SAN ANTONIO — Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol had 21 and the Los Angeles Lakers embarrassed the NBA-best San Antonio Spurs for their seventh consecutive victory, 99-83 on Sunday.
What was billed as a potential Western Conference finals preview was a blowout from the start. And the Lakers likely relished this rout after losing twice to the Spurs, including on Antonio McDyess' memorable buzzer tip-in last month.
Tony Parker led the Spurs with 14 points. He was their only starter in double figures.
The Lakers trail the Spurs by 6 1/2 games in the West, and coach Phil Jackson conceded before tipoff it was unlikely they'd catch up. But they can take satisfaction in emphatically ending San Antonio's franchise-record home win streak at 22 games.
The last Spurs loss at the AT&T Center had been to Dallas on Nov. 26.
But that game wasn't anything like this.
Two days after San Antonio humiliated LeBron James and Miami in a 30-point blowout, the Spurs took their own lumps. The NBA's sixth-highest scoring team mustered just 37 points in the first half — matching a season low — and shot 36 percent from the floor.
Tim Duncan had two points on 1-of-7 shooting. Manu Ginobili had six points and was 3-for-10. Parker shot 6-for-14.
And it could've been worse. The Lakers led by as many as 32 in third quarter before the Spurs threw in the towel and emptied their bench.
Bryant also didn't have much reason to remain on the floor by then. He finished 12-for 25-and had seven rebounds. His only blemish was a technical foul in the second quarter after getting tangled up with Ginobili, leading to a brief exchange of stares and words.
Ron Artest rushed between the two and pulled Bryant away. It is officially tallied as Bryant's 14th technical foul this season, though the Lakers believe that total doesn't subtract one that was later rescinded. The NBA issues a one-game suspension after 16 technical fouls.
Andrew Bynum had 17 rebounds for the Lakers, who can match their longest win streak of the season with a victory at Atlanta on Tuesday.
It's part of perhaps the toughest stretch this season for the Lakers, who are still out to prove they're the NBA's best despite trailing the Spurs all season. The Lakers will also play at Miami and at Dallas before coming home to face Orlando on March 14.
By the time the Magic leave Los Angeles, the Lakers will have faced four of the NBA's top seven teams in a span of eight days.
The last time the Spurs and Lakers met was in Los Angeles on Feb. 3, when the Spurs won 89-88 on McDyess' stunning tip-in as time expired. Jackson had his video staff pull that clip before this one and remind his team of a game Jackson said they should've won.
It apparently worked.
Gary Neal scored 15 points and George Hill added 14 for the Spurs.
Derek Fisher scored eight points and remained in the starting lineup after being listed as probable going into the game because of a strained right elbow.