MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The crowd outside the front entrance of the Madison Hotel had swelled to about 35, a mix of young and old, curious passers-by and serious buffs looking for autographs on magazines, sneakers and trading cards.

All the players had boarded the team bus except one. Then Kobe Bryant burst through the door and hurried on without so much as a glance at the crowd.

``Kobe! Kobe!'' they screamed, giggling in the delirium of their celebrity sighting. Two middle-aged women ran down the sidewalk and kept up their chant: ``Kobe! Kobe!''

Not a single protester or heckler was around Monday morning as the Lakers left for their shootaround, continuing a relatively quiet weeklong road trip that marked Bryant's first long foray into some of the 27 cities where he will ply his craft in front of thousands of fans acutely aware of the drama surrounding him.

Bryant was loudly booed in Milwaukee and San Antonio before getting a less-severe treatment in New Orleans and Memphis.

``I haven't been shocked. I haven't been totally pleased,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

As the bus made its way to the Pyramid, 500 fans lined up to buy the few remaining tickets to see Bryant and the Lakers.

A few folks got an even closer look at Bryant as he left the team hotel in San Antonio and took a stroll along the city streets, ``getting some fresh air.''

``Yeah, I've had some interaction (with the public),'' Bryant said, adding that the typical man on the street tells him: '''Love you, can I have your autograph?' 'God bless you, we're praying for you,' that type of thing.''

As he left the arena following the Lakers' 105-95 loss to Memphis, the screaming began anew. ``Kobe Rocks!'' was the most original line heard.

The Lakers arrived back in Los Angeles on Tuesday and will remain there for 10 of their next 12 games, including Wednesday night's game against Toronto _ one day before Bryant's next court hearing in Colorado.

The team ventures back into the heartland and beyond just once the rest of this month _ a two-day trip to Detroit and New York. December won't be a tough travel month either, with Los Angeles playing seven of its 11 games at home.

The Lakers' most grueling stretch won't come until the first two weeks of February when they play seven games in 10 nights, including a stop in Philadelphia _ the city where Bryant was tormented by fans even before he was charged with sexual assault in Colorado. The reception there will be much more harsh than what Bryant has endured thus far.

``I think overall it's been very positive, and I'm happy it's been that way,'' teammate Derek Fisher said. ``It seems like maybe a lot more people believe in the American judicial system than we think, that he's innocent until he's proven guilty.''

Bryant's most embarrassing moment of the trip came against the Spurs. Early in the second half, Bryant got the ball and started putting his moves on Bruce Bowen, one of the league's toughest man-on-man defenders.

The booing momentarily subsided, the crowd becoming transfixed as Bryant dribbled and darted in small dashes around the right side of the court before getting Bowen on his heels, using that split-second to elevate for a gorgeous 20-foot jump shot.

As Bryant backpedaled downcourt waving his finger from side to side, he fell onto his rear end.

``Sniper,'' Bryant joked. ``It was one of those things where the knee said 'Nah-ah.' I was laughing as I was falling down.''

Bryant, who finished with 37 points in the double-overtime victory, said the finger-wagging gesture wasn't intended solely for the crowd.

``More so for the San Antonio bench,'' Bryant said. ``When we play them, all the time Bruce is guarding me they say: 'Beat him up Bruce, beat him up Bruce.' And I know all those guys on that bench, so it was funny.''

Bryant was in a good mood the next evening in New Orleans, sitting at his locker and calmly answering questions about his faith, the state of his knees and why he was wearing one yellow and one gold rubber band on each wrist.

From the back of the pack, a team official eventually cut the conversation off _ a reminder that someone around the Lakers is always listening or watching, protecting Bryant from threats real or imagined.

As the Lakers boarded their bus in Memphis, several security guards scanned the crowd. One stubby-fingered 50ish man in a flannel shirt, standing a few steps behind a makeshift barrier, did not realize a plainclothes officer was standing two steps behind him at all times.

The suspicious man didn't do anything as the Lakers emerged one by one, Shaquille O'Neal pausing briefly to smile, Gary Payton lost inside his headphones and Karl Malone cradling the handle of a white coffee cup.

Then Bryant came out, with the ensuing ``Kobe'' shouts causing heads to turn a half-block away.

``This has probably been the best crowd,'' Bryant said.