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Bryant's 25 helps Lakers beat Clippers
Kobe Bryant scored 25 points and the Los Angeles Lakers got major contributions from their ever-improving reserves Friday night, beating the Clippers 113-102 in a preseason game.
Tierre Brown scored 18, and Brian Cook and Tony Bobbitt each added 13 for the Lakers as Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy again had to mix and match without the injured Elton Brand and Kerry Kittles. Lakers center Chris Mihm was ejected by referee Rodney Mott with 2:46 left in the third quarter and the Lakers ahead 77-69. Mihm was called for his fifth foul on Maggette's attempted driving layup, then argued strongly that Maggette lost control of the ball before contact was made. Lamar Odom shifted from forward to center for the rest of the game against his old team and drew Mikki Moore's sixth foul early in the fourth with the Lakers leading by 12. The Lakers put it away with a 16-6 run during a 3 1/2-minute span after Bryant left the game with 9:28 remaining. The Lakers' reserves had 35 points in the first half, complementing Bryant's 13-point effort and helping build a 61-53 halftime lead. Clippers forward Bobby Simmons, coming off the bench for the first time in the preseason after starting the first four games, missed his first seven shots before hitting a short jumper with 2:04 left in the half. Odom had 13 points on 3-for-11 shooting, and is just 14-for-50 through the first five games. Clippers forward Terrence Morris blocked Odom's driving layup with 5:55 left in second quarter, just 46 seconds after Moore made a perfectly-timed rejection from behind of Odom's jumper in the lane. It may have been a preseason game, but Staples Center tennants went at each other from the start as if a playoff berth hung in the balance. A combined 21 fouls were called in the first quarter, one of them drawing a few choice words from Bryant — and earning him a technical foul from referee Greg Willard. The Lakers scored the first 10 points before the Clippers responded with a 29-13 run. The Lakers had to overcome an eight-point deficit before regaining the lead for good, 49-47, with two free throws by Bobbitt. Lakers forward Caron Butler partially tore the tendon in his right pinky in the second quarter. The Lakers also played without Slava Medvedenko (sore right heel), Vlade
Divac (herniated disk in his back), Luke Walton (sprained left ankle), Kareem
Rush (sprained right foot) and Devean George, who is recovering from surgery on
his left ankle. |
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