SoCal NBA Preview

Sacramento (38-43) at LA Lakers (56-25), 7:30 pm, FSN

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - The Los Angeles Lakers look to lock up the Western Conference's top seed Tuesday when they host the Sacramento Kings.

Los Angeles enters with a one-half game lead over New Orleans (55-25), which welcomes in the lowly Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. The Lakers also host the tiebreaker over the Hornets. Kobe Bryant scored 20 points on Sunday as the Lakers made a statement with a 106-85 rout of the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. "It was a big game for us," Bryant said. "It was another step in the right direction. Going into the playoffs is all about momentum. Now, we just have to take it up another notch once the playoffs start."

In their last matchup at the Staple Center, Bryant poured in 26 points and Pau Gasol added 25 and nine assists but the Lakers suffered a 114-113 loss to the Kings on March 9. John Salmons scored 29 points for Sacramento, which played without three injured starters - Ron Artest (thumb), Kevin Martin (knee) and Brad Miller (leg).