LOS ANGELES - From one big mess to best in the West.

The Lakers completed their six-month transformation Tuesday with a 124-101 victory against a depleted Sacramento team to wrap up the top seed in the Western Conference.

After so much uncertainty at the start of the season, from Kobe Bryant’s trade talk and later a devastating injury to Andrew Bynum in January, the Lakers walked off the court to confetti and raucous cheers as an intriguing postseason looms.

Bryant acknowledged he didn’t think it was possible in October.

“No,” Bryant said. “I think we all contributed. The development of our younger players, the chemistry we have on this ball club, all of that put into the pot –- (Pau) Gasol’s trade –- it just kind of went from there.”

Will he be satisfied with anything but winning the title?

“We talked about it in training camp that our goal was win a championship. It’s not to play for eight seeds or seven seeds but for playing for a title and we’ve put ourselves in a good position.”

The Lakers clinched the franchise’s 23rd conference title and first since 2003-04. The Lakers also reached 57 victories for the first time since they went 58-24 in 2001-02, their last championship season.

The Lakers will begin the quest for their 15th title Saturday or Sunday with their first-round opponent still to be determined.

If Denver beats Memphis and Dallas defeats New Orleans tonight, the Lakers would play eighth-seeded Denver. If Denver wins and Dallas loses, Denver wins the head-to-head tiebreaker and Dallas would be the eighth seed.

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The Lakers put away the Kings, 39-24, in the third quarter when they made 12 of 17 shots and held Sacramento to 8-for-21 shooting.

Sacramento, already without center Brad Miller, did not play Kevin Martin (knee) and Ron Artest (thumb).

That left John Salmons to guard Bryant, who finished 3 for 13 from the field.

But it hardly mattered. Bryant and the other starters got important rest as they sat out the fourth quarter and watched DJ Mbenga and Chris Mihm throw down dunks to fuel a hungry crowd.

Pau Gasol had 22 points on 9-for-11 shooting and Lamar Odom had 15 points and 12 rebounds.

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Jordan Farmar made a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer for a 62-48 lead. He sank another 3-pointer early in the fourth to give the Lakers a 30-point lead as the crowd worked into a fervor.

The Lakers enter the postseason having won eight of the past nine games.

“I think teams that play hard, play well, sustain that effort in the playoffs,” Coach Phil Jackson said.

Wild West
Because the Lakers won’t know who they play in the first round until Wednesday night, assistant coaches Brian Shaw, Kurt Rambis and Frank Hamblen will scramble to gather scouting reports on Denver and Dallas.

“It’s very unusual,” Jackson said. “We have a couple of coaches that have different teams that we play in the playoffs that have been their teams during the course of the year that are curious about how we’re going to get this scouting done in the period after the season ends. We’ll have to cover that then.”

The Lakers went 3-1 against Dallas and 3-0 against Denver. They have not played the Nuggets since Jan.22, and Denver’s Carmelo Anthony left that game in the second period with a sprained ankle.

Jackson wouldn’t commit to a preference, but he did say that “Dallas might be a more deeper team, but Denver has more striking power.”

Said Odom, “Both teams are tough, well coached. Great players. They’re going to be coming here to kick our butts.”

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In either case players and coaches can’t recall a time when so much was undecided this late in the season.

Not only is the Lakers’ first-round opponent undetermined, the fourth, fifth and sixth spots in the West are undecided because Phoenix, Houston and Utah are tied at 54-27.

If those three teams ended the regular season tied, Utah would finish fourth, Houston fifth and Phoenix sixth. Entering Tuesday the Jazz and Suns also had a shot at third.

“I can’t remember a season ever being like this from top to bottom,” Bryant said.

Said Jackson, “I don’t know who feels great about their chances in the West. We all know that every opponent you draw has the potential of upsetting or beating you.”

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