LAKERS ARE HUMMING MINUS O'NEAL AGAIN, BRYANT AND COMPANY STORM PAST WIZARDS LAKERS 120, WASHINGTON 99.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

Kobe Bryant's smile got an extended workout Wednesday, along with his chest, his fist and his lungs. Bryant clapped and hopped, bumped chests and hollered, hopped frequently toward midcourt to slap hands with nodding teammates.

It was the most he had to exert himself all night, and it came mostly while dressed in his warmups, which were on more than off for the better part of the evening. The Lakers smiled and hooted along with him, and even the occasional misstep was cause for laughter as they rolled to a 120-99 rout of the Washington Wizards at Staples Center.

Bryant scored 22 points in 26 minutes and enjoyed playing cheerleader for the other 22. Seven teammates joined him in double figures, a feat no Lakers team had achieved since Feb. 19, 1998, and it came with their greatest offensive force nowhere near the court.

Shaquille O'Neal enjoyed the show from the comfort of the locker room, where he rested his sore right calf and perhaps spent a minute or two contemplating his own obsolescence. The Lakers of Karl Malone, Gary Payton and Bryant are 2-0 without him and winning by an average margin of 26.5 points.

That the blowouts have come against lottery teams couldn't obscure the fact that seeds sown this summer finally are taking root.

``We're getting a little bit more accustomed to each other, we've been more relaxed,'' Payton said. ``But we've been really too relaxed sometimes, I think. We're having fun, that's good, that's what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to have fun and win basketball games, but when it's time to get serious, we've got to get a little more serious.''

The victory was their fourth in a row and 23rd consecutive as the home team, one shy of the franchise record in Los Angeles. They'll attempt to match it Friday, against the San Antonio Spurs, with, they hope, O'Neal in the lineup.

``As soon as Big Fella comes back, it's going to even be better,'' Payton promised.

Everything the Lakers have done since stumbling at Detroit last week would suggest they are a perfectly humming, harmonious fraternity and not the frazzled bunch that opened the season amid infighting and doubt.

``I wouldn't ascribe to that,'' coach Phil Jackson said, ``although it's quiet. But it's always quiet before a storm, as they say. So you never rest easy if you're a coach. We don't want to be very complacent. We know that we have to be really vigilant this year to stay on top of our game and not get too relaxed.''

The Lakers set a season high by making 61.4 percent of their field-goal attempts and set a new high in assists, with 35, the second consecutive game they have reset those numbers.

So Jackson's only real complaint was complacency, which set in the second half, won 63-59 by Washington.

``Sometimes games lend itself to a sloppy ending like that, when you have a lead and players can't focus,'' he said.

Satisfied enough, Jackson canceled the practice he had scheduled for 8 a.m. today, leaving his players with a relaxing Thanksgiving day.

Washington was perhaps a bit gassed after pulling out a victory at Portland the night before, and the Wizards have little in the tank as it is. They no longer have Michael Jordan to lean on, Jerry Stackhouse is recovering from October knee surgery and Gilbert Arenas (Grant High of Van Nuys) went down this week with a severe abdominal strain.

The youngsters carried the day, Jarvis Hayes scoring 22 points and Juan Dixon adding 20. But the mismatch was clear, the result inevitable.

The Wizards' last sniff of the Lakers came late in the first quarter, when they pulled within five points. The Lakers outscored them 35-15 over the next 16 minutes and took a 25-point lead into halftime.

``We were intimidated,'' Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. ``They tasted blood, and they went after the kill.''

It was the Lakers bench that actually put the game away, with a dominant second quarter led by Slava Medvedenko, Derek Fisher and Kareem Rush. The three combined for 22 points, on 10-for-13 shooting, in the period.

While the Lakers rolled, Fisher got his groove back. Mired in a 15-for-69 slump, Fisher made 5 of 8 attempts from the field and finished with 14 points, his best game in weeks. Devean George added a season-high 18 points. The rest of the double-digit crew: Rush (career-high 14 points), Malone (13 points, five rebounds, five assists), Medvedenko (11 points) and Payton (10 points, five assists).

Howard Beck, [phone]

howard.beck(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Kobe Bryant, who scored 22 points in 26 minutes for the Lakers, drives past Washington's Christian Laettner.

(2) Slava Medvedenko, one of eight Lakers to score in double figures Wednesday night against Washington, slams home two of his 11 points.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) STORY LINES

(2) GAME RECAP