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LOS ANGELES – By the time Kobe Bryant talked himself into a little confidence in his swollen ankle in the second half, Andrew Bynum and the Los Angeles Lakers' reserves had already taken care of Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.
Pau Gasol scored 23 points, Bryant added 16 while playing on a sprained left ankle, and the Lakers roared away in the second half for their 10th win in 11 games, 97-84 Monday night.
Bynum had 10 points, a career high-tying 18 rebounds and four blocks while hounding Howard into nine turnovers — four more than the entire Lakers squad — in another eye-catching low-post game for the Lakers' young center.
It all added up to a rather easy night of work for Bryant, who decided to play despite seriously rolling his ankle during the third quarter of Saturday's win at Dallas.
"It was more mental," said Bryant, who went 7 for 19 and missed eight shots in the first half. "It affected my bounce a little bit just because of the trust factor, just trusting it in the first half. Then at halftime, I just gave it a little pep talk."
Bryant can afford to be cautious while his Lakers are on their most impressive streak of the season. Thanks to the Los Angeles reserves' decisive rally early in the fourth quarter, Bryant had to play just 30 minutes.
Lamar Odom scored 16 points as the two-time defending champions opened a seven-game homestand with another win over an elite team after an early season filled with flops against the NBA's best. The Lakers (48-20) also drew virtually even with the Dallas Mavericks (47-19) for second place in the Western Conference standings.
"We want to win every game on this home stretch here," Bynum said. "(Howard) is a great player who's going to get his numbers, but we started scoring, too."
Derek Fisher scored 15 points for the Lakers, who have the next three days off before lowly Minnesota visits on Friday. Los Angeles already had beaten San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta (twice) and Oklahoma City since the break before this stirring second-half effort against the talented Magic, who appear entrenched in fourth place in the East.
Howard had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who couldn't get rolling offensively in the second half of this 2009 NBA finals rematch. The Lakers all remembered last month's meeting in Orlando, when Howard dominated with 31 points and 13 rebounds while barely missing a shot.
Pau Gasol scored 23 points, Bryant added 16 while playing on a sprained left ankle, and the Lakers roared away in the second half for their 10th win in 11 games, 97-84 Monday night.
Bynum had 10 points, a career high-tying 18 rebounds and four blocks while hounding Howard into nine turnovers — four more than the entire Lakers squad — in another eye-catching low-post game for the Lakers' young center.
It all added up to a rather easy night of work for Bryant, who decided to play despite seriously rolling his ankle during the third quarter of Saturday's win at Dallas.
"It was more mental," said Bryant, who went 7 for 19 and missed eight shots in the first half. "It affected my bounce a little bit just because of the trust factor, just trusting it in the first half. Then at halftime, I just gave it a little pep talk."
Bryant can afford to be cautious while his Lakers are on their most impressive streak of the season. Thanks to the Los Angeles reserves' decisive rally early in the fourth quarter, Bryant had to play just 30 minutes.
Lamar Odom scored 16 points as the two-time defending champions opened a seven-game homestand with another win over an elite team after an early season filled with flops against the NBA's best. The Lakers (48-20) also drew virtually even with the Dallas Mavericks (47-19) for second place in the Western Conference standings.
"We want to win every game on this home stretch here," Bynum said. "(Howard) is a great player who's going to get his numbers, but we started scoring, too."
Derek Fisher scored 15 points for the Lakers, who have the next three days off before lowly Minnesota visits on Friday. Los Angeles already had beaten San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta (twice) and Oklahoma City since the break before this stirring second-half effort against the talented Magic, who appear entrenched in fourth place in the East.
Howard had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who couldn't get rolling offensively in the second half of this 2009 NBA finals rematch. The Lakers all remembered last month's meeting in Orlando, when Howard dominated with 31 points and 13 rebounds while barely missing a shot.
