Lakers looking ahead to Heat after beating Kings

Here’s a sneak-peek at tomorrow’s game story …

“Now, yeah, we can talk about Miami,” coach Mike Brown said. laughing after the Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. Brown had refused to talk about the Heat until after the Lakers’ 115-107 victory over the Kings.

“My confidence level has gone up with this team,” Brown said in an impromptu state of the Lakers address late Friday night. “Maybe three or four weeks ago, I started to let go of the reigns a little bit because I felt we were getting it.

“I still feel we have room to grow, which is the exciting part.”

Any game against Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and the Heat is meaningful for the Lakers. This one took on added significance after Wade mugged Kobe Bryant on a drive to the basket during the All-Star Game, causing some serious damage to his noggin.

Wade apologized and Bryant accepted, but the story hasn’t died on either coast.

Talk of revenge fell on deaf ears in the Lakers’ locker room, however.

“We’ll do what we need to do to get a win,” Derek Fisher said after he had six points and a team-leading seven assists against the Kings. “That’s always the sweetest revenge. … For us, it’s a big game because of where we are as a team right now.

“It’s not so much about Miami and the anticipation of the game.”

Bryant downplayed the revenge factor, but called it “an important game.”