LOS ANGELES - A look of incredulity and frustration washed over Andrew Bynum when a reporter mentioned the late-game pattern that has defined the young center's season thus far.

First Bynum gets yanked from the final five minutes of a tight game. Then Coach Phil Jackson goads the 7-footer by questioning whether he can trust Bynum's defense during crunch time. Finally Bynum lashes out at his coach because he desperately wants the chance to contribute when it matters most.

The latest example came Friday against Indiana when Jackson removed Bynum from the game with 6:56 remaining and the Lakers leading 106-99. Aside from an 11-second cameo on the Lakers' second-to-last possession, Bynum remained on the bench the rest of the game as the Pacers stormed back to tie the score before Kobe Bryant hit the game-winner with 3 seconds left.

"Without being critical of Drew, he just couldn't play that screen-roll quite the same level we wanted to have it played at," Jackson said. "They were getting that penetration and kicking the ball and finding open guys. We wanted to shut that down a little bit. We still didn't do a terrific job of it, but we did better."

Bynum was bewildered by Jackson's explanation because he didn't believe the defense improved much with him on the bench, especially because the Lakers had to go small as a result of Lamar Odom's injured right knee.

Josh Powell, Trevor Ariza and Vladimir Radmanovic each had late stints at power forward alongside Pau Gasol, yet the Lakers still surrendered 20 points in the final 6:56 and 35 overall in the fourth quarter.

"When I come out, it doesn't change," Bynum said. "Maybe he (Jackson) just harps on me. Maybe that's his thing, but I don't understand it."

One aspect of his game that Bynum is more pleased about is his offense, which has shown signs of coming to life after a couple of moribund weeks. Bynum has teamed with Gasol to help control the paint against a pair of undersized frontcourts the past two games, posting 18 points and 11 rebounds against Golden State on Wednesday and following that with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting against the Pacers.

"I'm encouraged by the last couple games," Bynum said. "The more work you put in, the more it's going to pay off."

Logging Big Minutes

The absence of Odom, Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar hasn't cost the Lakers in the win column so far, but it is taking a toll on their veteran stars.

The past two games, Gasol, Bryant and Derek Fisher have each played between 38 and 42 minutes, a stat Jackson would prefer to keep below 34 when the Lakers face Miami tonight.

"We're playing a little heavy minutes with guys that we don't want to get into that many minutes with," Jackson said. "We've got to watch those minutes a little bit so we don't get stretched out."

enjoy it for now, Josh

Powell scored 10 points in 18 minutes on Friday and continues to take advantage of every chance he gets, but Jackson reiterated there wouldn't be much room in the rotation for him once Odom returns.

"It's almost impossible for the rotation to get that deep and have everybody playing with the type of rhythm we want," Jackson said.

Reach Jeff Eisenberg

at 951-368-9357

or jeisenberg@PE.com