It took the better part of 75 games for the Lakers to come together and it took the better part of a half for them to overwhelm the New Orleans Hornets in a 115-95 victory that set up a series with the run-and-gun Suns.

The Lakers were left with the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed, facing a Phoenix team they have lost seven of eight games to since the Shaquille O’Neal trade. It starts Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in Phoenix with Game 2 on Wednesday night.

If the Lakers had lost Wednesday, they would have faced the top-seeded Spurs. They were able to make travel reservations early and led by a season-high 36 points in the second half.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson plans to fly the team back to Los Angeles – much as he did in the 2004 Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio – between the first and second games.

After so many close losses this season, so many stalled climbs above .500, the Lakers will head into the playoffs having won five games in a row, 11 of their last 14, and having met Jackson’s goal of finishing 45-37.

"I’m really proud of this team," center Chris Mihm said. "There weren’t too many people that put us anywhere near seventh position going into the playoffs here at the beginning of the season.

"We’ve proved a lot so far to ourselves and to others. I’m just excited to see what we bring in the playoffs."

Kobe Bryant also put the finishing touches on a record-setting season. He finished with 35 points, wagging his tongue at the courtside fans after hitting one 3-pointer, and went in the history books averaging 35.4 points per game.

That would be the highest in the NBA since Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 in 1986-87. Bryant also passed Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bob McAdoo for seventh on the all-time single-season scoring list with 2,832 points.

The only players to score more points in one season are Wilt Chamberlain and Jordan. Bryant scored an astounding 34.7 percent of all the Lakers’ points this season.

"Many, many nights we were struggling and he would just take off and score eight, 10 points in a row," Jackson said, "and carry the team into a competitive level and get us back in the game."

But Jackson stressed for the third consecutive day that the Lakers have to be more than just Bryant in the playoffs.

"It’s not going to be about Kobe getting 45 points a night," Jackson said. "It’s going to be about how are we going to use all the talents to do what we have to do to take a team apart."

The opportunities Wednesday belonged to the Lakers’ bench players. Brian Cook knocked down three jumpers as the Lakers closed out the first quarter on a 16-4 run. Cook was a perfect 5 for 5 with 12 points in 20 minutes.

Veteran guards Aaron McKie and Jim Jackson both played, Devean George hit two jumpers with Bryant on the bench in the second quarter and Mihm played 14 minutes in his return from a severe ankle sprain.

Kwame Brown, meanwhile, had a perfect first quarter, hitting the three shots and four free throws he took while grabbing two offensive rebounds. He totaled 19 points and eight rebounds and missed only one shot all night.

A first-round series with the Suns is no prize, though the Lakers did close the season in stronger fashion. Phoenix went 12-11 after the first week in March, including Amare Stoudemire’s aborted comeback from knee surgery.

But the Lakers lost three of four games to Phoenix this season and will have to contain a team that set an NBA record for made 3-pointers. The Suns have an MVP guard in Steve Nash and a strong defender to use on Bryant in Raja Bell.

"We’re so young there’s just no vibe at all," Bryant said. "Which I think is a good thing because you don’t think about other people’s expectations or hype or whatever. You just go out there and play."