Antawn Jamison regrets the comments he made recently on being displeased about his role on the Los Angeles Lakers, and the veteran forward said on Sunday that he doesn't want to leave and is "here for the long haul."

"I'm here to help this team win a championship," Jamison said. "So, if the opportunity comes up again, I just have to be patient and be ready for that opportunity to present itself. Until then, we're winning. That's the most important thing and we're doing it at a pretty good level right now, so I'm just pulling for my teammates and smiling.

"It's tough not playing, but most importantly, the reason why I'm here is to win."

Antawn Jamison has fallen out of Mike D'Antoni's rotation in the Los Angeles Lakers' frontcourt.

Jamison hasn't played since Dec. 16 against the 76ers, which was the last game before Pau Gasol returned.

"It doesn't make sense at all," said Jamison. "They're pretty much telling me my services are no longer needed."

Dwight Howard was introspective when asked about the $35,000 fine he received for his flagrant 2 foul on Kenneth Faried.

"I've got to do a better job of keeping my composure, not getting frustrated, and also remember to play for my teammates at all times and stay on the right path," he said. "I've just got to continue to play through it, whatever it is, if the calls go my way or not my way. I've just got to find ways to affect the game and not let the game affect me."

Howard now has three flagrant foul "points" under the NBA system, which assigns one point for a flagrant foul and two points if the flagrant foul is especially severe. If a player hits six flagrant-foul points, he must serve a mandatory one-game suspension.

"I've been a victim of that for a while, sucking into the calls -- me not getting calls -- so I'm frustrated and I watch other guys get calls," he said. "I can't allow it to affect me in a negative way to where I'm not playing hard and not doing what I can do and just dominate. When I allow those petty things to get to me, then it affects my teammates and we lose games."

An MRI on Pau Gasol's right foot has revealed plantar fasciitis.

Gasol is listed as probable for Friday's game against the Blazers.

Dwight Howard is visibly not the same player he was before undergoing back surgery.

"Dwight Howard is basically Kosta Koufos," said one NBA executive on Wednesday.

"If you dropped in from another planet and had no idea who the players were, you would never know that Dwight Howard was one of the best players," said another executive.

Howard was ejected from Wednesday's loss by the Lakers to the Nuggets.

Kobe Bryant is signed through the 13-14 NBA season and how long he continues his NBA career remains unclear.

The ability of Steve Nash to help run the offense may extend Bryant's career.

“I think he'll play another five (or) six years because of it,” said Mike D'Antoni.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won their fifth consecutive game, beating the Knicks by a final score of 100-94.

The impact made by the return of Steve Nash has been clear in the Lakers' play.

“We have everybody back on the floor," said Pau Gasol. "We're working together. Everybody on the floor is playing together. We're finally getting somewhere. We're getting closer to the place that we want to be and the team that we want to be.”

The Lakers now have a .500 record.

Dwight Howard admits he might not have played again had he set aside and played through his back issue until the end of last season with the Orlando Magic.

"If I would have waited until after the season, if I would have tried to continue to play, then I probably wouldn't be able to play anymore," Howard said.

Howard underwent surgery in April to repair a herniated disc in his back. Back then, even doctors told him he could "never play basketball anymore."

"I never had a major injury before," Howard said. "And I just have to keep fighting through it."

Dwight Howard continues to feel the effects of his April surgery to repair a herniated disk.

Howard returned from the surgery ahead of schedule, but he still hasn't played to his pre-surgery form.

"I'm still in that process," Howard said. "People don't understand that. They just come out and see me make a couple dunks and blocks and say, 'Oh, he's back.' But it does take a while for all this stuff to heal. This is not something easy, so I understand that. It will come."

Howard is averaging 17.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game, but the full influence of his play on defense hasn't been felt yet by the Lakers.

"Tingling in my legs all the way down to my feet," Howard said as he described his current state. "There's times when sometimes I really can't even feel my feet. (The doctors) said that's going to happen. It takes at least nine months for you to get strength back in your legs and all that stuff. So I'm still in that process."

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Warriors 118-115 in overtime in Steve Nash's first game back after missing the previous 24 with a fractured left fibula.

The Lakers trailed 87-74 at the end of the third quarter before beginning their fourth quarter comeback.

"He orchestrated things," Kobe Bryant said about Nash. "He got us in some sets and some actions and that's exactly what a great point guard is supposed to do. He lined us up and saw things that were executing well for us and he went to them."

"I think that we're a completely different team with him out there," Mike D'Antoni said.