KOBE SHOWS ALL HE CAN BE BRYANT GETS 42 AS LAKERS WIN LAKERS 121, DENVER 93.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

They don't know yet where Kobe Bryant is taking the Lakers - to a playoff berth, to another championship, to an early flameout, to Disneyland - it's just not clear yet and it just doesn't matter. Wherever they end up, the Lakers will have arrived in spectacular fashion, on the wings of Bryant's spinning dunks and reverse jams.

This was the All-Star Game, continued. This was Bryant, as brilliant as he was in Sacramento, Indiana and New York, still bolting toward the stratosphere, reaching yet for more glory, more history, and at the least, more victories.

This was Bryant, hauling in a 60-foot pass over his shoulder on the run, Jerry Rice-like, dribbling it once behind his back, then spinning for a 360-degree dunk over someone named Vincent Yarbrough and sending Staples Center into uncontainable bliss. This was more than just the average 121-91 rout of the Denver Nuggets.

Bryant broke the 40-point barrier Tuesday night for the 10th time this season - and fourth time in six games - putting him on a collision course with MVP ballots, and with the Lakers' record book.

The last Laker to score 40 points at least 10 times was Jerry West, who did it 13 times in the 1969-70 season. Bryant has 34 games left to catch him.

While Bryant destroyed Yarbrough, Ryan Bowen and whoever else cared to venture into his path, the Lakers cruised, winning their season-high sixth consecutive game to move within a half-game of eighth-seeded Houston for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Rockets lost to Utah, and Phoenix lost to the Clippers, leaving both teams in striking distance.

Shaquille O'Neal scored 20 points in three quarters of work, and coach Phil Jackson was able to rest his stars for the fourth quarter. But the night, again, belonged to Bryant, who scored 42 points in just 31 minutes, going 12 for 20 from the field and 17 for 21 from the line.

Bryant broke the 35-point plateau for the sixth consecutive game, and is averaging 40.5 points during the winning streak.

The 360-degree slam touched off the Lakers' final push in the third. Robert Horry delivered the long pass, and Bryant made a play that might soon rival last week's reverse dunk against the Knicks in ESPN replays.

He followed that up with two free throws, then a pullup jumper, then a right-handed dunk on the fast break, then a 3-pointer as the Lakers blew open the game 96-64.

Then came the ``KO-BE!'' chants. Then two more free throws, accompanied by the ``M-V-P!'' chorus.

The All-Star break didn't figure to be the best thing for the Lakers, flying high on a winning streak of five games last week before the NBA's schedule interrupted.

Resuming the season against Denver, losers of nine road games in a row, mitigated matters, but Jackson worried about the layoff.

``It's always a difficult game,'' he said. ``It's just a game that's like getting back to work on Monday for some people that have a long weekend. You come back and you have to get back to work on a Monday and you're not right up to speed. We just hope that these guys are right ready to play.''

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

(color) Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal blocks a shot by Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby at Staples Center on Tuesday.

Box:

(1) GAME RECAP

(2) ALMOST HOME