Bynum nets 42 in Lakers' win
Kobe Bryant got his second triple-double in three games, but teammate Andrew Bynum stole the show.
Bynum scored a career-high 42 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 108-97 win over the Clippers on Wednesday night.
"It feels very good, to go out there and play the way I did," the 21-year-old center said. "I was able to get a lot of easy buckets. Kobe was Kobe Nash out there tonight. The ball was coming my way a lot. I was able to just get a lot of touches and get comfortable."
Bynum became the first Lakers player to reach 40 points other than Bryant since Shaquille O'Neal scored 48 against Boston on March 21, 2003. Bynum shot 17-of-24 from the floor and added 15 rebounds and four blocked shots.
"I didn't know how many (points) I had, and that's just the truth," he said. "The fans were yelling for me to get 40. And then once I got the dunk, everybody was on their feet cheering."
Bynum may have said he wasn't aware of his total, but Bryant certainly was, making several pointed efforts to get his center the ball. With Bryant consistently feeding Bynum down the stretch, the Clippers cut a 16-point lead to seven — but that's as close as they would get.
"There's nothing wrong with that," Bryant said with a smile.
The Lakers improved to a Western Conference-best 33-8 at the halfway point of the season and earned Phil Jackson an All-Star coaching spot for the Feb. 15 showcase in Phoenix.
Cavaliers 104, Trail Blazers 98At Portland, Ore., LeBron James had 34 points and 14 assists and Mo Williams added a season-high 33 points, including a career-high six 3-pointers, for Cleveland.Pistons 95, Raptors 76At Auburn Hills, Mich., Tayshaun Prince scored 12 of his 25 points in the third quarter to help Detroit pull away.Celtics 98, Heat 83At Miami, Eddie House scored 20 points in the second quarter — more than his season high — and finished with 25 as Boston won its sixth straight.Rockets 108, Jazz 99At Houston, Yao Ming had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Rafer Alston scored 23 in Houston's sixth win in seven games.Thunder 122, Warriors 121At Oakland, Calif., Jeff Green hit a turnaround jumper at the buzzer and scored 26 points to lift Oklahoma City.Jamal Crawford scored with 1.6 seconds left to put the Warriors in front.
