LAKERS NOTEBOOK: BYNUM RETURNS HOME.

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The number that seemed to follow Andrew Bynum in his homecoming Friday was 14, both for the tickets he left for friends and family and the minutes he played in the second half.

Back in his home state, Bynum finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks despite committing five turnovers. He scored a big basket with 4:35 left as Kobe Bryant found him cutting after the 19-year-old center went to set a screen.

``We could throw over the top to him,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``They wanted to front and they were going to double Kobe with a big or rotate and we knew we had an advantage there.

``He had trouble completing all the catches he got in the lane but he did make a couple down the stretch that were good baskets for us. We thought his size could deter some of the penetration that was the Nets' forte tonight.''

Not that Bynum didn't suffer missteps along the way. The Lakers inbounded to him at the top of the floor with 37.6 seconds left, only to have to call timeout when Bynum couldn't get the ball to either Luke Walton or Bryant.

Jackson played Bynum ahead of starting center Kwame Brown for the second consecutive fourthquarter.

Bynum drew a Bryant-like crowd of reporters at his locker before the game. He talked about his work with special assistant coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and revealed that he wasn't a Nets fan growing up in New Jersey.

``I was always a Chicago fan, just because of growing up in the (Michael) Jordan era,'' Bynum said, ``but now I'm a Laker fan.''

Late mistake: Bryant voiced his displeasure after he drove and dumped a pass to Vladimir Radmanovic inside on the Lakers' last possession.

Instead of going up with the ball, Radmanovic dribbled back outside the 3-point arc.

With the shot clock fast expiring Bryant had to take -- and miss -- a 20-footer with 15.9 seconds remaining.

``He's 6-foot-10,'' Bryant said of Radmanovic. ``I teased him about it in the locker room. He'll catch on to that. You get in that situation, you power through there and get to the free-throw line.''

Net loss: The Nets lost center Nenad Krstic to what looked like a serious knee injury in the third quarter. Krstic tried a spin move in the post against Kwame Brown when his left knee buckled. He did not put any weight on the knee as he was helped off the court.