Lakers beat Pistons 108-83 behind Gasol

[January 05, 2011]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Pau Gasol scored 21 points and the Los Angeles Lakers finally found a sub.-500 team they could beat easily, winning 108-83 against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

Kobe Bryant added 17 points, moving him past Dominique Wilkins into 10th on the NBA's career scoring list with 26,671. Andrew Bynum finished with 13 points after scoring eight of the Lakers' first 14 points of the game. Lamar Odom had 16.

Tracy McGrady and Greg Monroe scored 14 points each, and Tayshaun Prince added 12 for the Pistons, who lost their fifth straight to the Lakers and fell to 3-16 on the road.

The Lakers had lost four of their previous six, including three at home. They had mixed results against their last two sub.-500 opponents, barely beating Philadelphia 102-98 before losing to Memphis 104-85. Before that, they lost by 19 to Milwaukee and by 16 against Miami, both at home.

But they had an easier time against the Pistons, even if it took them an entire half to get going.

The Lakers took control in the third quarter after stumbling through a poor-shooting first half. Bryant was 4 of 15 with nine points at the break, after going 0 for 9 in the opening quarter. Ron Artest was 1 of 4 and Derek Fisher 0 for 2, leaving Gasol and Bynum with the biggest contributions.

Bryant keyed a 16-2 run to open the third with six points, hitting two free throws after going 1 of 4 from the line in the first half and finishing Artest's steal with a fast-break driving dunk. His driving layup sent him past Wilkins and extended the Lakers' lead to 61-44.

From there, the Lakers cruised to a 76-59 lead heading into the fourth, when they were similarly dominating at the start. Shannon Brown scored seven points in a 13-2 run that made it 89-61.

NOTES: The Lakers swept the Pistons for the second straight season, having won 103-90 at Detroit. ... The Pistons are 0 for 8 in the second game of back-to-backs. ... The Lakers are 5-2 in the first game of back-to-backs, with the second game coming Wednesday night in Phoenix. ... Tom Hanks made a rare courtside appearance, while David Beckham went solo.

[Associated Press; By BETH HARRIS]

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