LOS ANGELES - If you've watched any Lakers games in the past couple of 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 part 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 Tuesday, building a 20-point lead by halftime and coasting to a 110-99 victory.
It was their eighth win in a row and gave them the best record in the NBA (14-3).
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 came into Staples Center with a 1-8 record on the road, 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 Hornet never got closer than 15 points until the final three minutes of the game.
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. Andrew 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.
Unlike the Lakers' previous meeting with the Hornets when he dominated the smaller New Orleans guards from the post, Kobe Bryant attacked mostly from the perimeter Tuesday night. He followed up his 5-for-8 performance from three-point range on Sunday night by sinking 2 of 5 this time on his way to a quiet 18 points.
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 more after Bynum exited in favor of Sasha Vujacic with four minutes remaining, allowing the Hornets to close within nine in the final minute against a Lakers lineup featuring Josh Powell at center and Adam Morrison at power forward.
Former UCLA star Darren Collison led the Hornets with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while Okafor added 17 (7 of 10 from the floor). Leading scorer David West finished with eight points. He was mostly swallowed up by the length and quickness of 7-footer Pau Gasol.
Play Basketball Hot Streak and win prizes!
