MIAMI — There have been more than a few occasions since Pau Gasol joined them that the Lakers, passing artfully and drilling open shots, have looked like an All-Star team on offense.

They especially looked that way Sunday when contrasted to how lonely Dwyane Wade looked in the Lakers' 104-94 victory over the Miami Heat.

The Lakers moved to 5-2 on their nine-game trip, their longest continuous road run since moving to Los Angeles.

With Gasol settling into injured Andrew Bynum's second-option slot behind Bryant, the Lakers are back operating as a deep, talented, united force — except Gasol can do more than young Bynum at this stage of his career.

So Bryant had the energy and focus to perform the most impressive defensive feat of the Lakers' season late in the third quarter: a one-on-one suffocation of Wade. Miami isolated Wade with plans of him creating a shot, but Bryant left Wade stuck behind the 3-point arc, with Bryant practically standing on top of him. Wade tried to steal an extra step to throw a pass and was called for traveling with 5.5 seconds left in the third.

"I enjoy that kind of challenge," Bryant said.

It was the sort of thing Bryant did over the summer for Team USA, the ultimate All-Star team. Against Miami, Bryant led the Lakers with 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting, but he had plenty of help that Wade (19 points, nine assists, nine turnovers) didn't, even in Shawn Marion's Miami debut.

"When you're the Lone Ranger out there, it's tough," Bryant said. "He's in a position that I was in a couple of years ago where I had to put up 35-37 points just to keep us in the ballgame. It's physically and emotionally draining."

On Sunday, Lamar Odom played more minutes than Bryant and delivered 15 points, 18 rebounds and six assists. Odom has reached a comfort zone upon Gasol's arrival, often finding space on the weakside away from Bryant and Gasol. Coach Phil Jackson praised Odom for "just taking what is available."

Odom also was a huge help to Bryant on defense, switching over to guard Wade on the pick-and-roll plays that devastated the Lakers in their last trip to Miami on Christmas 2006, when Wade scored 40 points to win without an injured Shaquille O'Neal.

Odom hadn't won in Miami since leaving in the 2004 O'Neal trade, but he said he was feeling "festive" this time — except for a shortage of underwear and socks on Day 12 of the Lakers' 15-day trip.

Popovich complaint: Gregg Popovich, coach and president of the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, was quoted by Newsday raving about the Lakers' trade for Gasol.

"The L.A. move is great for L.A.," he said. "What they were thinking in Memphis is beyond comprehension. There should be a law, a trade committee that can scratch off trades that make no sense. I just wish I'd have been on the trade committee that oversees NBA trades. I'd like to elect myself to that committee. And I would have voted nay' on the L.A. trade."

Popovich praised the Lakers and Suns for their recent trades, giving them "a lot of credit for thinking out of the box and changing things up and deciding they needed to do it differently — and they deserve credit for that. They're two great moves on their part."

When asked about Popovich's comment about wanting to invalidate the Gasol trade, Jackson said: "I thought he was tongue in cheek."

Weighing Shaq's move: Jackson had more to say about O'Neal going to Phoenix, saying: "I do think that it will re-energize him. He has got something to prove again. I think it could be good for him.

"The benefit obviously is Phoenix hopes to have an interior game they can play at the halfcourt level and have a dominant person inside. They're willing to take that risk. I guess if you've been in the position they've been in the past three years and you haven't gotten to the (NBA) Finals, you have to wonder about your strategy."

Even though Heat owner Micky Arison told The Miami Herald he wanted to trade O'Neal only to a contender, it's apparent Arison is glad to be rid of O'Neal, saying: "I know fans are miserable, but in retrospect the decisions were great. I'd love to have Caron Butler and Lamar Odom today, but if we keep them we wouldn't win the championship. We got what we wanted, what we paid for. We knew the back half of it (O'Neal's contract) would be tough. We were fortunate enough not to have to live out the rest of it."