LOS ANGELES - If you've watched any Lakers games the past few weeks, then Tuesday night's script should have looked awfully familiar. Another overmatched opponent. Another giant first-half lead. Another tedious fourth quarter in which the starters hardly shed their warmups even as the backups frittered away much of the advantage. This time, the patsy was the New Orleans Hornets, the sixth sub-.500 team the Lakers have faced in their past seven games. The Lakers predictably dispatched them with little trouble, building a 20-point lead by halftime and coasting to a 110-99 victory.
Their eighth win in a row, gave the Lakers the best record in the NBA (14-3).
"A couple years back we had an issue with under-.500 teams, but we're a deeper team now and everybody's more mature," Andrew Bynum said. "We know we need to win these games."
It was only two years ago that New Orleans battled the Lakers for the West's best record until the final two games of the season, but these Hornets are a shadow of that formidable squad.
New Orleans was 1-8 on the road entering Tuesday's game, including a 104-88 whipping at the hands of the Lakers last month - and this time the Hornets were without stars Peja Stojakovic and Chris Paul.
The Hornets actually trailed only 35-31 two minutes into the second quarter. But then the Lakers clamped down defensively for the next eight minutes and unleashed a game-altering 21-4 blitz. New Orleans made just 27.3 percent of its shots in the quarter.
After that, the Hornets never got closer than 15 points until the final three minutes of the game.
"If you get too cocky, you open yourself up for losses," Lamar Odom said. "You want to play a certain way against everyone you play against, and in the last couple games we've been able to do that."
It was another balanced scoring night for the Lakers , with four starters exceeding 10 points by halftime and reserve Jordan Farmar joining them after the break. Bynum was the Lakers' most efficient scorer, overpowering New Orleans center Emeka Okafor down low on his way to 21 points on 9-for-10 shooting.
A lineup of Bynum and four reserves logged most of the fourth-quarter minutes for the Lakers , preserving an 18-point lead. The backups struggled once Bynum exited in favor of Sasha Vujacic with four minutes remaining, allowing the Hornets to close within nine in the final minute against a lineup featuring Josh Powell at center and Adam Morrison playing power forward.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson has typically reinserted the starters in such situations, but this time he wanted the bench to prove it could hold the lead or "suffer the consequences."
"That's surely a teachable moment," Jackson said. "One way or the other, they've got to take responsibility."
Former UCLA star Darren Collison led the Hornets with 20 points.
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