LOS ANGELES Kobe Bryant scored 24 points, hitting 14 of 15 free throws, and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away with a dominating third-quarter run for a 122-99 victory over the Indiana Pacers

LOS ANGELES Kobe Bryant scored 24 points, hitting 14 of 15 free throws, and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away with a dominating third-quarter run for a 122-99 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.Andrew Bynum added 16 points and Pau Gasol had 14 points and 16 rebounds for the defending NBA champions, who fell behind early before improving to 14-0 against the Pacers at Staples Center.Jordan Farmar scored 19 points, including 10 in the fourth when he ran the offense while Bryant rested his myriad of injuries.The Lakers won their third in a row heading into a stretch of three road games in four days, capped by Sunday’s contest at Orlando.

Troy Murphy had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Dahntay Jones scored 16 points, Josh McRoberts had 15 and Earl Watson finished with 10 assists for the Pacers. They dropped to 7-24 on the road and have lost eight of their last 10 overall.

Bryant nearly matched his career average of 24.9 points against Indiana, though most of his offense came at the line. He was just 5 of 14 from the field, missing all four of his 3-point attempts.Bryant hit a 21-foot fadeaway to beat the halftime buzzer, keeping Los Angeles ahead 60-54.That momentum carried into the third, when the Pacers closed to 62-61 before the Lakers took over. They went on a 35-10 run that produced a 98-71 lead heading into the fourth.Derek Fisher’s 3-pointer gave the Lakers the game’s first double-digit lead, 75-65. Ron Artest and Lamar Odom hit consecutive 3-pointers, then Shannon Brown made two straight 3s before Farmar capped the burst with a fast-break slam dunk.

The Pacers dissolved in a series of miscues, with their seven turnovers leading to 10 points. Bynum and Brown came up with big blocked shots, too. Indiana’s offense broke down, with the Pacers making 7-of-20 shots in the quarter.Fans began pouring out of Staples with nearly 6 minutes remaining. During a timeout, Odom and Gasol gazed at the overhead scoreboard checking out other NBA scores. Bryant spent the rest of the game on the bench along with the other starters.After trailing most of the opening quarter, the Lakers got a boost from Brown, Farmar and Adam Morrison in the second. Their early scoring put the Lakers back in front, and Gasol and Bryant kept them there with eight points apiece.Still, the Pacers were better at the line and from 3-point range in the first half, with Murphy already exceeding his scoring average by the break.

NOTES: The Pacers haven’t beaten the Lakers in Los Angeles since Feb. 14, 1999, when the Lakers still played at the Forum. … The Lakers’ 14-0 mark at Staples includes three playoff wins against Indiana Los Angeles reached 100 points for the first time since defeating Golden State 104-94 on Feb. 16.(AP)

Los Angeles Lakers vs Sacramento Kings 92-85

Kobe Bryant and Jason Thompson

SACRAMENTO, Calif.  Kobe Bryant scored 38 points and the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a humbling Christmas Day loss to Cleveland by beating the Sacramento Kings 112-103 on Saturday night in double overtime.After Lamar Odom opened the second overtime with a putback basket, Bryant connected on a pair of 3-pointers to put the Lakers in front 109-103 with 2:37 left. Los Angeles outscored the Kings 11-2 in the second OT.Beno Udrih scored 23 points for the Kings, who held the Lakers scoreless in the final 3:35 of the fourth quarter to force overtime. Tyreke Evans had 18 points, Donte Greene had 16 and Omri Casspi added 15 points and 10 rebounds.Pau Gasol had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who avoided losing consecutive games for the second time this season. Shannon Brown scored 15 points and Odom had 13 points and 15 rebounds.The Lakers lost 102-87 to Cleveland on Friday before a national TV audience and are in a stretch of four games in five days, concluding Tuesday at home against Golden State. They played without starting forward Ron Artest, who the team said suffered a concussion on Christmas evening, falling while carrying boxes down a flight of stairs and injuring his left elbow at his Los Angeles home.

Artest was treated at UCLA Medical Center, undergoing a CT scan and receiving stitches in the back of his head and his elbow. The team said a neurologist examined Artest on Saturday. He is day to day and didn’t travel with the team on its Saturday flight to Sacramento.The youthful Kings were stagnant on offense late in the first overtime and it carried over into the second, when their only basket was a driving layup by Evans with 3:01 remaining. The Kings lost a game earlier in the week against Cleveland when they were outscored 13-0 in overtime.After the Kings scored the first seven points in the first overtime, they went scoreless over the final 2:40 as the Lakers rallied. Gasol tipped in a missed shot by Derek Fisher from close range, tying the game at 101 with .04 seconds left.

The victory moved the Lakers (24-5) past idle Boston for the best record in the NBA.Seemingly bothered by a sore right arm, Bryant missed all four shots in the fourth quarter, when he began passing and shooting with his left. Yet Bryant did slap the ball away Evans in the closing seconds as the Kings never got a shot off, forcing overtime with a 94-all tie.

Bryant was his usual self offensively, but it was Brown helping the Lakers pull away in the fourth quarter. Brown scored eight points over a two-minute stretch, his three-point play putting Los Angeles ahead 92-85 with 4:23 remaining.An enthusiastic crowd, only the second sellout of the season, loudly booed the Lakers when starting lineups were announced and began chanting “Beat LA!” It was reminiscent of the crowds that cheered the Kings in the Chris Webber era, when Sacramento was typically battling the Lakers for supremacy in the Western Conference.Despite Bryant making his first five shots and scoring 16 points in the third quarter, the Kings would not back down. It took a late 3-pointer and a breakaway dunk by Bryant in the final 1:04 to pull the Lakers even at 78 heading into the fourth.

Udrih capped off a highly productive first half by dribbling past Bryant and hitting a 3-pointer with a second left to give Sacramento a 57-55 lead. Making a rare start, Udrih scored 13 points and Greene had 11 for the Kings. Bryant had 14 points and Gasol added 12 for the Lakers, who shot 55 percent.

NOTES: Greene took an elbow from Andrew Bynum in the second quarter that opened a cut on his chin that required six stitches. Greene returned to start the second half. The teams meet again New Year’s Day in Los Angeles. New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia watched the game from courtside seats.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder 111-108

Kobe Bryant vs Thabo Sefolosha

LOS ANGELES Kobe Bryant scored 40 points for the sixth time this season, and the NBA-leading Los Angeles Lakers shook off a rough first half before hanging on for their 16th victory in 17 games, 111-108 over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.Pau Gasol had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the road-weary Lakers, who needed two last-minute free throws apiece from Bryant and Derek Fisher to win their first game back from a five-game road trip.

After trailing by 12 in the first half, Los Angeles blew most of an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. Baskets by Russell Westbrook and James Harden twice cut the Lakers’ lead to one in the final 25 seconds, but Bryant and Fisher sealed Los Angeles’ 12th straight win over Oklahoma City.

Kevin Durant scored 30 points before fouling out with 1:31 to play, and former UCLA star Westbrook had 21 points and 13 assists for the Thunder, who dropped back below .500 with their fifth loss in six games. Despite a strong start and finish at Staples Center, the Thunder haven’t beaten the Lakers since they were the Seattle SuperSonics.

Thabo Sefolosha scored 16 points for the Thunder, but just three after halftime – and the guard missed an open 3-point attempt to tie it in the final two minutes.Fisher’s season high-tying 15 points included two free throws with 14.9 seconds left, followed by a missed 3-point attempt by Westbrook.

Playing at home for the first time since breaking his right index finger in a game against Minnesota, Bryant had another injury scare when he landed awkwardly on his left knee while putting up a backward layup with 5:08 to play. Bryant stayed down on the court for several moments, but shot his own free throws after a timeout – only to take an elbow to the jaw from Westbrook with 3:55 left.

Bryant persevered, drawing Durant’s sixth foul before hitting two free throws with 19.5 seconds left in the 102nd 40-point game of his career.The Lakers returned home after winning the last four games of their first big road trip in a season that began with 17 of their first 21 games at Staples Center. Los Angeles has five more home games in the next two weeks, including a Christmas meeting with Cleveland and a New Year’s Day visit from Sacramento.

The Lakers very much resembled a team returning from a long trip in the first half, falling behind by double digits early in the second quarter with poor shooting and indifferent play by Ron Artest, who missed a rebound layup attempt when he inexplicably shot it flat-footed.

Durant and Westbrook led the Thunder to a 61-54 halftime lead. Bryant scored 18 points in the first half, but his fellow starters managed just eight field goals – including none for Andrew Bynum, who went 0 for 5.Los Angeles made a 13-4 run to open the third quarter, taking the lead on Fisher’s 3-pointer.

NOTES: The Lakers have won seven straight home games against Oklahoma City, and 11 straight home games overall. … Westbrook got a technical foul in the third quarter for throwing the ball at the basket standard in frustration. … Courtside fans included actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, designer Diane Von Furstenburg and husband Barry Diller, and figure skater Michelle Kwan.

LOS ANGELES lakers vs Utah Jazz 101-77

Kobe Bryant

LOS ANGELES Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, Pau Gasol had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers rolled off 19 consecutive points in the fourth quarter of their 10th straight victory, 101-77 over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.Ron Artest scored 17 points for the Lakers, who improved to an NBA-best 17-3 by holding the Jazz to six points and two field goals in a comically one-sided fourth quarter.
After leading by just two points entering the fourth, Los Angeles held the Jazz scoreless for more than six minutes while getting points from five players.

Deron Williams scored 17 points for the Jazz, who couldn’t manage a field goal in the first 7:25 of the final period of their 13th consecutive loss to the Lakers at Staples Center, counting six losses in the past two playoffs.

Mehmet Okur and C.J. Miles scored 14 points apiece for Utah, which managed just two field goals in the fourth quarter on 2-for-18 shooting.

Andrew Bynum scored 14 points for Los Angeles, which forced two shot clock violations by the Jazz during that fourth quarter stretch while getting eight points from Jordan Farmar, the inconsistent backup guard. Williams’ jumper with 4:35 to play was the Jazz’s first field goal of the period, and they didn’t get another until Miles’ basket in the final minute.

Carlos Boozer had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, failing to score at least 21 points for the first time in nine games. Utah, which hasn’t beaten the Lakers at Staples Center since Jan. 1, 2006, rebounded from a loss to lowly Minnesota with a win over San Antonio on Monday, but its fourth-quarter woes in Los Angeles led to just the Jazz’s third loss in 11 games.

Los Angeles’ winning streak is its longest in a single season since winning 10 straight in February 2008.

Bryant played after skipping the morning shootaround, telling the Lakers he was shaken up after a home-invasion robbery occurred in his family’s gated community in Orange County last night, leading to a police standoff.

The Lakers are one game away from completing an undefeated six-game homestand, which concludes Friday with a visit from Minnesota. Los Angeles’ lofty record is little surprise after an exceptionally generous schedule featuring 17 of its first 21 games at home, but the Lakers are on the road for all but nine of the following next 28 games.

Most of the Lakers’ victories have been easy, with the notable exception of last Friday’s one-point win over Miami on Bryant’s self-acknowledged lucky 3-pointer at the buzzer. Coach Phil Jackson felt a few close games would help his team’s late-game execution later on, and they got another test of their tenacity against Utah – until the fourth quarter, that is.

Los Angeles had been outstanding in the middle two periods during its winning streak, repeatedly pulling away from its opponents to render the fourth quarter fairly meaningless. But Utah took the lead in the second quarter and held it largely through superior offensive rebounding until late in the third, when Bryant and Lamar Odom shook the Lakers from their slumber.

NOTES: The teams meet again on Saturday in Salt Lake City. … Longtime Lakers player and assistant coach Kurt Rambis will face the Lakers on Friday night for the first time since taking over the Timberwolves. … Denzel Washington, Jack Black, Emmanuelle Chriqui and poker players Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth were at courtside.