Lakers 102, Hornets 84

Kobe Bryant led the way with 30 points, and Pau Gasol added 23 and 16 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers rolled to their seventh consecutive victory, 102-84 over the visiting New Orleans Hornets on Sunday.

Andrew Bynum chipped in 13 points and Ron Artest finished with 11 for the Lakers (53-20), who improved to 15-1 since the All-Star break and pulled to within four games of the San Antonio Spurs (57-16) for first place in the Western Conference.

The Hornets (42-32) remained in seventh in the West, one-half game behind the Portland Trail Blazers (42-31) in sixth and a game ahead of the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies (41-33).

Los Angeles made its move in the first quarter on Sunday, closing the frame with an 11-2 burst to grab a 31-19 lead. The Lakers stretched it to 57-41 at the half behind 19 points from Bryant. They never looked back.

Carl Landry started his second straight game in place of the injured David West and led the Hornets with 24 points and 10 boards. Emeka Okafor added 14 an 11.
Final1st2nd3rd4thScore
Los Angeles LakersLakers30271728102
New Orleans PelicansPelicans1922222184
L.A. LakersNew Orleans
Pts:Kobe Bryant30Carl Landry24
Reb:Pau Gasol16Emeka Okafor11
Ast:Kobe Bryant5Chris Paul9
Season Series
Mar 27th 2011 New Orleans 84 @ L.A. Lakers 102
Feb 5th 2011 L.A. Lakers 101 @ New Orleans 95
Jan 7th 2011 New Orleans 97 @ L.A. Lakers 101
Dec 29th 2010 L.A. Lakers 103 @ New Orleans 88
L.A. LakersStatsNew Orleans
4-0Vs0-4
101.8Points / Game91.0
51.0Field Goal %43.7
29.73 Point %32.9
78.7Free Throw %83.6