Kobe Leaves; Lakers Still Win
Los Angeles 101, Indiana 87
Los Angeles, Dec. 4 (AP) -- Kobe Bryant scored 21 points before leaving with a sprained ankle, and the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 101-87 on Monday night.
Bryant got an offensive rebound and missed an off-balance shot before landing on Indiana center Jeff Foster's right foot early in the third quarter. Bryant was helped off the court before walking to the dressing room without assistance.
Bryant came back to the bench a couple minutes later, but didn't return to the game. As he sat on the bench, he tested his ankle and then used a large elastic band to keep it loose. He didn't ice it and didn't seem to be in pain.
Kwame Brown scored 17 points for the Lakers and Lamar Odom had 15 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with 1:46 remaining.
Jermaine O'Neal led Indiana with 18 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 1:55 left. Sarunas Jasikevicius added 16 points and Danny Granger scored 15 for the Pacers.
The Lakers shot 51.3 percent to Indiana's 43.3 percent, and outrebounded the Pacers 41-28.
The win was the third straight for the Lakers, while the Pacers dropped their third in a row in the finale of a six-game road trip.
The Lakers led 60-44 at halftime, 65-46 when Bryant left and by as many as 22 points later in the third quarter before six straight points by Granger and a basket by Jasikevicius made it 85-75 early in the final period.
Neither team scored for more than three minutes until layups by Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic extended the Lakers' lead to 14 points with 5:18 left.
The Pacers battled back, getting three straight baskets from O'Neal to make it 90-83 with 3:11 remaining. But that was as close as they would get. Three baskets by Brown and a three-point play by Smush Parker put the game away.
Maceo Baston, who entered with seven points this season, scored the first seven of the second quarter, enabling Indiana to cut a 14-point deficit in half. But Bryant scored 10 points in a 20-4 run by the Lakers for a 60-37 lead. The Pacers then scored the next seven points to draw within 16 at halftime.
Notes: The Lakers are 11-0 against the Pacers at Staples Center including three wins in the 2000 NBA Finals since the facility opened in 1999. ... The Pacers are 5-8 in an NBA-high 13 road games this season. ... The Lakers have played 12 home games - second-most in the league behind Golden State's 13. ``It's OK,'' coach Phil Jackson said of a schedule that has the Lakers playing 15 of their first 20 games at home. ``Ask me at the end of February, before the All-Star game, after we catch up.'' ... The Pacers (9-10) haven't won more than two in a row or lost more than three straight this season. ... Both of the Lakers' losses at home have come to Eastern Conference teams - Detroit and Milwaukee. ... Lakers F-C Brian Cook came down with a case of vertigo Monday, causing him to miss his sixth straight game. ... Former Pacers star Reggie Miller, the 12th-leading scorer in NBA history, watched the game from a courtside seat. ... Baston finished with a career-high 10 points - all in the first half.
Game #17 (12/4): Indiana Pacers @ Los Angeles Lakers
