That's not true at all. They learned that one competitive half doesn't get the job done, either.

And so it has come to this - a Game 7 Sunday against Houston, the cost of failing to take the Rockets seriously. Again.

But, what, the Lakers worry?

The prospect of playing for their postseason lives in an all-or-nothing, one-game shootout might shake the nerves of the average NBA team.

Of course, the Lakers don't see themselves as the average NBA team.

"No, I'm not worried," said their never-let-them-see-you-sweat coach, Phil Jackson. "There's nothing to worry about. It's our home court, and it's what we play for.

"In the last game (at Staples Center) we beat them by whatever. We play a different game on our home court, and that is pretty obvious to see."

They did beat the Rockets by 40.

And if the Lakers really expect to see that version of Houston, well, that's probably a good way to get beat again.

Rockets coach Rick Adelman also provided a reminder Thursday, before all of the red-clad Rockets rooters had left the building.

"We won the first game (at Staples)," Adelman said. "We've won a lot of places."

He also made a point to turn attention away from the Lakers' talent, that the game is ultimately in Houston's hands. He meant it.

"It's not about them," Adelman said. "It's about us. We have to play our game."

Common wisdom suggests otherwise, that the right effort will propel the more skilled Lakers to the next round.

Oddly, the Lakers don't seem to mind that they are gambling their postseason existence on that theory. Kobe Bryant answered the are-you-worried question with not much more than a "nah."

Pau Gasol was equally unfazed, offering a robotic, "We'll be mentally ready and with a game plan. We are going to execute it and come out with a win."

Not like Thursday at all. Honestly, you had to rub your eyes as the first half unfolded. Hadn't we just seen this on Sunday? Except this start was even worse, a 21-3 deficit before the Lakers realized they were in a playoff game.

"It was really tough to watch," Lakers reserve guard Jordan Farmar said. "We started tentative, and they hit us in the mouth again early."

The Lakers closed a 16-point halftime deficit to two midway through the third quarter, but that was as close as they would come to resembling a top-seeded team.

After winning Game 3 in the Toyota Center, the place turned into the Lakers' personal Wonderland, where their superiority - and their overblown sense of it - gets turned on edge.

"The energy in the building is great, and they really feed off their crowd," Farmar said.

Now, presumably, the Lakers will feed off their crowd.

For the Lakers , it's a series that is lasting longer than it had to, or should have.

On the bright side, no matter what else happens in this topsy-turvy postseason, the Lakers , happily, aren't going back to Houston.

Sunday, improbably enough, we'll find out if they're going anywhere.

Reach Gregg Patton at 951-368-9597 or gpatton@PE.com