Recap: LA Lakers vs. Detroit

Sports Network | November 18, 2009

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 40 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists, as the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Detroit Pistons, 106-93, at Staples Center.

It was the 100th time in Bryant's career that he has scored 40-plus points in a game. And to top it off, Bryant was playing through a groin injury that he aggravated during Sunday's 101-91 loss against Houston.

Andrew Bynum poured in 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who avoided their first three-game skid since January 23-27, 2008. Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar chipped in 12 and 10 points off the bench, respectively, for Los Angeles, which improved its record to 8-3 on the season.

"We played a couple of good periods and we sustained the effort at the end. I was pleased with the ball movement and the way we played in the first course of the game," said Los Angeles head coach Phil Jackson.

Will Bynum made 9-of-12 shots on his way to 24 points and six assists for the Pistons, who opened a four-game road trip on Tuesday. Ben Gordon tallied 18 points while Jason Maxiell ended with 13 points and seven rebounds for Detroit, which has lost two in a row after a three-game winning streak.

"Kobe is a great player. He is very special and is an outstanding basketball player. He had it going and we tried to do a number of things. When he has that rhythm going he is very difficult to guard," said Detroit head coach John Kuester.

Trailing 95-78, Detroit went on a 13-3 run. Bynum made a pair of layups before Jonas Jerebko capped the burst with a free throw to cut the gap to 98-91 with less than two minutes to go.

Brown responded with three free throws and a dunk to seal the victory for Los Angeles.

The Lakers led 23-22 after 12 minutes of play. Ahead 37-34 midway through the second, Los Angeles went on a 15-4 run. Bryant had nine points during the flurry, including a jumper to make it 52-38 with about two minutes left in the half.

A Lamar Odom trey put the Lakers ahead 57-42 at the break.

Los Angeles took control early in the third period. Up 61-47, the Lakers put together a 16-2 spurt. Bryant and Bynum combined to score all but two of the points during the run, and Bynum's layup with 5:05 remaining made it 77-49.

The Lakers held an 88-63 margin heading to the fourth.

Detroit started the final quarter with a 15-3 spurt. Brown had six points during the stretch, including a tip-in to bring the Pistons within 91-78 with 7:41 left.

Both teams shot 47.2 percent from the field...LA outrebounded the Pistons, 44-32...These two teams spilt the two-game season series a year ago with each winning on the road...The Pistons travel to Portland Wednesday, while the Lakers welcome Chicago to town on Thursday.