RELIABLE ATKINS SHOWS LAKERS THE WAY SCORES 26 TO BEAT GOLDEN STATE LAKERS 105, G. STATE 101.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

Whether he is ``Mr. Pressure'' or ``our young old man,'' as Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich has dubbed him this week alone, point guard Chucky Atkins undoubtedly holds the title as the Lakers' most dependable player with Kobe Bryant out.

No matter what unit he was playing with, no matter that Golden State's Derek Fisher hit three consecutive long-range shots over him, Atkins stuck to his game and finished with 26 points in the Lakers' 105-101 victory Friday night at Staples Center.

The Lakers beat the Warriors for the second time in a week and improved to 4-1 without their star shooting guard. They also got the chance for yet another of the players who complements Bryant to step into the spotlight.

For the fourth consecutive game, Atkins played more than 40 minutes. He hit 9 of 18 shots, including 4 of 11 3-pointers, and dished out 10 assists.

Since Bryant went down, Atkins has averaged 20 points, six assists and nearly 16 shots per game. It also is Atkins, undrafted out of college, who best personifies the swagger of which Bryant has spoken. He hit two long jumpers in the fourth quarter to break open what had been a two-possession game with 8:22 left. Jumaine Jones went on to hit a 3-pointer, followed by another 3-pointer from Brian Cook to put the Lakers up 97-86.

Atkins finished his game by finding Jones in the corner out of a double- team. Jones took the ball to the basket for a two-handed dunk with 1:30 left to put the game out of reach at 98-93. Or so the Lakers thought.

Golden State got hot in the final minute and made it 101-99 on a Jason Richardson 3-pointer with 18.8 seconds left. Atkins went to the foul line but made only 1 of 2 free throws, giving the Warriors a chance to tie.

But Richardson missed an open reverse layup with 15 seconds left, Lamar Odom grabbed the rebound and made his first free throw to give the Lakers some breathing room at 103-101. Caron Butler's two foul shots provided the final margin.

Odom finished with 25 points, stayed out of foul trouble, and had his jumper working. He connected on several shots from the right baseline against Troy Murphy and knocked down two 3-pointers.

Odom didn't get the chance to duplicate his buzzer-beating heroics from Saturday's game against Golden State, when he scored off a driving layup with 1.3 seconds left.

Nonetheless, the Lakers finally played a game without Bryant that was only moderately in doubt. They improved to 22-16 and will try to win three in a row for the first time this season on Tuesday against Seattle.

Fisher scored 23 points, including 11 in the third quarter, but fell to 0-6 against the Lakers and Clippers since signing with the Warriors in the offseason. Richardson scored 26 points and took 26 shots for Golden State.

One of the game's turning points was also one of the funniest.

Tomjanovich has been near manic on the sidelines at times this season, and referee Jess Kersey paid the price with 6:20 left in the third quarter. Tomjanovich had a foot on the court and Kersey came down the right side with the Warriors on the break.

Fisher took a step back to receive a pass at the 3-point arc and ended up pinning Kersey against Tomjanovich. Kersey fell awkwardly and Tomjanovich immediately reached out to pick up the veteran referee.

The Lakers benefited to no small degree, getting two baskets by Odom once the game resumed to cut what had been a seven-point Golden State lead to 69-66.

They went on to close the quarter on a 19-8 run as Odom drained a 3- pointer, Brian Grant blocked Richardson and Jones took a pass from Atkins on the break. Atkins hit another 3-pointer and the Lakers went into the fourth quarter ahead 81-77.

Fisher, meanwhile, came out and hit three 3-pointers in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the third quarter as the Warriors took a 64-60 lead. Atkins couldn't stop Fisher from shooting over him, but he did intercept two passes intended for Fisher immediately afterward.

And Odom again was the go-to player for the Lakers. He turned a broken play in the second quarter into a basket, passing to Butler, then getting the ball back and pushing in a shot over Eduardo Najera.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

Lakers center Chris Mihm blocks a shot by the Warriors' Troy Murphy during the first half Friday. Mihm scored eight points in the Lakers' victory.

Hans Gutknecht/Associated Press

Box:

(1) THE MAGIC NUMBER

(2) GAME RECAP