"(Denver) probably should have called another timeout," Karl said after Game 3 about his team having already called one when Martin initially couldn't get off a pass.

Now, Denver is much more at risk of having a four-month timeout also known as the offseason. After the Nuggets won a gritty Game 2 in Los Angeles, they seized homecourt advantage and were returning to a court where they won 16 straight games, having not lost since March 9.

Alas, the Lakers have regained home court. And at least temporarily have staved off paleontologists going out to search whether their intensity, impressive during a 65-17 regular season, indeed had become extinct.

"I rank this right up there with some of the biggest road wins we've had," said Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who scored a game-high 41 points. "Major gut-check."

The Lakers outscored the Nuggets 32-18 in the fourth quarter after trailing 79-71. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said it certainly didn't hurt that Nuggets guard J.R. Smith gave his team momentum when he got a technical for taunting after hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter.

The Nuggets had three foolish technicals (to two foolish ones for the Lakers). The other two came courtesy of Carter and Linas Kleiza, and those three Denver players shot a combined 6-for-22 and scored 14 points.

The Lakers also were able to control Anthony in the second half, when he scored just three of his 21 points while having foul trouble. The steal by Ariza, who aggravated a hip and groin injury in the third quarter, was a double Denver whammy because it also resulted in relegating Anthony to the bench.

"It was kind of funny," Ariza of his two big steals. "It was pretty much the same thing."

Odom is the Lakers' primary inbounds pass defender thanks to his long arms. And, even though Ariza shrugged off being labeled a "designated inbound pilferer,'' Jackson would seem to have no problem with that description.

"He has great acceleration," Jackson said. "He can really make one step and be at full speed. ... Those passes that are up for grabs, he's exceptional at it."

Meanwhile, the inbounds passer in basketball is a bit like the long snapper in football. You usually realize who performed the task only when he messes up.

Earlier this decade while at Milwaukee, Karl actually regularly started obscure center Mark Pope, who would finish his career with a 1.9-points average. One reason Karl liked Pope is because he called him a good inbounds passer.

Karl might not have minded having Pope inbound during the waning stages of Games 1 and 3. But he's since gone on to medical school, where he might actually now be needed to treat any high blood pressure Karl has incurred after seeing his team blow two games.

"It's a tremendous skill," Karl said of an inbounds passer. "And we've been good there most of the year."

But not lately. That's why you can bet Karl on Sunday will have his team practice such passes.

It should be a two-a-day workout. One for each game the Nuggets have thrown away.

Chris Tomasson covered the Denver Nuggets for the Rocky Mountain News for 6 1/2 years before the paper folded in February. He has covered the NBA for much of the past 23 seasons.