Bryant has 20 points, Lakers beat Raptors 120-110

[December 20, 2010]  TORONTO (AP) -- Kobe Bryant scored 20 points, Pau Gasol had 19 and the Los Angeles Lakers won their fifth straight game Sunday, beating the Toronto Raptors 120-110.

Andrew Bynum had 16 points and Shannon Brown 14 for the Lakers, who finished a seven-game road trip at 6-1 and have won eight of nine overall.

Matt Barnes had 12 and Lamar Odom 11 for the Lakers, who have won seven of eight against the Raptors.

Los Angeles is 11-5 away from home, the most road wins in the NBA.

Bryant started despite a sprained right pinky that he hurt in the opening quarter of Friday's win at Philadelphia.

Toronto's Linas Kleiza matched his season-high with 26 points and had 10 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points while Jose Calderon had 20 points and 12 assists.

Amir Johnson scored 12 of his 14 points in the first quarter but was hampered by a sore back for the rest of the game. Leandro Barbosa scored 11 for the Raptors, who have lost seven of nine.

Up 86-79 to start the fourth, the Lakers pushed their lead to 13, 99-86, on a jumper by Brown with 8:16 remaining. Toronto answered with a 9-2 run, cutting it to 101-95 on a 3-pointer by Kleiza with 6:28 left. But Bynum made a jumper in the lane and Steve Blake hit a 3 as Los Angeles restored its double-digit advantage.

Toronto's Andrea Bargnani, who scored 32 points in Friday's win over New Jersey, was held out of the lineup for the second time in three games, this time with a sore right ankle. Bargnani missed last Wednesday's loss to Chicago with a sore left knee.

Johnson made all six shots he took in the first as the Raptors led 34-28 after one quarter.

Toronto struggled with its shooting in the second, hitting just 3 of 18. Odom and Luke Walton each scored six points as the Lakers outscored the Raptors 29-15 to take a 57-49 lead at the half.

DeRozan scored 19 points in the third and Barbosa stole Walton's pass, then made a halfcourt 3-pointer at the buzzer, but Toronto could only shave one point off its deficit as Los Angeles took an 86-79 lead into the fourth.

NOTES: DeRozan went 11 for 11 at the free throw line. ... The Lakers outrebounded the Raptors 46-35. ... Toronto's Sonny Weems (sore back) sat out for the second straight game. ... Raptors center Solomon Alabi made his season debut. ... The previous three games between the teams were all decided by five points or fewer.

[Associated Press]

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