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By MIKE VOTTA, STATS Senior Writer

Thanks in part to Pau Gasol, the Los Angeles Lakers’ current road trip couldn’t be going much better.

The Lakers and their new center will wrap up a nine-game trip on Wednesday when they visit the stumbling Minnesota Timberwolves.

Los Angeles (34-17) beat Charlotte 106-97 on Monday, going 6-2 against Eastern Conference teams on its trek. The win was the Lakers’ third straight, and fourth in five games with Gasol in the lineup.

The Lakers have not played at home since a 120-109 win over New York on Jan. 29, and are 17-10 on the road.

“We have one more game before we can say anything about this trip,” coach Phil Jackson said. “Fortunately, we have gotten a few under our belt, and now we are down to one game and we want to get that one to go home on.”

Gasol, acquired Feb. 1 in a trade with Memphis, has averaged 20.8 points and 8.2 rebounds in his five games with the Lakers. He had 26 points against the Bobcats, his second-best scoring effort with his new team behind a 30-point performance in a 117-113 win at Orlando on Friday.

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While the Lakers’ guard is still upset about the ones that got away in Detroit and Atlanta, he is excited about the future and the prospect of a record-setting trip.

By Mike Bresnahan, Los Angeles Times

MINNEAPOLIS — More and more, Kobe Bryant feels like a kid locked in a toy store after closing hours.

“It’s like Christmas every day,” Bryant said. “We have so many weapons here. I really just use my abilities to be a bait, continue to create easy shots for my teammates and just move the ball and play well together.”

Bryant continues to be complimentary of the Lakers and their recent success, which makes sense.

Pau Gasol has been a boon since joining the team, averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in five games while providing an immeasurable emotional boost on what many thought would be a rough trip.

Lamar Odom seems comfortable as the team’s third scoring option. Ronny Turiaf and Jordan Farmar remain bursts of energy off the bench. Sasha Vujacic has been scoring from the outside. Luke Walton made a key shot down the stretch Monday against Charlotte.

It adds up to the Lakers sitting on the cusp of road-trip history.

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Center will be sidelined for at least four weeks.

By Mike Bresnahan, Los Angeles Times

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lakers center Chris Mihm will undergo surgery on his right heel and sit out about four to six weeks.

Mihm’s right ankle has been surgically repaired twice, and he has been sidelined since Dec. 23 because of bursitis in his right heel and a sore Achilles’ tendon in his right foot.

He felt persistent pain, underwent three weekly sonar-wave treatments and took part in individual workouts with team trainers but often felt sore the next day.

The team, and Mihm, thought surgery was the best option now, with the hope he could return as a backup later in the season. Mihm had been with the Lakers on their nine-game trip but left Monday to return to Los Angeles and was expected to have surgery this week.

“We wanted to give Chris a shot to have an opportunity during this time and through the All-Star break to come back perhaps, but it looks like it’s going to be a little bit longer for that,” Coach Phil Jackson said.

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They improve to 6-2 on their longest trip ever, and can set an NBA record if they win Wednesday’s finale at Minnesota.

By Mike Bresnahan, Los Angeles Times

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The trip could go from historically long to simply historic.

The Lakers are on the verge of setting an NBA record for success on a long trip, their latest victory coming Monday against the Charlotte Bobcats, 106-97, despite another late-game hiccup.

If the Lakers win Wednesday in Minnesota, they’ll finish 7-2 on their trip and compile the league’s best record in nine or more continuous road games since neutral-site games were eliminated in 1974-75. (The San Antonio Spurs were 8-1 in a 2003 trip but came home before it ended.)

Already away from home for 13 days — on their way to 15, the longest chunk of time on the road in team history — the Lakers again used the Kobe Bryant-Pau Gasol combo to come away with a victory.

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In the coming days you will read how the L.A. Lakers will win the NBA championship.