Only Boston and New Orleans have better winning percentages as visitors this season. The Lakers seem comfortable as they hear more from their fans while away from home.

By Mike Bresnahan, LA Times

The Lakers wallowed below .500 on the road the last few seasons, as great a reason as any for their overall lack of success.

But times change, 20-year-olds become forces in the middle and All-Star post players are acquired in trades. Now the Lakers are one of the league’s top road teams.

They have won nine of their last 10 away from home and are 21-10 in road games this season with 10 of them remaining. Only Boston and New Orleans have better winning percentages as visitors.

No one is saying the Lakers will close in on the 31-10 road record of the Lakers’ 1999-2000 championship team, but more and more of their fans seem to come out of the woodwork in other cities.

It’s now commonplace to hear “MVP” chants for Kobe Bryant and ovations for Pau Gasol on the road. Even Coby Karl was cheered loudly when he checked in for the final minutes of Sunday’s game at Seattle.

The Lakers seem as comfortable in Charlotte as they do in downtown Los Angeles.

“We’re starting to understand that it doesn’t matter if we play at home or on the road,” Bryant said. “The execution remains the same. I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job of executing and building up some big leads and playing from there.”

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