Lakers' Jackson becomes franchise's all-time leader in coaching wins

When the final buzzer sounded on the Lakers' 99-97 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night at Staples Center, Phil Jackson rose and started to walk off the floor. A television reporter intercepted him before he could make his exit.

Always, the on-court interview after a Lakers victory is with a player.

Always.

Not on this night, not after Jackson became the franchise's all-time leader in coaching victories. Jackson won his 534 th game in two stints with the Lakers, passing Pat Riley, who set the record with the Showtime teams of the 1980 s.

Later, Jackson called the record a "team thing." It was not an individual honor. He praised the Lakers players during his twin tenures with the team in the 2000 s, and he also acknowledged the contributions of his assistant coaches.

"It's been a really good run," he said.

Jackson repeated the oft-told story of a meeting with team owner Jerry Buss after he accepted the job in 1999, after he had left the Chicago Bulls after winning six NBA titles and becoming their all-time leader in victories.

Buss told Jackson he wanted one more championship.

"I told him this team had two or three more titles in them," Jackson said. "We had a great opportunity and we got to the Finals and won three championships (to start the 2000 s). Then having to rebuild our team (and win another in 2009), that's remarkable."

Jackson took a season off from coaching the Lakers after the tumultuous 2003-04 season ended with a loss to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals. He returned at the urging of Jeanie Buss, his girlfriend and the boss' daughter.

Jackson went on to praise Riley for his work in harnessing the remarkable offensive skills of the 1980 s Lakers, led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and also for changing styles dramatically while with the New York Knicks in the 1990 s.

"He became a different coach," Jackson said. "Every possession was like trying to run (the football) through the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line."

Certainly, victory No. 534 had elements of playing in the trenches.

The Bobcats sought their fourth consecutive victory over the Lakers and their seventh in eight games, and they declined to yield an inch.

The Lakers' biggest lead was only eight points.

Plus, the Lakers played without Kobe Bryant at full strength. He reinjured his left ankle during a collision with Lamar Odom late in the first half and could not gain sufficient lift on his jump shots.

He had a season-low five points on 2-for-12 shooting.

Bryant was originally injured when he collided with Elton Brand during the Lakers' victory Friday over the Philadelphia 76 ers. He was sore and limping after that game, then was improved for the next two, and then hurting again Wednesday.

"It set me back to square one," he said of aggravating his ankle.

Odom had a team-leading 19 points; Andrew Bynum scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds; Ron Artest and Pau Gasol added 14 points apiece; Shannon Brown had 10 points; and Jordan Farmar had a key steal and a dunk late.

Farmar's basket gave the Lakers a 99-94 lead with 4.5 seconds left.

Good thing, too, because Flip Murray hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds to play.

Of playing for Jackson, Odom said, "Incredible. Every day I learn something new. He understands people, personalities. Meshing them together is a big deal in basketball."

Before they went back to work, before they started Wednesday's game, the Lakers paused to acknowledge a passing of the torch. In this case, it was the basketball used in Monday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Jerry West carried it to center court and Bryant joined him a few seconds later. West offered Bryant the basketball, a handshake and congratulations for passing him and becoming the leading scorer in Lakers history Monday.

Many in the sellout crowd of 18,997 rose to salute Bryant, who had 25,208 points going into Wednesday, and West, who scored 25,192 in his Hall of Fame career. After a minute or so, Bryant returned to the bench and West took a seat with the fans.

Then it was time for Bryant and the Lakers to help Jackson set another franchise record.