LOS ANGELES - The commonalities between Reggie Theus and Bobby Brown could be seen after the game, when some 50 people hung around the Staples Center floor long after the Los Angeles Lakers' 118-108 win over the Kings on Sunday night.

In one corner, the rookie backup point guard greeted his group of supporters. In the other, the coach said hello to family and friends.

Both men left their hometowns with some measure of pride in what was the Kings' fifth loss in six games, as the almost-perfect Lakers faced an unexpected fight en route to their 11th win in 12 tries. Down by as many as 19 points, the Kings trailed by just four after Bobby Jackson's driving layup and subsequent free throw midway through the fourth quarter.

As was the case for much of the first half, Brown - a Westchester High School graduate and Cal State Fullerton product - had sparked the surge. And Theus - who attended Inglewood High School and whose wife and three children remain in the area - had put him in a position to do so.

With starter Beno Udrih struggling, Brown scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting against the Lakers. He logged 15 of his 25 minutes in the second half, when Theus opted for the up-tempo style Brown provides.

"I looked to him tonight, (and) I thought he was in a pretty good rhythm so I wanted to leave him out there," Theus said.

The Kings, down 99-80 with 11:48 remaining, went on a 21-6 run in which Brown played a part in nearly every moment of significance. His steal in the paint from Andrew Bynum led to Brown's spinning fast-break pass ahead to Jackson for a layup. His 19-footer cut the lead to 11. His three-pointer from the right wing cut it to 10.

The Kings would not maintain the momentum, as the Lakers finally responded with a late 9-0 run, but Brown had certainly made matters more interesting at the point guard position. It has been a platoonstyle effort of late, with Udrih playing a combined 46 minutes to Brown's 50 in losses to Portland and the Lakers. In those two games, Udrih had 15 points, 13 assists and two turnovers to Brown's 34, 14, and seven.

"They have different styles," rookie forward Jason Thompson said. "Being a veteran guy, Beno is vocal. He'll pace the game. He'll control it, direct guys at times. Bobby will do that as well, but he's young ."

In the locker room afterward, Brown was reminiscing about the road to his current reality. Reporters who covered him in high school and college joked about the body artwork that had increased since he left, as his tattoo count is up from five to 17.He talked about facing his old teammate, Lakers forward Trevor Ariza, with whom he won back-to-back state championships at Westchester. There were even reporters from overseas familiar with his story- how he opted to play a year in Germany rather than the NBA Development League before being signed by the Kings over the summer.

As Brown discussed the different coaches he experienced, he said Theus is a good fit for his personality and game. The roots, and the position played, give them a relationship that Brown said is working well.

"I knew all about Reggie from growing up here," Brown said. "But he gets on me a lot, tells me when I mess up and what I'm doing right. I'm just going listen to him, and take all the knowledge I can get. For me, it's just about taking care of the ball in crucial situations, making plays and shooting the ball."

He did most of that in his latest outing, making for a happy homecoming in every way but the end result.

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