34 points, Pau Gasol added 11 points and 16 rebounds, and the Los
Angeles Lakers exploited a major size advantage in their fourth
straight victory, 100-90 over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
Ron Artest scored 17 points for the
Lakers, who took control of their eighth win in 10 meetings with New
York by scoring 17 consecutive points in the third while holding the
Knicks scoreless for nearly 7 1/2 minutes.
Andrew Bynum added 17 points and
eight rebounds on an injured right ankle, although he barely needed to
jump while helping Los Angeles to a 60-36 rebounding advantage over New
York's undersized front line.
Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler
scored 15 points apiece for the Knicks, who opened a three-game West
Coast swing with their fifth straight loss to the defending NBA
champions.
Los Angeles led by 24 in the third
quarter before New York's late rally against the Lakers' reserves
trimmed another potential blowout to respectability. Los Angeles also
committed 25 turnovers, but the Lakers still haven't really been
challenged in three games since Gasol's return from injury.
Bryant set a Madison Square Garden
record with 61 points in the teams' last meeting, but the Lakers needed
much less help to beat New York on the other coast for their 10th win
in 12 games.
Chandler's 5-for-20 shooting
performance didn't help, but size was the most obvious offensive
problem for the Knicks. The Lakers' advantages were obvious from the
opening jump ball, when 7-footers Gasol and Bynum looked down on
6-foot-9 center David Lee and 6-10 Danilo Gallinari. Even 6-10 reserve
Lamar Odom grabbed 12 rebounds for Los Angeles.
The entire evening got off to a poor
start for the Knicks, whose team bus carrying coach Mike D'Antoni
didn't arrive at Staples Center until less than an hour before game
time, slowed by Westside traffic from the team's hotel in Santa Monica.
Los Angeles finished the first half
on a 15-4 run to take a 10-point lead. The Lakers then turned a 59-52
advantage into a 24-point margin with a relentless series of baskets
and defense, with Bryant leading the way on both ends.
Bryant then hit a fall-away 3-pointer
and a tough jumper in the final seconds of the quarter, although
Robinson made a double-clutch 3-pointer from near midcourt at the
buzzer to cut Los Angeles' lead to 21.
Notes
Bryant returns to the Garden
on Jan. 22. He made 20 free throws without a miss in his 61-point game
last February. … Stevie Wonder, comedians George Lopez and Richard
Lewis, and actor Jason Patric attended the game.