The air is already getting pretty thin for the Denver Nuggets.

Kobe Bryant was a catalyst in a number of ways and the Lakers powered through some sluggish periods to beat the Nuggets, 122-107, Wednesday at Staples Center.
This is relatively new for the Lakers, taking a 2-0 lead in a playoff series for the first time since 2004, so they’re almost forgiven for lapses that disappeared in a big way in the fourth quarter.

And they can lean against the fact that teams with a 2-0 lead win a best-of-seven series 93.6% of the time in the NBA. Game 3 is Saturday in Denver.

Bryant was a shooter in the first quarter, a passer in the middle two quarters, and a shooter in the fourth quarter, finishing with 49 points and 10 assists on the night.

He made 18 of 27 shots, including a back-breaking three-pointer that gave the Lakers a 108-94 lead with 5:21 to play. He scored 40-plus points in a playoff game for the sixth time in his career.

His high is 50, set against Phoenix in 2006.

Bryant apparently drew added incentive from exchanging words with Kenyon Martin in Game 1.

“Kobe was definitely coming out to prove a point tonight,” Lamar Odom said. “The best can handle that energy.”

Luke Walton was again a factor, scoring 18 points in a reserve role, and Pau Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Bryant had 20 points in the first quarter, two short of the Lakers’ playoff record for points in a quarter. Elgin Baylor scored 22 in a quarter in a March 1961 game against Detroit.

Then he had 19 in the fourth quarter, again brushing up against history before checking out of the game with 2:02 to play.

He was given a standing ovation, to no surprise.

The Nuggets tried to mix it up, inserting Linas Kleiza into the starting lineup in place of Anthony Carter, but they couldn’t extend a short-lived one-point lead midway through the third quarter. Then they began to unravel in the fourth, J.R. Smith and Allen Iverson picking up technical fouls in the final six minutes.

“They went hot at times,” Walton said. “They went cold at times.”

The Lakers were part of the Nuggets’ problems too.

Bryant often compares himself to a quarterback waiting in the pocket to see what the defense gives, and Wednesday was no different.

He made eight of 10 shots in the first quarter, then turned into a distributor by collecting a total of seven assists in the second and third quarters.

He returned to attack mode in the fourth quarter, making six of seven shots.

On one of them, Sasha Vujacic tracked down a long miss in the corner, found Bryant up top and yelled his approval after Bryant moved past Eduardo Najera and Martin for a finger roll that gave the Lakers a 101-93 lead with 6:41 to play.

The Lakers haven’t had a 2-0 lead in a series since winning the first two against Houston in the first round of the 2004 playoffs.

In the end, Coby Karl became a part of history, checking into the game with 2:02 to play and becoming the first son to play against his dad’s team in an NBA playoff game.

History was made after all, on a night when Bryant came close to getting there on two occasions.