BRYANT SHOWS MILLER THE DOOR KOBE THRIVES IN NEW ROLE; REGGIE LOSES IN L.A. FINALE LAKERS 103, INDIANA 94.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

The night wasn't about one man or the other, but the occasion of Reggie Miller's last game in Los Angeles after 18 NBA seasons also afforded the opportunity Sunday evening to see a new look for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Bryant moved to the wing and muscled his way to 37 points, Lamar Odom switched to the backcourt and added 13 points, and the Lakers took care of the overmatched Indiana Pacers 103-94 at Staples Center.

At assistant Brian Shaw's suggestion, Odom shared ballhandling duties with Chucky Atkins while Bryant posted up the likes of Fred Jones and Stephen Jackson, part of a transformation several seasons in the making for the superstar guard.

``We're trying to explore a little with that, with L.O. handling the ball, initiating the offense some,'' interim coach Frank Hamblen said. ``It moves Kobe around also, puts him on the wing some, which is a good thing that teams have to see him at different positions now.''

Bryant would not be denied Sunday, scoring the Lakers' final 10 points of the third quarter, then hitting the biggest shot of the night with 4 minutes, 31 seconds left, doubling back against Jackson on the wing and burying a 21-footer.

Afterward, Bryant said he was pleased working from the wing and said it puts the Lakers in ``more of an attack mode'' as well as saving wear on Bryant's banged-up body by reducing the amount he has to handle the ball.

``I love playing the wing,'' Bryant said. ``I think I'm more of a free- throw-line-and-below player. Throughout the past years, I've had to adapt to being more of a facilitator. But Lamar's natural position since high school has been ballhandler.

``So I think he's in more of a comfort zone when he has the ball in his hands and he's making decisions. I just move down to the wing.''

The point-forward role is something that suits Odom, who added nine rebounds and seven assists and also noted - in offering a Bryant comparison - that Michael Jordan might have been the Chicago Bulls' best post player in the 1990s.

Hamblen, whose team hit 33 of 37 free throws Sunday in winning its second consecutive game, said Bryant would not exclusively be playing wing, although he was happy with how the experiment went.

``We want a mix,'' Hamblen said. ``We don't want him posting up all the time. We want to feature him on the wing. We want to feature him in the post. We want to feature him at the elbow.

``But we want to feature a lot of people in those situations. We want to move them around and, certainly, move the ball around.''

Miller, meanwhile, finished with 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting in 38 minutes. He started the game defended by Caron Butler, although Bryant took him at the end, when the Pacers cut a 17-point Lakers lead to 95-90 with 2:14 remaining.

It was Miller's baseline floater that brought Indiana as close as it would get. At the other end, Chris Mihm threw away a pass looking for Bryant cutting to the basket. But Jackson missed a jumper, and Atkins finished off the Pacers with eight free throws in the final 90 seconds.

Bryant said afterward that Miller, the former UCLA product, had a ``Hall of Fame career.'' Added Hamblen: ``He's a big-time player, big clutch player, always has been. It's sad to see the great ones leave the game.''

There will be little sentimentality when Bryant someday exits from basketball. He had 18 points by halftime Sunday, spinning past James Jones for a layup, taking a handoff from Mihm at the elbow and knocking down a jumper on a textbook wing sequence.

The lasting image from Bryant's night came as he pushed ahead on the fastbreak with 4:38 left in the third quarter and was all but mugged by Fred Jones, David Harrison and Jackson on his way to the basket.

But Bryant somehow tossed in a layup, then converted the subsequent free throw to put the Lakers in front 65-52. He went on to score the Lakers' final 10 points of the third quarter, pulling up for an 18-footer over Fred Jones at the end.

For the second consecutive game, the Lakers (30-28) took advantage of a shorthanded opponent.

Their victory Friday came with Dallas missing Erick Dampier and Michael Finley. The Pacers were without Jermaine O'Neal, placed on the injured list last week with a sprained shoulder.

``I'm happy we won,'' Hamblen said. ``I'm not happy how we won.''

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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Kobe Bryant, pleading for a foul call, scores a game-high 37 points in the Lakers' victory.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

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