Lakers barely avoid more royal pain

It took them long enough, but the Lakers finally figured out the Sacramento Kings.

It shouldn’t be that hard against a 6-17 team, but that’s the state of the Lakers these days -- looking great from afar but far from great.

They pulled away from the Kings, 112-103, Friday at Staples Center, gaining traction only in the final few minutes.

In fact, there were times when their best player was none other than . . . Josh Powell.

Win they did, moving to 19-3 and equaling Phil Jackson’s best three-loss start with the Lakers (2001-02). But there’s untold work to do to top the best three-loss start in franchise history -- 39-3 in 1971-72.

Operating under the assumption they’re not going to win 21 consecutive games, it’s safe to say the Lakers are simply happy to beat the hapless Kings after a humbling 113-101 loss Tuesday in Sacramento.

It wasn’t easy.

Lakers fans shifted in their seats and clapped sporadically in the first half.

There were even some boos after John Salmons’ layup tied the score at 44-44 with 3:02 left in the second quarter. There wasn’t a memorable outburst until Kobe Bryant made a three-pointer with 5:02 left in the third quarter, giving the Lakers a 72-59 lead.

Even then, the lead wasn’t safe, not that it’s a surprise to say such a thing this season.

Spencer Hawes’ three-pointer trimmed the Lakers’ lead to 101-98 with 3:00 to play.

But Derek Fisher made a 14-footer, Bryant had a nine-foot bank and then Bryant elevated over a late-arriving Francisco Garcia for a two-handed dunk that turned into a three-point play and 108-98 lead.

Bryant finished with 32 points on 11-for-21 shooting, breaking out of a slump.

“He came out aggressive,” Jackson said. “He kind of led the charge for us, so that was nice to see.”

There were other issues, however.

The Kings were averaging 97.1 points, but they passed the century mark in both games against the Lakers.

“The thing that bothers us is the 30-point fourth quarters,” Jackson said after the Lakers gave up 31. “Now you know the teams. Now you know what they do. Now’s the time to squeeze it down to 18, 20 points a quarter in the fourth quarter and slow that down. We’re not doing that well.”

Furthermore, Andrew Bynum’s night was done when he pulled down Hawes and was called for a flagrant foul with 4:24 to play. He fouled out with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Powell, who had played only 56 minutes this season, was pressed into duty when Bynum picked up his fourth foul with 9:39 left in the second quarter. Powell provided an energetic three points and three rebounds toward the end of the second quarter, though Garcia’s layup with 2.6 seconds left tied the score at 52-52.

It was a herky-jerky contest from the start.

The game was delayed several minutes in the first quarter because of a clock malfunction. Then the Lakers began to break down after taking a 33-27 lead into the second quarter.

They eventually worked the lead back up to 76-61 with 3:23 left in the third quarter, but it didn’t last.

Salmons continued to cause problems, scoring 26 points after getting 21 Tuesday.

Luke Walton started again at small forward and had eight assists, as Vladimir Radmanovic stayed on the bench for the second game in a row.

“We don’t have an answer to that right now,” Walton said of the Lakers’ propensity for blowing leads.

“We know we have the talent and the players to be a great team. Now it’s just going to take the effort and the work and the concentration to go along with it.”

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