Lakers keep with a theme

‘Tis the season to resurrect a little feud.

For the first time in seemingly forever, it’s not Kobe vs. Shaq on Christmas Day, thanks to NBA and ABC finally moving away from that tired story line.

But controversy seekers won’t be too disappointed -- there’s still Phil Jackson vs. Mike D’Antoni today at Staples Center.

As if the Lakers and Phoenix Suns weren’t already leery of each other after back-to-back first-round playoff battles, Jackson and D’Antoni dialed it up another level in the Lakers’ surprisingly easy 119-98 victory Nov. 2 in Phoenix.

D’Antoni was upset that Jackson followed a Phoenix timeout with a Lakers timeout with 4:45 to play and the Lakers ahead, 111-91. Each team had to take a mandatory timeout that quarter, and Jackson chose to do it on the heels of the Suns’ timeout, giving the teams about eight consecutive minutes of sitting on their benches.

For the Suns, it was more like stewing on their bench.

D’Antoni and Jackson exchanged words, with D’Antoni gesturing at Jackson and reminding him the teams would play each other three more times this season.

“I thought he disrespected our players. But he likes to play the mind games, and that’s fine,” D’Antoni said at the time. “He might want to try to do it in playoff time when we bust them every year. We have them three more times [this season]. . . . That’s fine.”

D’Antoni still wasn’t thrilled a day later, saying, “We will remember” and “Hopefully, we’ll have the same opportunity to give it back to them.”

Jackson said at the time he was not showboating and that D’Antoni overreacted.

“Yeah, well, it gave me a better understanding, perhaps, of him,” Jackson said.

In what way?

“Well, that his immediate response is to think it was about him and not about his team.”

The coaches were less snarky Monday, although they each had their moments.

“My video guy was kind enough to leave that on the tape this morning so we could view his demonstration after the timeout,” said Jackson, who was then asked if he would attempt something today to get under D’Antoni’s skin.

“That’s not part of my tactics,” he said. “I’m not that kind of a coach. I don’t believe in it. But I’d sure like my players to believe in it.”

D’Antoni was similarly lukewarm.

“I’m going to downplay it,” he said. “We should have done better here. He likes to play those little games. Bottom line, we didn’t play well and we were embarrassed and reacted to two straight timeouts.”

That’s it?

“They’re too good of a team to mess with him,” D’Antoni said.

It’s not like the Lakers-Suns fire needed another Yule log, what with the teams’ numerous clashes the last two seasons.

The Suns ripped apart the Lakers’ upbeat hopes in the first round of the 2006 playoffs, becoming only the eighth team in NBA history to win a best-of-seven series after it was trailing, 3-1.

Last season, the Lakers were irritated by an all-access book about the Suns that included several scenes in which Jackson and Kobe Bryant were disparaged by Suns coaches. Jackson was described as arrogant and Bryant as too risky in the open court. Even Suns owner Robert Sarver was quoted as saying of the Lakers, “I hate those guys.”

The book didn’t do much good for the Lakers, who lost in the first round of the playoffs last spring to the Suns in five games.

But in their victory last month over the Suns, the Lakers led by as many as 33 points despite playing without Lamar Odom.

In that game, Bryant had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Vladimir Radmanovic had a team-high 19 points, making all four of his three-point attempts. Derek Fisher had 14 points on seven-for-nine shooting and Andrew Bynum had 14 points on seven-for-10 shooting.

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Center Kwame Brown practiced Monday, but Jackson said his conditioning did not appear to be up to game standards. Brown has missed 18 games because of a sprained left knee and ankle. . . . Luke Walton did not practice Monday because of a sprained right ankle but might play today. . . . The Lakers recalled rookie guard Coby Karl from the Development League, where he averaged 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 10 games for the D-Fenders.

TODAY

vs. Phoenix, 2 p.m., Channel 7

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 570; 1330.

Records -- Lakers 17-10; Suns 19-8.

Record vs. Suns -- 1-0.

Update -- Leandro Barbosa scored 31 points and made seven of 10 three-point attempts in the Suns’ 122-103 victory Saturday over Toronto. Barbosa started in the place of Raja Bell, who sat out because of back spasms and is questionable for today’s game.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com