Lakers 106, Hornets 90
Kobe Bryant shook off a sprained left ankle to score 19 points and lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 106-90 victory over the visiting New Orleans Hornets in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series Tuesday night.
Bryant sprained his ankle in Sunday's Game 4 loss and refused to have an MRI or X-rays. He did receive treatment and started slowly, scoring just one point in the first period as the second-seeded Lakers fell into a 32--23 hole.
But Bryant came alive in the second quarter, scoring 12 points, including a thunderous soaring dunk over Hornets center Emeka Okafor. The Lakers surged to a 54-51 halftime lead.
The Lakers seemed to feed off Bryant, getting solid contributions from all five starters. Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 10 rebounds and fellow big man Pau Gasol added 16 and seven in his best game of the series.
Los Angeles opened the third quarter with five baskets - one by each starter - to open a 65-55 lead.
The Lakers outrebounded the Hornets 42-25 and salted away the victory with 17 fourth-quarter free throws.
Derek Fisher and sixth man Lamar Odom scored 13 points apiece and Ron Artest had 11 for the two-time defending champion Lakers, who can close out the series Thursday night in New Orleans.
Trevor Ariza scored 22 points and Marco Belinelli added 21 for the seventh-seeded Hornets, who committed 19 turnovers. Chris Paul had 20 points and 12 assists.