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 Andrew Bynum, ejected from last Thursday's win over San Antonio after a couple of run-ins with Spurs center Fabricio Oberto, channeled his aggression in a constructive manner with 14 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots in his anticipated matchup against Chris Kaman.
Luke Walton scored a season-high 15 points for the Lakers, shooting 6-for-6 from the field. Lamar Odom had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Kaman recorded his ninth straight double-double and 19th overall this season for the Clippers, getting 18 points and 16 rebounds. Corey Maggette added 27 points, including a desperation buzzer-beater from behind the midcourt line that capped his 21-point third quarter and sliced the Lakers' lead to 82-76.
Already missing Elton Brand (Achilles' tendon surgery) and Shaun Livingston (knee surgery) since the start of training camp, the Clippers were even more short-handed than usual as small forward Tim Thomas sat out his first game of the season with a sprained right ankle. Point guard Sam Cassell missed his 10th straight game because of a strained left calf.
Maggette, coming off consecutive 23-point efforts on the road against Charlotte and Memphis, had only one field goal in the first half
-- a 10-footer with 2:09 left in the second quarter. But that was long forgotten when he flung the ball at the basket with one hand over Trevor Ariza from 48 feet away and it banked in.
The Lakers shrugged off Maggette's miracle shot and opened the final quarter with a 22-6 burst that gave them a 104-82 lead with 4:56 remaining. Vujacic, who played 7 1/2 minutes through the first three quarters, helped fuel the decisive run with 11 points
-- including a pair of 3s.
Bryant, who scored 50 points against the Clippers in their final meeting last season, paced the Lakers to a 57-44 halftime lead with 18. He sank three free throws with one second remaining in the half after he was fouled behind the 3-point line by rookie Al Thornton.
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Bynum established his low-post presence right from the start as the Lakers jumped out to an 18-point lead late in the first quarter with a 21-3 run, which included Bryant's first 11 points
-- and an airball at the other end by the Clippers' Maggette from behind the 3-point line.
Kaman missed seven of his first eight shots, one of which Bynum blocked before converting his defensive stop into a short hook shot at the other end. The Lakers' vastly improving 7-foot center added an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Derek Fisher 38 seconds later, then duplicated the play off a rainbow pass from Jordan Farmar for a 75-58 lead with 5:24 left in the third quarter.
Notes: Bryant is 78 points away from becoming the 31st player in NBA history with 20,000 in the regular season. ... The Lakers hold a 24-9 advantage over their Staples Center co-tenants since the building opened in 1999. The teams split each of the previous three season series 2-2. ... Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw, who underwent surgery to treat retinopathy in his left eye, returned to the bench after missing two games. He has to wear sunglasses for the time being to combat the bright lights in the arena. ... Neither L.A. team has had a double-digit assist game from any of their players this season. The Clippers' drought is 50 games, dating back to Feb. 24, 2007, when Livingston had 14 assists against Golden State in a 103-90 win at Los Angeles. ... F Kwame Brown, sidelined by a sprained ankle and sprained knee, still hasn't been able to practice with the Lakers and will not accompany them on their three-game trip to Chicago, Cleveland and New York. ... When Ronny Turiaf came off the Lakers bench for the first time with less than 2 1/2 minutes left, it put three Gonzaga alumni on the floor at the same time
-- including Dan Dickau and Richie Frahm of the Clippers.
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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