LAKERS LOSING GROUND ONLY 1 1/2 AHEAD OF DENVER AFTER LOSS DENVER 111, LAKERS 105.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND 

Staff Writer

If, at tipoff time, it's sometimes difficult to know what to expect from Kobe Bryant, well, Lakers coach Phil Jackson can relate.

On any given night, will he get Bryant the super-scorer or Bryant the facilitator?

Asked before Tuesday night's game against Denver if he knew, from game to game, what type of game to expect from Bryant, Jackson said, "No," then quickly corrected himself.

"I mean, I do on some nights," Jackson said. "Against some teams, like (Denver), he's going to be double-teamed and they're going to rotate their defense."

Sure enough, the Nuggets put their focus on stopping Bryant, but despite that, when the ball left his hands, more often than not it headed toward the basket and not a teammate. The plan worked for a while, and Bryant scored 39 points, but Denver hung tight and earned a 111-105 victory at Staples Center.

Lamar Odom added 17 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists for his third career triple-double, but the Nuggets moved within 1 1/2 games of the Lakers for sixth place in the Western Conference playoff race.

With the score tied 102-102 and four minutes remaining, Denver's J.R. Smith hit a 3-pointer to give Denver the lead for good. Moments later, Carmelo Anthony's dunk gave Denver a five-point lead.

With the Lakers down by three and 91 seconds left, Smith committed a flagrant foul but Andrew Bynum missed both free throws, and Bryant missed a jumper on the ensuing possession. Anthony's two free throws with 48.2 seconds left made it 109-104, and even Bryant couldn't rescue the Lakers from there.

Despite a Denver defense seemingly designed to thwart him, Bryant shot often, made 14 of 31 attempts and became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 19,000 points.

And since it isn't a Laker game without some type of injury news, Kwame Brown once again fell victim. Brown, who recently returned from a sprained left ankle, aggravated the injury in the second quarter.

Five minutes into the period, Denver's Marcus Camby went up for a shot and stepped on Brown's left foot. Brown crumbled to the ground and appeared to be in significant pain but stayed in the game. At the start of the third quarter, a team official said Brown would miss the rest of the game.

As usual, defense caused the Lakers' most self-induced headaches, as the Nuggets often roamed the paint freely, spread the ball around and had four players in double figures in scoring by halftime.

On the other side, Bryant dominated, somewhat surprisingly, given his previous games against Denver.

In January, Bryant attempted only nine shots and had more assists (10) than points (eight) in a 19-point victory. In March, Bryant scored 25 points but the Lakers lost to the Nuggets by 27.

So Tuesday's game would be a pass-first effort for Bryant, right?

Wrong, even though before the game, Jackson hinted that a Kobe-as- facilitator game might lead to similar results as in January.

Instead, by the end of the first quarter, Bryant had scored more points (12) and attempted more shots (10) than he did in January, despite tight coverage from Denver's defense and frequent double-teams.

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Photo:

The Lakers' Lamar Odom, left, and Kobe Bryant defend Denver's Carmelo Anthony.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer