"The Lakers slipped and staggered, but their rock was there to keep the game close.

Kobe Bryant wasn't bad, but Ron Artest was the steadying authority in the playoff opener against New Orleans.

That's how strange Sunday was for the Lakers, who lost to the Hornets, 109-100.

Artest had 16 points and 11 rebounds, made all six of his free-throw attempts (!) and seemed to guard everybody on the Hornets' roster at some point, even Chris Paul.

It didn't help the Lakers win, but they lauded Artest, perhaps relieved more than anything by his minor breakthrough after a series of career lows in the regular season (8.5 points and 29.4 minutes a game, 34.1% shooting).

"Ron was probably the best player we had out there [Sunday]," Coach Phil Jackson said. "Kobe had a lot of points but Ron was, I thought, keyed and ready to go and played well."

Artest led the Lakers with nine fourth-quarter points, including a three-pointer after Bryant found him open in the right corner. The two of them combined for exactly half the Lakers' offense.

"We played bad basketball," center Andrew Bynum said. "That's really it. That's what it is. Bad basketball, everybody except Kobe and Ron.""