Lakers hold off Nets for 7th straight win 100-88

BROWNNOSE

BOOTLICKER
LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, Pau Gasol had 20 points and nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers hung on for their seventh straight victory, 100-88 Friday night over the New Jersey Nets.

Lamar Odom had 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers extended the NBA's longest active winning streak despite never shaking the struggling Nets, who got 35 points from Brook Lopez in their ninth loss in 10 games.

Sasha Vujacic scored 17 points and Jordan Farmar had 12 in both reserve guards' return to Staples Center with New Jersey after winning two titles with the Lakers.

Ron Artest scored 14 points for Los Angeles, which has been perfect since an embarrassing blowout loss to Memphis at home on Jan. 2, its fourth defeat in six games.

Shannon Brown added 12 points for the Lakers, who have won their last seven games in just 11 days during a brutal scheduling stretch that doesn't include consecutive days off until Jan. 22-23.

Farmar left as a free agent last summer, saying his talents didn't fit the triangle offense and believing he could be a starter elsewhere in the NBA. Vujacic was traded to New Jersey last month after essentially losing his job as Bryant's backup to Brown.

Farmar and Vujacic both took big roles in the second half, with Vujacic's 3-pointer pulling New Jersey within two at 78-76 with 7 1/2 minutes to play. The Lakers responded with nine consecutive points capped by Bryant's three-point play with 5:23 left.

Bryant and Derek Fisher presented Farmar's second ring to the Los Angeles native during a brief pregame ceremony, but he got almost no cheers when he checked into the game. Vujacic was greeted with a bit more warmth, but both guards were booed regularly by the Los Angeles crowd in the second half while they kept the Nets close.

Vujacic played the entire game in overdrive, taking 16 shots but going just 2 for 9 on 3-pointers.

The Lakers limited Devin Harris to six points — more than 10 below his average — as the Nets lost their fourth straight game on the second stop of a four-game West Coast trip. New Jersey has lost seven straight to the Lakers.

Lopez's 13 first-quarter points put the Nets ahead early, but Bryant replied with 13 of his own. Los Angeles' dominant 7-foot duo had rare early struggles, with Gasol scoring just two points until late in the second quarter and Andrew Bynum committing two early fouls.

Bynum finished with just two points and five rebounds in 22 minutes, although he swatted a layup attempt by Farmar into the second row behind the basket during the fourth quarter.

Lopez missed a dunk in the final minute, leaving him one shy of his season high in points.

NOTES: Kris Humphries had six points and 15 rebounds for the Nets, but also whacked Gasol in the side of the face under the basket in the final minutes. Gasol got up slowly with a welt near his left eye, but made two free throws. ... Odom went 5 for 11 from the free throw line, driving down his unimpressive percentage in an otherwise stellar year. He also got a technical foul with 1:06 to play. ... Fans near courtside included WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, Zac Efron, Robert Wuhl and producer Brian Grazer. Tom Petty and his wife, Dana, used the seats normally occupied by Jack Nicholson, who was raised in Neptune, N.J.


:dirol:
 
Top