LOS ANGELES — Andrew Bynum had 17
points and 14 rebounds, Lamar Odom scored 19 points and Phil Jackson
became the winningest coach in Lakers history in Los Angeles' 99-97
victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.
Pau Gasol and Ron Artest scored 14
points apiece for the Lakers, who returned from an eight-game trip to
improve the NBA's best home record to 24-3 with their eighth
consecutive victory at Staples Center.
Stephen Jackson scored 30 points for
the Bobcats, who played without injured All-Star Gerald Wallace in the
finale of a six-game trip.
The Bobcats had won three straight
road games against the Lakers, but couldn't capitalize on a season-low
five-point performance by Kobe Bryant, who appeared to injure his left
foot when Odom stepped on it late in the first half.
Bryant returned to play extensively
in the second half, but sat out another key late stretch and didn't
score in the fourth quarter of his first single-digit scoring game of
the season.
Jackson passed Pat Riley with his
534th win with the Lakers. The Hall of Famer won 545 games and six
titles in nine seasons with the Chicago Bulls before winning four more
rings in his first nine seasons with the Lakers, rising to fifth on the
NBA's career coaching victories list by passing Charlotte's Larry Brown
earlier this season.
Jackson is the winningest playoff
coach in NBA history, and the only coach to win more than 70 percent of
his regular-season games.
Neither team took a lead larger than
seven points in the first three quarters, with the Bobcats constantly
staying close to the Lakers on big baskets from Stephen Jackson. Nazr
Mohammed's fall-away jumper with 1:38 to play trimmed Los Angeles' lead
to 93-92, but Pau Gasol responded with a quick hook shot before
blocking Jackson's driving layup.
After Odom tipped home Artest's
layup, Bryant missed a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to give the
Bobcats a final chance to tie. But Jordan Farmar forced a turnover on
Jackson's inbounds pass from midcourt and made a fast-break dunk on a
pass from Gasol with 4.5 seconds left.
Flip Murray made a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to trim the final margin.
The Lakers hadn't been home since
beating Orlando on Jan. 18. The defending champions went just 5-3 on
their East Coast trip, staying atop the Western Conference but
struggling against the demands of a schedule that includes four more
games in the next seven days.
Wallace, the first All-Star in
Bobcats history, strained his left hamstring late in their loss at
Portland on Monday night. He skipped Wednesday's shootaround, but
wasn't ruled out until game time, with Stephen Graham starting in his
place.
Bryant's eventful night began with a
standing ovation from a pregame ceremony in which Lakers great Jerry
West presented him with a game ball in recognition of Bryant's
ascension to the top of the Lakers' career scoring list. Bryant passed
West on Monday night during the Lakers' loss at Memphis.
Bryant went to the locker room with
12.5 seconds left in the first half after Odom stepped on his left foot
while both players reached for a loose ball. Bryant wasn't moving
easily even before that on his balky left ankle, struggling with his
shot and failing to score until a few minutes before the injury.
Notes
Los Angeles improved to 5-6
against Charlotte in the Bobcats' brief history. The Boston Celtics are
the only other NBA franchise with a winning record against the Lakers.
… The Bobcats will be back at Staples Center in 17 days to face the
Clippers. … Lakers G Derek Fisher made the 1,000th 3-pointer of his
career. … Courtside fans included Taylor Lautner, television host
Olivia Munn and Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine.