Orange County Register

By CURTIS ZUPKE

The Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES - The Lakers woke up Sunday morning to find themselves tied with New Orleans for the top spot in the Western Conference.

Coach Phil Jackson has understandably stayed away from running through all the playoff scenarios with his played, but he did acknowledge that their Northern California rivals inadvertantly helped them out by defeating New Orleans on Saturday night.

“Ron Artest is the one everyone’s going to send a birthday cake to,” Jackson said in his pre-game press conference in reference to the Sacramento forward.

“But he may come down here on Tuesday night and (play well).”

Sacramento comes to Staples Center on Tuesday in the regular season finale for the Lakers.

Entering Sunday, Houston had a shot at tying the Lakers for the top spot if both teams win out. The Rockets own the head-to-head tiebreaker, 2-1.

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