The AP reports: On a night that Kobe Bryant tossed up an air ball with his first shot, sprained his right ankle and finished 5-of-19 from the field, the Los Angeles Lakers still showed why they are the top playoff seed in the Western Conference. Bottom line—there’s more to the Lakers than Kobe. Pau Gasol had a season-high 36 points and 11 rebounds, and the Lakers (58-14) guaranteed the road to the Western Conference championship will run through downtown Los Angeles with a 103-95 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Friday night. “It’s just one more step toward our goal,” said Gasol, who was 14 of 19 from the field and three assists shy of a triple-double. “Now we’re just looking to the next game. We still have three games left on the road trip.”
