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Usually when I or any of the other correspondents here at Slam Dunk Central write about the Los Angeles Lakers, the discussion usually revolves around four players: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and on occasion Lamar Odom.

The aforementioned four are what make the Lakers who they are. That doesn’t minimize the rest of Los Angeles’ roster one bit. You just do not hear much about the rest of the squad.

After the Lakers’ game against the Chicago Bulls Tuesday night at Staples Center, perhaps one more player will have made himself heard: Shannon Brown.

Brown found his groove early on as Los Angeles went on to fend off Chicago 98-91, their fifth straight victory.

While the game had that marquee-like status attached to it, both teams were without key players; the Lakers were still without Bynum and expect him to return in December while the Bulls were without the services of Carlos Boozer.

The first half was as advertised with some excellent defense as the game was tied at 26 after one period and Los Angeles outscored Chicago 25-23 in taking a slim 51-49 lead to their locker room at the break.

Fast-forwarding to the fourth quarter, the Lakers trailed early in the frame before a huge 17-2 run, led by Brown and Steve Blake, allowed Los Angeles to pull away. The offensive explosion included lots of three-pointers, including a pair by Blake and one apiece from Matt Barnes and Brown.

Three Lakers scored 20 or more points, led by Odom and Brown with 21 points apiece – with Odom grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 2 assists while Brown connected on 5 three-pointers, grabbed 4 boards, dishing out 3 assists along with a steal and a block. Bryant had a quiet 20 with 2 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal. Gasol, while scoring only 12 points, grabbed 11 boards.

The Bulls were led by Derrick Rose with a game-high 30 points with 5 rebounds, 8 assists, a steal and a block while Joakim Noah had a solid effort, as well, chipping in 19 with 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Taj Gibson added 16 with 12 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Los Angeles (13-2) plays again on Friday when they travel to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz while Chicago (7-5) makes the short commute to Phoenix to take on the Suns Wednesday night.