Bynum was able to walk out of Staples Center without tremendous discomfort, so he didn’t stay after the game to get treatment on the ankle at the most critical time: right after getting hurt. So naturally the ankle was pretty sore when he woke up Friday morning, and he sat out practice Friday to get all sorts of treatment on it.

It should be a lesson to Bynum to be professional and get treatment ASAP if there’s any doubt about it.

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Then Gasol quickly added: “Not in the hamstring.”

Gasol was just feeling like an everyman after not exercising for too long and then getting caught up in a game at the gym: achy all over.

Phil Jackson acknowledged he normally would’ve given the team the day off Friday if not for Gasol having just returned. Jackson said the practice was meant to “keep pushing the envelope of what we’re capable of — not settling for being that good.”

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Bryant was aware of Jordan’s comments on the topic on Ahmad Rashad’s “All-Access With Ahmad” show. Jordan said: “Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, all those guys should have their jerseys retired, too. I understand his gesture, but I am in the same group as those guys, so I wouldn’t want to see my jersey retired unless you retire those guys. It is a compliment. I totally understand that. I appreciate LeBron for doing that and it is very thoughtful.”

Yet Bryant, while acknowledging all others who came before Jordan, still said of No. 23: “He’s different than any other player who has played the game.”

Bryant, meanwhile, is trying to make the most of himself now by learning from Jordan coming before him. That’s why Bryant went to pick Jordan’s brain back in 2005 in advance of Bryant’s move to the wing position in the triangle offense.

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For instance, Pippen starts off by saying that Jordan holds the edge in most areas of the game, whether is passing or shooting. Kobe’s string of games with 40 or more points?

Yawn, according to Pippen.

“Kobe is truly a great shooter, but he is playing in a different era of the game,” Pippen wrote in a blog. “It’s not as physical. He also has more freedom in going to the basket, which creates a more wide-open scoring opportunity for players like him in today’s game. We’ve never seen the amount of players scoring 30, 40 or 50 points in a game. Ten years ago, if a player scored 50 points in a game, it would be major news all week. But if someone does it now in the NBA, it’s not big news anymore and it doesn’t make the headlines.”

Pippen goes on to say that Jordan played in a tougher era and that today’s energy drinks “help guys bounce back when they have to play a second game in two nights.”

For crying out loud, how ridiculous is that?

Pippen went on to say that “At the end of the day, though, Michael is still by far the greatest player to ever play the game. The comparison between him and Kobe is not all that close when you start to magnify the little things.

“I think Michael had more charisma. Michael would constantly bring you to the edge of your seat because you never knew what was going to happen,” Pippen said. “When he took off on a breakaway, everyone was on their feet and the arena was filled with flashbulbs. You don’t quite see that with Kobe. Things of that nature are what separate the two players.”

So Jordan wins on style points. Yipee.

Let’s wait until Kobe is finished scoring points before anyone starts comparing the two. Maybe there just isn’t a comparison to be made.

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That’s because the Artests will be spending the holiday with patients at a local hospital, giving thanks for their daughter, Diamond, 6, who has beaten cancer.

In 2007, Diamond was diagnosed with a cancerous Wilm’s tumor, determined already to be Stage 3, in her lone kidney. She was born with only one kidney.

Diamond underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation and today she is a spunky child who has a hard time sitting still.

Wilm’s  tumors affect children and the cancer develops from immature kidney cells. The tumor strikes one in 10,000 children, according to the Institute of Cancer Research.

According to the American Cancer Society, 92 percent of patients live at least five years beyond their time of diagnosis.

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“I grew up a Laker fan, so to be in this position, it’s pretty cool.”

At his current pace, Bryant (24,182) would pass West (25,192) this season, specifically on Jan. 26 at Washington.

Here’s the Lakers’ top 10 all-time scoring chart:

1. West
2. Bryant
3. Abdul-Jabbar
4. Elgin Baylor
5. Magic Johnson
6. James Worthy
7. Shaquille O’Neal
8. Gail Goodrich
9. Byron Scott
10. Jamaal Wilkes

Which brings us to our poll …

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Lamar Odom needed six stitches to close a gash over his right eye that he suffered when he caught an elbow in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Andrew Bynum will have treatment Friday morning for a jammed right ankle that occured when he collided with Bulls’ Brad Miller, resulting his his fourth foul, with 4:31 left in the third quarter.

Bynum, who sat out the entire fourth quarter, said he didn’t think it was serious and didn’t expect to miss any games. He is listed day-to-day.

“I’m going to get some therapy in the morning,” he said. “Hopefully things are too bad.”

He finished with 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting and eight rebounds.

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Gasol was good, and he went for 10 of the Lakers’ first 13 points in a comfortable 108-93 victory over the Chicago Bulls at Staples Center. Gasol had 20 points and 10 rebounds before the third quarter was over. He wound up with 24 points, 13 rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes.

Gasol missed the Lakers’ first 11 games this season with a right hamstring strain, triggering countless little comments by Lakers coach Phil Jackson about how unexpectedly long Gasol’s absence was after the initial Oct. 13 injury occurred. But Gasol got rolling right after tip-off largely because the Chicago defense hardly paid heed to the Lakers’ other All-Star besides Kobe Bryant.

Gasol tipped in Andrew Bynum’s miss to start the game, coming free when Joakim Noah drifted over too far to help on Bynum’s side and failed to box Gasol out properly. The next time down, Gasol got the ball inside and looked to set Bynum up, only to find too much congestion on that side of the hoop near Bynum — so Gasol went up himself and wound up with two free throws and a 4-0 Lakers lead.

Gasol’s next four points came off a steal and perfect transition pass by Ron Artest and then another faulty box-out by Chicago, this time by Bulls rookie power forward Taj Gibson.

Gasol did show some rust, missing several point-blank shots during his second run on the court. He also misread Bynum once when he expected Bynum to make a cut and then forgot to make a similar cut on his own when Bryant wanted to set Gasol up.

Although Bryant shot poorly — making just five of 18 shots — Derek Fisher made all five of his attempts from the field, accounting for 12 points. Fisher had missed 18 of 21 field-goal attempts in the previous three games.

Bryant (21 points on 7-of-21 shooting) wasn’t as productive in the post as most games this season, but part of that was due to Chicago having solid primary defenders to use against him (John Salmons, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng) and bringing aggressive double teams, too. The double teams paved the way for Bryant to record a season-high eight assists.

Bryant did manage to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the third quarter for second place on the Lakers’ all-time scoring chart. Jerry West is first.

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But Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant, and Andrew Bynum is an undeniable up-and-coming talent.

Pau Gasol is back, and what is going to happen to the Lakers’ fantasy-basketball stats?

“I wouldn’t expect anybody’s going to have the same numbers now that Pau’s back,” Phil Jackson said.

Bynum’s numbers figure to take the biggest hit. He is averaging 20.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks right now.

Bryant is averaging 31 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Odom is averaging 9.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists. Ron Artest is averaging 11.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

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LOS ANGELES
Five years have slipped by since Ron Artest was involved in what is considered the worst brawl in sports history. Three teams and dozens of games separate Artest from his days in Indiana.

The “Malice at the Palace” is a distant memory for some, a life-altering experience for others.

But not Artest. He said the event didn’t change him.

“I still dye my hair and put designs in my hair,” he said.

Still, Artest can’t quite forget what his foray into the stands cost him.

Artest was a member of the Pacers in 2004 when he fouled Ben Wallace and Wallace retaliated by shoving him in the face, which led to a confrontation between several players.

During the melee, Artest lay down on the scorer’s table and a spectator, John Green, threw a cup of soda at Artest. Artest charged into the stands and Green punched him.

Fines were levied and Green was convicted of a misdemeanor. Artest was suspended for 73 games that season, essentially the rest of the season.

“John Green was on the radio today and he said he started it, but I lost $7 million. I lost 3 years of my contract,” Artest said before Thursday’s game.

“I still don’t believe I should have lost that much money. I would still like to have a million or something back. I ain’t the one who started it and I lost almost $7 million (actually $5 million), investments and a couple of commercials — those little crazy NBA commercials — and I didn’t even start it.”

Although Artest said the incident didn’t change him, he seemingly can’t let it go, despite his insistance to the contrary.

“I put it behind me right away because I didn’t start any trouble,” he said. “You know, I put it behind me immediately. I didn’t do nothing. (Disgraced referee) Tim Donaghy was ref-ing that game. That’s another reason I should get a couple million back (laughing).”

Artest and Green have spoken by phone, with Artest apologizing, and plan to stage future community events regarding violence in Detroit and Los Angeles.

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