<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">TORONTO - For one night, it wasn't so much what Kobe Bryant had to do as what he didn't have to do, which was play major minutes in the Lakers' 102-91 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Bryant had the best seat in the house to watch as the Lakers took several steps forward, albeit against one of the NBA's bottom feeders, extending their winning streak and getting experience for some of their most unproven players. The short-term benefit Wednesday for the Lakers came in evening their record at 9-9 and winning their third consecutive game, an admittedly modest streak but one they were unable to put together last season until late February. That it came at the start of a six-game, trans-Siberian road trip - with Bryant and forward Lamar Odom both sitting much of the night - made it all the more impressive. Bryant played a season-low 26 minutes and finished with 11 points. "There's nothing better than a winning streak," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, "and we'd like to ride something with some momentum and see if we can't continue this for another game or two." As for the future, Jackson got valuable minutes out of his second unit, putting them on the floor without the crutch of either Bryant or Odom at the start of a crucial stretch in the second quarter. It was Jackson's hope to create an "identity" for some of those players - Sasha Vujacic, Laron Profit, Devean George, Luke Walton and Brian Cook was the lineup he used - in the hopes of getting them battle-tested for later in the season. The Lakers went on to break open the game with a 10-0 run and had their bench players supply a season-high 44 points. Nine players scored for the Lakers in the first half and five finished in double-figures for the game. "It's a growth experience for any of these young players to get out there and play in those situations," Jackson said. "They have to think on their feet. They have to do things that are a little bit out of the norm. They didn't crumble under the pressure." Bryant did a lot of cheering, howling at Cook after a pair of thunderous dunks in the second quarter, low-fiving Smush Parker after a head-turning reverse layup at the end of the third and chest-bumping Profit after a steal and breakaway dunk in the fourth. "It was fun," Bryant said. "It's very good for us. L.O. and I were just sitting there, just observing the game and watching. At the start of it, it was a little raggedy. But then they settled in and started executing the offense and gave us a good cushion." </div> Source
