute all the way through.''

At the other end, Turiaf came up with the rebound of the game. Bryant stayed in front of Ray Allen (30 points) and forced the Sonics guard into a tough shot. Turiaf won the battle for the rebound and was fouled by Chris Wilcox.

That sent Turiaf to the free-throw line with 55.6 seconds left. The crowd was chanting his name and Turiaf was a little confused.

``I really thought they were saying, `Kobe,' '' Turiaf said.

After totaling a career-high 23 points Wednesday against Golden State, Turiaf sank both free throws to make it a four-point game. He followed by making two spectacular blocks against Wilcox and Rashard Lewis on the defensive end.

Turiaf came into the season saying he wanted to do all the dirty work the Lakers required. But the second-year forward has found himself in the spotlight the past two games.

He finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and led the Lakers with nine points in the fourth quarter. Turiaf even knocked down a 17-footer with four minutes to play.

The Lakers improved to 3-0 and will play Sunday at Seattle.

Lamar Odom led the Lakers with 28 points in 42 minutes, while Luke Walton added a career-high 20 points.

Bryant, meanwhile, played for the first time since undergoing surgery on his knee July 15. A recovery that was supposed to last eight to 12 weeks wound up taking nearly 16 weeks.

He did not play in any of the Lakers' eight preseason games and had to sit out the first two regular-season games. But Bryant said before Friday's game that he thought he had turned the corner with his knee.

``I should be good,'' Bryant said. ``That's one of the things. We didn't want to have to come back and be day to day. Hopefully, we're in the clear. It feels like we are.''

Bryant brought an unmistakable energy in the first quarter, even if he was content to be a playmaker instead of scorer. The Lakers made 13 of 18 shots (72 percent) and built a 20-point lead over the Sonics.

But Bryant had five turnovers in the first half and his timing was clearly off. He left a finger-roll layup short at the rim in the closing seconds of the second quarter and couldn't elevate for a dunk in the third quarter.

``You could see that he was trying to play with his teammates,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, ``trying to make too many difficult passes to players that weren't quite used to playing with him.''

Jackson played Bryant all but 2:03 in the second half.

``It's just getting that rhythm back and having some type of fluidity to my game,'' Bryant said. ``It felt a little choppy, but it was good enough to help us to some degree.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Lakers' Kobe Bryant throws down a dunk Friday against Seattle.

(2) The Lakers' Ronny Turiaf, left, and Lamar Odom go after a rebound during Friday's game. Turiaf had seven rebounds off the bench.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer