They have a lot of tradition between them, and they brought back one blast from the past on Sunday that some might argue could have remained in the time capsule.

Playing against the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers wore throwback jerseys featuring vintage 1970s short shorts. Smiles could be seen from many courtside fans as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers took the court. Laughing former Laker Rick Fox snapped a couple of pictures.

Forward Trevor Ariza even wore knee pads a la Magic Johnson.

But the Lakers did find their fashion sense at halftime, coming out of the break in regular baggy shorts.

Phil Jackson pulled even with Red Auerbach in regular-season victories, 5 1/2 seasons after tying the Celtics coach for the most NBA championships won.

Kobe Bryant had 31 points and seven assists before sitting out the fourth quarter and the Lakers beat the Jazz 123-109 Friday night, giving Jackson his 938th career win and a share of seventh place on the career list.

Kobe Bryant asked to be traded last spring in part because he wanted to play for a team that could contend for an NBA title.

He just might have gotten his wish by staying put.

Bryant scored 26 of his 38 points in the second half; Andrew Bynum had a career-high 28 points to go with 12 rebounds and a season-high four assists; and the Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns 122-115 on Tuesday for their ninth win in 11 games.

The Lakers on Monday recalled guard Coby Karl from the D-Fenders of the NBA's Developmental League.

The 24-year-old Karl, who is the son of Nuggets' Coach George Karl, played in two games with the Lakers earlier this season, scoring two points.

An undrafted rookie out of Boise State, Karl played in 10 contests with the D-Fenders, averaging 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

The trade deadline is almost two months away, but Coach Phil Jackson doesn't see Kobe Bryant going anywhere, the strongest such statement by a Lakers official that their top player will still be their property at season's end.

"There just [aren't] any comparable situations," Jackson said. "It's like giving up a diamond for some garnets; whatever, I don't know."

Jackson also chuckled at Bryant's revelation Saturday to reporters that the Knicks were one of the teams on his destination list during the off-season.

"He was just being kind," Jackson said. "That wasn't a serious issue."

Kobe Bryant scored his 20,000th career point Sunday, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach the milestone.

Bryant achieved the feat when he drilled a 3-pointer with 11:08 remaining in the third quarter of the Lakers' matinee contest with the Knicks.

The Knicks were on the list of four teams Kobe Bryant asked to be traded to late last spring, Bryant acknowledged for the first time Saturday to a small group of reporters. And, he said, no teams have been taken off the list.

"They were, yeah," Bryant said when asked if the Knicks were among the teams for which he'd agree to waive his no-trade clause. After the Knicks and Bulls, Bryant said it was the Mavericks and Suns, marking the first time he has publicly disclosed the list.

The Knicks, who declined to comment Saturday on their role in the Bryant saga, have been aware since the summer that they were among his chosen teams. The situation never advanced beyond exploratory talks, though.

Asked if he removed the Knicks from consideration in mid-October because of the uncertainty and turmoil churning at Madison Square Garden, Bryant said, "No, I just kind of pushed everything to the back burner and stopped thinking about trades. It wasn't something where I was scratching teams off or anything like that. I just stopped thinking about it because once the season got under way, my focus had to be here. It couldn't be split because I'd be doing a disservice to my teammates."

Asked if the list still is on the back burner and if his formal trade request still is on the table, Bryant said, "Call Mitch Kupchak and see what he thinks about that. I don't get into that ... It's all what Mitch wants to do, really. Mitch and Dr. Buss. It's all on them. They can either trade me or not trade me. It's completely their decision."

According to Peter Vecsey of the New York Post, the Los Angeles Lakers have a plan to try to acquire Nets star Jason Kidd for a couple draft picks, Kwame Brown's expiring contract ($9M), Jordan Farmar ($1M) and Vladimir Radmanovic ($5.6M with an additional $19.2M over the next three seasons). Not unexpectedly, the Nets aren't interested in assuming Radmanovic's long-term guarantee. There's nothing not to love about Farmar, yet New Jersey already has a promising, young caretaker in Marcus Williams.

According to Vecsey, another source believes the Cavaliers (Drew Gooden) and Mavericks (Erick Dampier) are in better position to provide the Nets with frontcourt help, but neither team nor the Lakers can offer more than the Nuggets - an almost-rehabbed Nene or Marcus Camby vs. Kenyon Martin. Coach George Karl urgently wants Kidd to free Allen Iverson to concentrate exclusively on scoring. Aside from one of the two aforementioned big men, Denver is prepared to kick in Linas Kleiza and JR Smith.

Although Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has appeared to have a love-hate relationship with his team's ownership for the majority of the last sixth months, the trade-me, don't-trade-me drama appears to have settled down.

But before the former Lower Merion High School star took the court against the Sixers on Friday night, the question had to be asked: Has Bryant ever given thought to playing for the Sixers?

"Sure, sure -- absolutely," Bryant said. "When I was coming out of high school, that's all I thought about doing was playing here."

"Back then the big deal for me was being able to get up in the morning, get up at my parents house, go to shoot-around, come back and do my homework and then go play the game. That was awesome to me. So yeah, I've thought about that."

Although the Sixers will have salary cap flexibility this summer, Bryant most likely won't be on their radar. He can't opt out of his contract with the Lakers until after the 2008-09 season.

Dr. J roused the Philly diehards into an appreciation for the city's last championship team. Kobe Bryant riled up those Sixers fans simply by touching the ball.

The 76ers could only wish to matter as much as those two greats.

On the night Julius Erving and Philadelphia's 1983 championship team was honored, Andrew Bynum and the Lakers stole the show. Bynum scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 21 and 11 to lead Los Angeles to a 106-101 win over the Sixers on Friday night.