Lakers forward Ron Artest deflected questions about his reduced role with the franchise when asked about it.

"We've just got to win games," he said.

Artest has scored just six points in L.A.'s last two games.

"Guys got better," he said. " Shannon [Brown] got much better. It's his time to shine. Steve [Blake] is averaging more than Jordan [Farmar] last year and then Matt Barnes is probably averaging more than Luke [Walton]. So if you take all those points, those are points I probably could have had. But those are team points.

"When people start talking about numbers, I think realistically they're trying to sabotage the team and they're trying to get negative feedback from a player to be against his team. If somebody says, 'Ron Artest is not playing as well,' they're trying to take away from the team. That's how I take those questions. People are trying to cause friction."

Artest is averaging 8.2 points a game this season, a career low if it continues, and shooting only 39.5% in 27.1 minutes a game.