Lakers 103 Wizards 91 - Gasoless

While most people are running around last minute for chips and dip for their Super Bowl party, the Lakers were playing basketball this morning at 9am against the Washington Wizards.

Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 30 points on 10-of-15 from the floor, and five Lakers were shooting in double digits as the Lakers won with ease in Washington.

Pau Gasol sat out this mornings road game against the Washington Wizards, as he wasn't quite ready to play for his new team because of a sore back, a mere 48 hours after news of his trade and an unfamiliarity of the triangle offense.

"We want him to practice first," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "He traveled back and forth across the country, up all night, short hours of sleep."

"This isn't a fair situation for him. We'll practice tomorrow and see how he feels. Play with the guys before we have him going into an NBA game with the 'Showtime' thing."

Gasol, the 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year and a 2006 all-star, averaged 18.9 points and 8.8 rebounds for the Memphis Grizzlies this season, his seventh with the team.

The Spaniard missed three of four games because of a bad back before Friday's trade. The Grizzlies got Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton, two first-round draft picks, cash and the rights to Gasol's brother Marc. The Lakers also received Memphis' 2010 second-round draft pick.

"I didn't see it coming. I didn't know anything about it," Gasol said. "I'm trying to digest everything that's been going (on) with me the last two days, and get ready to rock and roll."

He wore jeans and a black zippered sweater for a brief news conference at the Wizards' arena - the first three minutes were in Spanish, the next four in English - then went to the visiting locker room to change.

Moments later, Gasol was out on the court for some shooting and low-post drills, wearing a purple T-shirt and purple shorts and standing near Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

When asked if this deal will put an end to the talk about whether Bryant would be traded, Jackson replied: "It depends on how well it works. ... It will give us a more complete game, a more fluid game. Kobe sees that it will give us some opportunities to come back in games."

The Lakers hope he can help them overcome recent injuries to Lakers starters, including up and coming Andrew Bynum.

"Pau gives us a strength in the post," Jackson said. "If Andrew becomes healthy again this year, it will give us a double post.

"We'll have the biggest front line in the West. That could be a factor. It's a great patch in the hole. It's a great way to shore up some of the things that were bothering us, that hurt us last year."

additional notes: ... Jackson talked about donating money to Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign and mentioned that he "put a plug out for Obama'' on his Los Angeles TV show. ... Butler's free-throw streak ended after an NBA season-best 73 consecutive makes; he missed one with 17.5 seconds left in the third quarter. ... The Lakers are three games into a nine-game road trip.