Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Lamar Odom had 12 and 10 rebounds before leaving with an apparent arm injury as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers held on for a 99-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
Lakers center Andrew Bynum had 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and may need to pick it up if Odom, who was hurt in the fourth quarter, misses any time. It was Odom who moved into the starting lineup for Bynum while he recovered from offseason knee surgery.
The Lakers (25-11) bounced back from a 50-49 halftime deficit with a 14-5 run to open the third quarter for a 63-55 lead and maintained it throughout the second half.
Los Angeles has won consecutive games since losing four of six but still has some issues. The Lakers made just 6-of-23 3-pointers, including 1-of-10 from their reserves.
Reserve Jared Dudley led Phoenix (14-19) with 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Vince Carter scored 13, Marcin Gortat had 12 and Steve Nash had 11 with seven assists for the Suns, who have lost six of seven.
L.A. Lakers | Phoenix | |
Kobe Bryant 24 | Scoring | Jared Dudley 21 |
Pau Gasol 6 | Assists | Steve Nash 10 |
Lamar Odom 10 | Rebounds | Marcin Gortat 9 |
Shannon Brown 7 | Free Throws Made | Marcin Gortat 4 |
Derek Fisher 2 | Steals | Jared Dudley 2 |
Andrew Bynum 2 | Blocks | Marcin Gortat 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
L.A. Lakers | 99 | 47.1 | 6-23 | 13-20 | 20 | 47 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
Phoenix | 95 | 48.6 | 11-23 | 12-17 | 25 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 10 |