Kobe Bryant had the touch, so he kept taking shots. Bryant finished with 50 points on 18-of-25 shooting Sunday night to carry the Lakers to a 109-98 victory over Seattle that clinched a playoff spot for Los Angeles.

"We feel much better. We needed this type of win," Bryant said after the Lakers won for just the third time in 11 games.

Bryant said that when the playoffs begin, he may score a lot of points and he may not.

"If the jumper is on, we'll ride it out," he said. "If it's not, we'll have to find another way to win. Our defensive continuity is going to be our biggest challenge."

Phil Jackson, whose teams have never missed the playoffs in his 17 years as an NBA coach, said the Lakers still have a lot of work to do.

"I think there's a sigh of relief, but I do think they know that they have to improve their play, too," he said. "I've been telling them that if you're going to play and give away games at the end, it doesn't matter if you go into the playoffs.

"You're just going to be fodder for the teams that you have to play against."

The Lakers, who have one regular-season game remaining, at Sacramento on Wednesday night, will finish seventh or eighth in the Western Conference and face either Dallas or Phoenix in the first round.

Bryant scored 50 or more for the 10th time this season, the third-highest total in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 45 times with 50 or more in 1961-62, and Chamberlain's 30 times the following season.

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