NBA | Lakers beat Hornets 107-104 to wrap up Pacific Division

LOS ANGELES — The purple-and-gold confetti fell, the fans stood in appreciation and the 30-point lead the Lakers almost kissed away was all but forgotten.

After all, they recovered in time to clinch the Pacific Division and made the Western Conference race that much more interesting, if that's even still possible these days.

There were an armful of things at stake Friday night at Staples Center, and the Lakers took care of them, one at a time, moving down the checklist with amazing rapidity once they tucked away a 107-104 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

The Lakers (55-25) moved to within half a game of the West-leading Hornets (55-24) and clinched their 19th division championship, their first since 2003-04.

They evened the season series with the Hornets at 2-2 and took a solid lead in the next tiebreaker for the two teams — conference record. The Lakers are 35-15 in the West, the Hornets 33-16.

The Lakers have two games left, both at home, against San Antonio and Sacramento. The Hornets play at Sacramento, at home against the Clippers and at Dallas.

It remains to be seen if Kobe Bryant or New Orleans guard Chris Paul can take the MVP award, but the Lakers were nonetheless relieved to eke out the victory, which looked like a breeze until it blew back at them forcefully.

The Lakers took a 63-33 lead on Bryant's 19-footer with 3:53 left in the second quarter, but Peja Stojakovic's three-pointer pulled the Hornets to within 96-95 with 3:57 left to play, turning a celebrating crowd into surprising silence.

The Lakers, however, plowed ahead. Ronny Turiaf made two free throws and Derek Fisher hit a three-pointer from the left corner to put the Lakers back up, 101-95. They never led by fewer than five the rest of the way until Jannero Pargo's three-pointer as time expired.

Bryant finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Paul, who battled foul trouble at times, had 15 points, 17 assists and four steals.

"I think it's great for us in terms of taking significant steps," Bryant said. "This was the first step. We want to take another one on Sunday (against San Antonio). It just feels good to be No. 1, and that's what we want to get."

Rockets unveil monument honoring Olajuwon

HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets unveiled a bronze monument honoring Hakeem Olajuwon.

Olajuwon, 45, nicknamed "The Dream," retired after the 2001-02 season as the NBA's all-time shot blocker (3,830). The 12-time All-Star was the league MVP in 1994 and led the Rockets to their only two championships, in '94 and '95.

The 12-foot high, rectangular sculpture stands in front of the main entrance to the Toyota Center. It shows Olajuwon's No. 34 jersey with a basketball behind it and a paragraph below listing his NBA accomplishments.

"I'm sincerely grateful for this honor," said Olajuwon, who was selected to the Hall of Fame earlier this week. "This is the highest honor any player can receive in any city."

Notes

• Ex-Washington Husky Bobby Jones signed with the Denver Nuggets for the remainder of the season. Jones averaged 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 45 games with five different teams this season, including 23 games for the Nuggets, who waived him Jan. 7. Jones then signed 10-day contracts with Memphis, Houston, Miami and San Antonio.

• Chicago Bulls F Drew Gooden will miss the remainder of the season because of a lower abdominal strain.

• A long-running marijuana possession case against Damon Stoudamire has been dismissed. Stoudamire's Tucson, Ariz., lawyer said all charges have been dismissed with prejudice and cannot be refiled.