Earlier tonight, I had the Lakers winning.

Check.

By 10 or more. Oops.

One point shy.

And two days ago, I predicted Lamar Odom would have a 20-and-10 game.

Oops. He was 19 and 14.

For long stretches at Staples Center tonight, I thought I might be wrong about all of it. Lamar wouldn’t really show up, the Lakers would not only not win by 10 or more (or nine) but would lose the whole game.

Then came a 21-3 surge on either side of the fourth quarter, and a stretch where the Lakers made 11 consecutive defensive stops, and the game turned irrevocably in the Lakers’ favor.

The Lakers’ big guys finally asserted themselves. Pau Gasol scored 14 and had 10 rebounds, and they almost matched the Nuggets in overall rebounds. Andrew Bynum had a few good moments early before Odom came on and played so well that Bynum spent most of the second half glued to the bench.

I still think the Nuggets win in Denver on Friday, and it comes down to a Game 7 on Sunday. Here.

The Lakers would like to end it in Denver, of course, but they haven’t been closing out opponents on their home court.

Said Kobe Bryant: “That place is going to be rocking and rolling. We have to stay focused and poised and try to cut them up. … We have to execute. We have to be cold-blooded and execute.”