LOS ANGELES (AP) Karl Malone gave the Los Angeles Lakers the physical presence they expected.

In the Lakers' most significant game so far this season, he gave them something they didn't expect: a triple-double.

And he accomplished the feat despite playing only 26 minutes.

Malone became the first NBA player to get a triple-double at age 40, leading the Lakers past the defending champion San Antonio Spurs 103-87 Friday night. He sat out all of the fourth quarter.

``I'm glad to be here,'' said Malone, the second-leading scorer in NBA history. ``Hopefully they're glad to have me.''

That goes without saying. He's doing a bit of everything for Los Angeles, which is 13-3.

Malone had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the fourth triple-double of his career and first since spring 1999. The 6-foot-9, 259-pound forward left the game for good with 2{ minutes remaining in the third quarter and the Lakers leading 78-48.

``To get one at any time in your career, that's special. To get one at 40 is a little special. The most important thing is a win,'' said Malone, who played 18 seasons for the Utah Jazz before signing as a free-agent with the Lakers last summer.

Gary Payton, who also joined the Lakers as a free agent in the offseason, said he has never played with a forward like Malone.

``He is a great passing forward,'' Payton said. ``He rebounded the basketball and made points and he passed the ball really well. He did a great job.''

The game was the first between the teams in Los Angeles since May 15, when the Spurs won 110-82 in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. That eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs and ended their quest for a fourth straight NBA championship.

The Lakers are a much different team now, with Payton and Malone providing new support for Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.

``We have a full thrust. Last year, it was a 1-2 punch. This year, it's just a wave. And that's how we play,'' Bryant said. ``I mean, it's not only myself, Karl, Gary and Shaquille. It's also Devean George, because he's featured in our offense.''

George shot 8-of-9 and scored a season-high 19 points against the Spurs, making him 15-of-19 for 37 points in his last two games.

He shot 56-of-113 and averaged 9.9 points in the Lakers' first 14 games.

The win was the fifth straight and eighth in nine games for the Lakers and extended their regular-season home winning streak to 24, including nine this season. That ties the Los Angeles franchise record.

The Lakers can eclipse that mark Sunday night against the Indiana Pacers, whose 14-2 record is the NBA's best.

``These games we've got now are a big test for us,'' Malone said. ``We've got another big one Sunday.''

The Pacers have won eight straight games overall, and they're 7-0 away from Indianapolis _ the only team that's unbeaten on the road this season.

``They've got to come see us,'' Bryant said. ``They're playing extremely well, and we're playing extremely well, so we're going to fight fire with fire and see what's what.''

George said he very much looked forward to the game.

``The Beast of the East,'' he said of the Pacers. ``We're waiting for them.''

"Shaquille O'Neal will rest his sore right calf again tonight but plans to be on the court Friday, when the San Antonio Spurs return to Staples Center for the first time since they eliminated the Lakers in May."

O"Neal is doubtful for tonight's game against the Washington Wizards.

"(Lakers Center Shaquille) O'Neal sat out Sunday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies to rest a strained right calf, and coach Phil Jackson said "there's a possibility" he will miss Wednesday's home game against Washington as well."

While Shaquille O'Neal did not practice Saturday because of a strained right calf, Fox took part in a four-on-four scrimmage for the first time since having surgery seven months ago to repair a torn tendon.

Coach Phil Jackson said O'Neal, who strained his right calf during Friday's 101-94 victory over Chicago, was still "day to day" and didn't want to speculate about when O'Neal would be ready to go.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) Shaquille O'Neal missed practice Saturday because of a strained right calf and might have to sit out the Los Angeles Lakers' next game.

Team spokeswoman Alison Bogli said O'Neal arrived before practice Saturday to receive treatment and is listed as day-to-day. She said a decision on whether or not O'Neal plays Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies will probably be made at game-time.

O'Neal had 15 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes before leaving Friday night's 101-94 victory over Chicago in the third quarter because of the injury.

Karl Malone, hampered by a sore left hamstring, practiced and received treatment Saturday and is expected to play against the Grizzlies, who beat the visiting Lakers 105-95 earlier this month.

Bogli said it's possible Slava Medvedenko will be activated from the injured list before the game against Memphis. Medvedenko hasn't played this season because of a bruised left heel.

Bogli also said that Rick Fox, who had surgery on his right heel last spring, went through a 4-on-4 drill Saturday _ his first full practice this fall. Fox doesn't expect to play for at least another month.

DENVER (AP) Kobe Bryant's defense team ridiculed the prosecution's request for an investigation of media leaks Wednesday, saying even the judge in the Oklahoma City bombing trial considered such a probe a waste of time.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, asked the judge to begin sealing certain evidence-related requests by attorneys in the sexual assault case against the NBA star. They contend such details could influence the jury pool.

The court filings are the latest salvo in what legal experts expect to be a sharp fight as attorneys try to determine what evidence will be admitted at Bryant's trial.

Judge Terry Ruckriegle has scheduled hearings Dec. 19 and Jan. 23 to discuss requests by both sides, and he could make decisions then about the evidence.

In her filing, deputy prosecutor Ingrid Bakke asked the judge to seal court filings discussing evidence, saying publicity could influence prospective jurors.

Some of that evidence may not be admitted at trial, Bakke wrote.

``The concern is (prosecutors) don't want the public hearing all this evidence that might not come before a jury because it does taint the jury pool,'' said Karen Steinhauser, a former Denver prosecutor and visiting professor at the University of Denver's law school.

For the same reason, she said, Ruckriegle may end up closing motions hearings to the public to ensure the accuser's privacy and Bryant's fair-trial rights.

Bryant, 25, faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation if convicted of sexual assault. He is accused of raping a 19-year-old worker at a Colorado resort where he stayed June 30.

Bryant has said the two had consensual sex. No trial date has been set.

The other court filing came from defense attorney Hal Haddon, who said the judge should deny prosecutors' request for a hearing to determine who might have leaked information to the media that another man's semen was found in the accuser's underwear.

Initially, prosecutors said they believed Haddon might have given that information to a retired judge, who then talked to a reporter. Prosecutors later said they were not asking for an investigation specifically of Haddon, but a probe to determine the source of the leak.

The defense said District Attorney Mark Hurlbert has already had his own investigator look into the matter and the whole matter should be handled by the judge who presided over the first phase of the case _ if it goes that far.

Haddon also said a leaks investigation would ``divert attention and resources from the substantive issues in this case,'' and cited a 1996 order by U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch of Denver denying a similar request in the trial of the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing.

``There is little hope that this diversion from the task of trial preparation would be sufficiently productive to satisfy the expressed concerns or allay the suspicions raised in these filings,'' Matsch wrote.

Prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan declined to discuss Haddon's arguments.

"(Shaquille)O'Neal's representatives and the Lakers have exchanged figures on a two-year contract extension, according to sources familiar with the negotiations."

The deal is expected for less than the 2 years/$68 million he is eligible to receive.

DENVER (AP) Let the paper war begin: The judge in the Kobe Bryant rape case has given attorneys a month to lay out their positions on such things as whether the jury should be allowed to hear about the accuser's sex life and mental health.

Such fights over evidence and testimony could prove crucial later at the NBA star's trial.

``Team Kobe's biggest worry now is a hung jury,'' said Denver attorney Craig Silverman, a former prosecutor. ``After the preliminary hearing, it doesn't look like 12 people would convict him. At the same time, it's very hard to convince all 12 people to vote not guilty. If he wins these motions hearings, it could reduce the likelihood of a hung jury.''

During Bryant's initial appearance in state court Thursday, the judge gave attorneys 30 days to file formal requests.

Stan Goldman, a professor at Loyola Law School-Los Angeles, said the defense will want to argue that Bryant's 19-year-old accuser was mentally and emotionally unstable, that she was promiscuous and that she expected Bryant to make sexual advances. Prosecutors have indicated they will try to keep such evidence away from the jury.

``In my opinion, that is the far more relevant and potentially compelling evidence _ if true _ about why in this he-said, she-said context we should believe he instead of she,'' Goldman said.

Bryant is accused of raping the woman at the hotel where she worked and he was a guest June 30. Free on $25,000 bail, he faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation if convicted.

No trial date has been set, but the case is not expected to begin before mid-2004, after the NBA season is over.

Judge Terry Ruckriegle has set hearings for Dec. 19 and Jan. 23 to take up disputes over evidence and other matters.

Among those disputes are defense requests to see the woman's medical records from several hospitals and clinics and a rape-crisis center.

Legal experts predicted the defense will try to keep Bryant's tape-recorded statement to police and his T-shirt, stained with the woman's blood, out of evidence. They also expect the defense to seek permission to discuss the woman's reported suicide attempts and her sexual history.

Colorado's rape-shield law prohibits the use of evidence about the sexual history of an alleged sexual assault victim unless the evidence is proven to be relevant to the case.

Defense attorney Pamela Mackey suggested during Bryant's preliminary hearing last month that injuries the woman suffered were caused during sex with someone other than Bryant.

Whether the jury hears that theory is another question.

``There's going to be one heck of a rape-shield hearing, but we won't be able to see it or even read it,'' Silverman said.

Under the law, hearings on whether to admit evidence about a woman's sexual history are closed to the public.

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Lakers placed forward Slava Medvedenko on the injured list Friday with a bruised left heel.

Medvedenko, who missed the first eight games because of the injury, was replaced on the roster by forward Jamal Sampson.

Sampson went on injured reserve Oct. 28 with back spasms. He averaged 2.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in five exhibition games.