Lakers have 10-game winning streak, and Pau Gasol is a big reason

These Lakers know how to deliver a knockout punch. . . .

Or, as Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan noted Wednesday after Kobe Bryant and the Lakers extended their winning streak to 10 games, “They just came out and destroyed us.” . . .

Playing almost every game at Staples Center, they’ve been virtually unstoppable since Pau Gasol returned. . . .

When Sloan made his coaching debut with the Jazz in December 1988, by the way, Andrew Bynum was 13 months old. . . .

Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics won’t be here for Christmas this year, unfortunately, but they’ll be at Staples Center two days later to play the Clippers. . . .

The Clippers’ Chris Kaman, inexplicably left off the All-Star ballot, is the second-leading scorer among NBA centers -- behind only Brook Lopez of the New Jersey Nets. . . .

Dwight Howard is third. . . .

If a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr.fight truly would be “the biggest boxing event ever,” as AEG executive Dan Beckerman suggested this week, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to stage it in a venue larger than Staples Center? . . .

Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh, a mouthful for announcers and a handful for blockers, might win the Heisman Trophy if voters paid less attention to quarterbacks and running backs and more to dominant, disruptive defensive tackles. . . .

Former Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson, in 1997, remains the only primarily defensive player to win the award. . . .

When Woodson won it, Peyton Manning was runner-up. . . .

Barry Bonds, all but officially retired after sitting out the last two seasons waiting for someone to offer him a job, hit 28 home runs in 2007 while leading the National League in on-base percentage, walks and intentional walks. . . .

Jim Gilliam is unique among the 10 Dodgers who’ve had their numbers retired in that he’s not in the Hall of Fame. . . .

Now that Chone Figgins has joined the Seattle Mariners, reader Robert Mapstead of Riverside e-mails to note, “he won’t have to worry about choking in the postseason anymore.” . . .

Center-field prospect Peter Bourjos, mentioned as part of a possible trade package that would bring Roy Halladay to the Angels, is the son of former Toronto Blue Jays scout Chris Bourjos, who helped the Blue Jays sign Halladay. . . .

Former NFL scout Russ Lande, writing for the Sporting News, notes that if USC’s Damian Williams makes himself eligible for the 2010 draft, “he’s taking a big gamble” because opinions of Williams’ NFL potential vary so widely. . . .

Not that it needed the help, but Gonzaga opened its game against Augustana on Wednesday night with a 2-0 lead after the visiting Vikings dunked during warmups, were hit with a technical foul and stood by helplessly as Gonzaga’s Matt Bouldin made two free throws before the opening tip. . . .

Gonzaga won, 79-40. . . .

Nothing has gone right for the New England Patriots since they took an 18-0 record into the 2008 Super Bowl, reader Jerry Sondler of Warwick, R.I., e-mails to note, “unless one considers Gisele Bundchen a significant upgrade over Bridget Moynahan.” . . .

Note to Minnesota Vikings fans: In the New York Jets’ last four games a year ago, Brett Favre had eight passes intercepted while passing for only two touchdowns. . . .

Drought-busting Anze Kopitar and the Kings showed Wednesday night at San Jose that, at long last, they might actually be serious contenders in the Pacific Division. . . .

Recommended viewing on YouTube: James Blagden’s animated ode to Dock Ellis ’ LSD-tripping no-hitter. . . .

With Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus” opening today, “Sport and Cinema” blogger Randy Williams wonders if the rugby-flavored film and the football-tinged “The Blind Side” will give sports a 1-2 finish at the box office this weekend. . . .

While chasing Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods seems to have been intent on usurping Wilt Chamberlain too. . . .

Chamberlain never married. . . .

Several readers e-mailed to note that no list of Southland-bred Milwaukee Brewers would be complete without Hall of Famer Robin Yount, who prepped at Woodland Hills Taft High. . . .

Says Terrell Owens, who signed this week with a modeling agency, “When you’ve got some good looks like myself, you’ve got to take full advantage of it.” . . .

And they say models are insecure.

jerome.crowe@latimes.com