LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers are not better without Kobe Bryant. Stop it.

Yes, the ball moved freely and better than it has in a while with Bryant in the training room, getting treatment on his severely sprained ankle, during the Lakers' 113-102 win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.

"We're just not making any excuses," said Antawn Jamison, whose adversity-challenged Lakers team adjusted to its latest setbacks Sunday, when Kobe Bryant sat for the win against the Kings and Pau Gasol suffered more foot woes. AP Photo/Reed Saxon

Yes, the Steve Nash who scored 19 points and had 12 assists looked like the Steve Nash you saw all those years in Phoenix.

And, yes, you saw Sunday why Antawn Jamison is closing in on 20,000 career points.

"The ball moves and there are some good guys out there on the floor," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Antawn has had back-to-back 50-point games in this league. Steve Blake is starting with a good team and has played really well in this league. Steve Nash is a two-time MVP. And Dwight Howard is really good. So we don't have to be one player dominant.

"That ball needs to move and, if it does, then we are really good."

But no, the Lakers are not a better team without Bryant.

They are a better team now because they've learned how to cope with adversity throughout this star-crossed season.

They are a better team now because that adversity seems to have brought them closer together, instead of ripping them apart.

They are a better team now because it finally got so embarrassing and humbling, they flat out had to change.

"We're just not making any excuses," said Jamison, who finished with a game-high 27 points Sunday.

"I think once we finally had our back up against the wall and people were counting us out, that's when we kind of went, 'OK, we've got to start playing better.' There's no excuse for us not to turn this thing around and make it one of the best stories in sports.'"

They also looked around the room and realized that even without Bryant and Pau Gasol, they had more talent still standing and playing than most of the NBA.

"I was talking to Metta [World Peace] and he was like, 'Now it's our time to finally play our style, posting up and things like that,'" Jamison said.