Lakers 107, Hornets 104

April 11th, 2008, 10:02 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Curtis Zupke, Staff writer

By CURTIS ZUPKE

The Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES - Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and Pau Gasol added 25 as the Lakers defeated New Orleans, 107-104, on Friday night at Staples Center.

The Lakers clinched the Pacific Division title and home-court advantage in the playoffs after Phoenix lost to Houston. They moved to 1/2 a game behind New Orleans in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.

Bryant outdueled Chris Paul in the MVP showdown. He nearly got a triple double with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Paul got into foul trouble and finished with 15 points and 17 assists.

The Hornets came back from 30 points down late in the second half and closed to one point with 3:50 remaining and could not finish the rally.

The Lakers took a 65-45 lead into halftime. Bryant and Gasol each scored 15 points. Bryant’s jumper made it 63-33 with 3:44 remaining.

Paul didn’t score his first point until he made a free throw with 6:49 remaining in the first half.

New Orleans opened the third quarter on a 14-4 run and got to four points twice. The Hornets shot 63.6 percent to the Lakers’ 31.3 percent in the third.

The Lakers matched a season-high with 39 points in the first quarter.

NOTES

Trevor Ariza’s foot is progressing but a diagnostic test revealed it is not fully healed. There is no timetable for his return.

Ariza was cleared to run on 80 percent of his body weight on the club’s weight-resistant treadmill and is expected to go to 90 percent next week. …

Bynum met reporters before the game and did not give a good report on his limitations.

“Jumping, running, backpedaling and quick change of directions are still a problem,” he said.

Bynum did not have a target date.

San Antonio at Lakers, Sunday, 12:30 p.m.; Ch.7, KLAC/570

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