After shipping Lamar Odom to Dallas, they have Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace.
Metta World Peace (12 points), Earl Clark (11 points) and Jodie Meeks (10 points) all scored in double figures for the Lakers.
Howard, who missed the game along with suspended Queens native Metta World Peace, didn't get much of a reaction from the crowd.
Down 2 points, Bryant missed a short open jumper with 5 seconds to go and Metta World Peace fouled Wall, who made both free throws.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace also defended Rice.
One-time basketball bad boy Ron Artest, who changed his name to Metta World Peace, was ejected Sunday from a Los Angeles Lakers-Oklahoma City Thunder game for striking James Harden.
CNN: World Peace given 7-game suspension for elbow to the head
Metta World Peace returned for the Lakers less than two weeks after undergoing left knee surgery and had four points in 15 minutes as they won their third in a row at home.
Those three stars are joined in the starting lineup by Gasol and Metta World Peace in what promises to be an embarrassment of talent that few teams can only hope to compete with.
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Yes, sports has its share of problems (Metta World Peace, we're looking at you), but it still has the power to provide some of the most compelling and unpredictable theater this side of a Stan Van Gundy news conference.
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An expected title contender after Dwight Howard and Steve Nash were brought in to join Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol is instead just trying to hold onto the eighth and final spot in the West a task that might've grown tougher with the loss of Metta World Peace for the remainder of the regular season because of knee surgery.
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