NBA Game Summary - New Orleans/Oklahoma City at LA Lakers

Los Angeles, CA (Basketball News) - Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and grabbed five rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers handed the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets a 105-94 defeat at Staples Center.

Lamar Odom added 23 points and eight boards while much maligned Kwame Brown enjoyed a good evening for a change as he scored 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting for the Lakers, who have now won their last four contests.

"I try to stay focused and I’ve done what they ask me to do," said Brown. "If Phil wants we to play defense I will, if Phil wants me to score I will. I’m just looking foreword to playing in the playoffs."

David West scored 23 points and snatched 10 boards while Chris Paul dropped 17 points and P.J. Brown added 13 for the Hornets, who have now lost 11 of their last 12 games and find themselves two games behind Sacramento for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"We go from scoring 60 points in the first half to only scoring 34 points in the second half," said West. "We let them dictate how we were going to play."

Los Angeles put the game away over the final 12 minutes as Luke Walton found Devean George under the basket for a layup midway through the final frame to put LA up 13. Odom followed with a pair of freebies to put the Lakers up 15, 95-80.

Paul hit two free-throws to pull the Hornets to within eight with 1:19 to play, but the Hornets came up empty their next two possessions and the Lakers were able to hit eight foul shots down the stretch to ice the game.

After falling behind 21-13 midway through the first quarter, the Lakers scored the next 10 points to take the lead. Bryant scored six of the ten points during the spurt. The Hornets led 29-28 after 12 minutes of play.

The second quarter was tight throughout, with the Hornets enjoying the largest lead of the frame at six, 47-41, following a Brown layup. Odom ended the half with a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 62-60 edge at the break.

The Lakers extended their lead to eight points through three quarters of play as Odom connected on a pair of free-throws to give the Lakers an 83-75 advantage heading into the final quarter.