For the first time in the Kobe Bryant era, the Lakers were in a must-win situation and the Black Mamba was nowhere to be found. He wasn't even in the building, and for at least one night, it didn't seem to matter.

The Lakers were able to put together a critical 91-86 win over an impressive San Antonio Spurs squad, and did so without their undisputed leader and face of the franchise. After tearing his Achilles tendon the night before, Bryant was forced to watch the game from home, and surely nobody was more pleased with the result.

"Whew!! Well done my dudes. Well done. UNO MAS #playoffs," Bryant tweeted after the game.

The Los Angeles Lakers are now one and a half games in front of the Utah Jazz for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With only one game left on their schedule, the Lakers now need either a win or a Jazz loss in one of their last two games to punch their ticket to the playoffs.

Regardless, Bryant will be out for the remainder of the season, and his injury has left many people scratching their head over just how the Lakers will be able to make a championship run. Their win Sunday night may have given glimpse as to how that can happen.

Dwight Howard took the team on his broad back with a dominating 26 point, 17 rebound performance, along with stellar defensive play that produced 3 blocks and 2 steals. Howard has proven throughout his career that he's capable of as much, but the real x-factor came from those forced to replace Bryant's scoring punch.

Bryant's replacement Jodie Meeks did a serviceable job and was able to hit two critical threes during a fourth quarter rally. Steve Blake, the replacement for the injured Steve Nash, provided a huge offensive lift with 23 points and was aided by a solid 15 point, 6 rebound performance by Antawn Jamison.

"We knew everybody doubted us, but that's fine. We're going to push even harder," Howard said. "I told our guys before the game, 'Nobody believes we can win. We've just got to go out there and play like it. We're all professional athletes. We've all done some great things in our career, so why not just go out there and play hard, and let everything happen?' "

The Lakers have had a rough season to say the least. A plethora of injuries that claimed just about everyone on the roster combined with an unexpectedly slow start to make for one of the most baffling seasons in recent Laker history.

Without Kobe Bryant, it seems unthinkable to believe that the Los Angeles Lakers have a legitimate shot at winning a title. Any realistic hope of that seemed to have snapped along with Bryant's tendon. At least for one night, however, the Lakers were able to show that they have enough firepower to make things interesting.