THE MENTAL STRAIN IS BEING WEATHERED.

Byline: JOE STEVENS

Injury reports have turned into a ridiculous part of a sports junkie's vernacular. Groin injuries, torn ACLs and some foot ailment called plantar fasciitis are at the tip of many fanatics' tongues.

But no injury report exists for what the Lakers have - deep mental strain.

Officially, they are day-to-day, but a nagging injury like deep mental strain eventually takes its toll.

The strain played a role in Tuesday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs, but they were able to overcome it.

But in this ``Season of Distraction,'' the Lakers have been mentally strained since training camp, and their distractions again came to a head Tuesday.

Although Kobe Bryant already had made the trip from Eagle, Colo., three times, the trip Tuesday was different. He entered a not-guilty plea in his sexual assault case, made it to Staples Center by 5:20 p.m. local time and was introduced to a typically resounding ovation.

As has become his modus operandi, Bryant played fantastically on a day he went to court. He was outstanding, especially during a third quarter that turned around the Lakers' fate as they outscored the Spurs 31-16. Bryant scored nine in the quarter, and Shaquille O'Neal scored 14, and the quarter brought up shades of their championships.

Bryant's court date again seemed to give him some sort of strange motivation. Yet it didn't necessarily make his teammates play better.

Teammates and coach Phil Jackson aren't candid about it, but having their star start the day at a trial, miss the morning shootaround and all of a sudden show up doesn't help chemistry. One common theory is that Bryant can be affected by starting game days in Eagle, Colo., but in reality, it's his teammates who are affected.

Other than Bryant and O'Neal, the rest of the team didn't provide major offensive contributions.

It's not only Bryant's trial that can put the Lakers in a funk, but Gary Payton's penchant for throwing verbal fireballs to the press and Jackson's role of trying to keep everything together also are part of the equation.

It happened to be a year ago that Jackson missed Game 4 against San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals because he had to undergo an angioplasty. Jackson reminisced about that episode and is due for a year's checkup.

``In retrospect, thinking about it, trying to put energy in Games 5 and 6, it occurred to me that a lot of air went out of our effort because of the procedure,'' Jackson said.

In sharp contrast to the distraction and drama-laden Lakers, the Spurs go about their business in a boring way - fundamental, understated and often emotionless - just like their team leader, Tim Duncan.

Though he is far from starring in movies or getting his own sitcom, the staid Duncan might show again that his substance trumps the style of all other NBA teams.

``He carries a lot more responsibility than other guys on other teams who are superstars because he's the only superstar on our team,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ``He's not surrounded by other all-stars or other experienced players. He's still trying to figure out what country they're all from.''

San Antonio could repeat, but nothing seems certain in these playoffs. Perhaps the Spurs had their 17-game winning streak snapped in Game 3 just because they were due to lose.

``It's a logical thing to think,'' Popovich said. ``Seventeen is a lot of games to win. The thing I thought about afterwards was that it wasn't 17 games at the beginning of the season or middle of the season. It was 17 games down the stretch. A lot of them were very important games. A lot of them were on the road. Maybe we were due to lose. But it's not an excuse, and it doesn't change the fact that they played great.''

As for why Duncan acts the way he does, Popovich said, ``I don't know anyone I've met with a better perspective.''