LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant scored 28 points, Shannon Brown added 15 and the Los Angeles Lakers thrived again without their top two big men, beating the New Orleans Hornets 104-88 Sunday night.
DJ Mbenga had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the defending NBA champions, who easily won their fifth straight game and their second in a row without injured center Andrew Bynum and forward Pau Gasol.
Bryant scored all but two of his points before halftime, repeatedly capitalizing down low with ease against Devin Brown's defense. Los Angeles opened a 27-point lead in the third quarter and coasted to a 6-1 start.
Chris Paul had 15 points and nine assists for the Hornets, who made just 36.5 percent of their shots while opening a three-game West Coast road trip with their fourth loss in five games.
Bynum's strained right elbow has sidelined him for the past two games, while Gasol's strained right hamstring has kept him out since the preseason. Both will have three more days to heal before Thursday's visit from surprising Phoenix, the early Pacific Division co-leaders with Los Angeles.
LIVETVNOW.TK Headline Animator
Strikeforce - Fedor vs Rogers november 7 2009 MMA Fedor’s legend grows with KO win
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Fedor Emelianenko rarely shows emotion before or after his fights, and certainly not during them.
He was true to form on Saturday at the Sears Centre, when he impassively walked to the cage amid a raucous ovation, knocked out Brett Rogers in mixed martial arts’ return to network television in the U.S., and then looked as if he were about to fall asleep at a post-fight news conference.
To the imposing-looking Rogers, who suffered the first defeat of his career when he was knocked down by a crunching right from Emelianenko and finished on the ground at one minute, 48 seconds of the second round, that is the secret to the Russian’s success.
“What threw me off was how loose he was,” Rogers said after the torrid bout on CBS that had the sellout crowd roaring from start to finish. “He was very loose and that threw me off.”
He was true to form on Saturday at the Sears Centre, when he impassively walked to the cage amid a raucous ovation, knocked out Brett Rogers in mixed martial arts’ return to network television in the U.S., and then looked as if he were about to fall asleep at a post-fight news conference.
To the imposing-looking Rogers, who suffered the first defeat of his career when he was knocked down by a crunching right from Emelianenko and finished on the ground at one minute, 48 seconds of the second round, that is the secret to the Russian’s success.
“What threw me off was how loose he was,” Rogers said after the torrid bout on CBS that had the sellout crowd roaring from start to finish. “He was very loose and that threw me off.”
Orlando Magic vs Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando (5-1) at Oklahoma City (2-3)
Stan Van Gundy isn’t satisfied with the Orlando Magic’s defense, but that hasn’t kept the defending Eastern Conference champions from getting off to an impressive start.
Dwight Howard(notes) and Orlando’s hot shooting have helped offset a suspension to Rashard Lewis(notes), and the high-scoring Magic may get Vince Carter(notes) back Sunday at the Ford Center as they seek an eighth straight victory over the Oklahoma Thunder franchise.
The Magic (5-1) are without Lewis, suspended 10 games for an elevated testosterone level, and have only had Carter available for three games as he deals with a sprained left ankle, but they’re still scoring 108.7 points per game.
That effective offense has been largely thanks to the NBA’s reigning defensive player of the year. Howard leads the East in field-goal percentage (67.8) and he’s helped draw plenty of defenders to kick the ball out to Orlando’s shooters, who connect on a league-high 11.5 3-pointers per game.
Howard and his coach, though, have been less than thrilled with the team’s defense. The Magic are among the worst in the league in forcing turnovers at 12.2 per game, they’ve already allowed four opponents to score 100 points and they rank among the bottom third in the NBA in opponents’ field-goal percentage at 46.0.
“We haven’t played good enough defense to be a great team,” Howard said. “We have to try and be great every night, and that’s just not happening yet.”
Orlando allowed Detroit to shoot 51.4 percent and score 35 fourth-quarter points Friday but held on for a 110-103 wi
Stan Van Gundy isn’t satisfied with the Orlando Magic’s defense, but that hasn’t kept the defending Eastern Conference champions from getting off to an impressive start.
Dwight Howard(notes) and Orlando’s hot shooting have helped offset a suspension to Rashard Lewis(notes), and the high-scoring Magic may get Vince Carter(notes) back Sunday at the Ford Center as they seek an eighth straight victory over the Oklahoma Thunder franchise.
The Magic (5-1) are without Lewis, suspended 10 games for an elevated testosterone level, and have only had Carter available for three games as he deals with a sprained left ankle, but they’re still scoring 108.7 points per game.
That effective offense has been largely thanks to the NBA’s reigning defensive player of the year. Howard leads the East in field-goal percentage (67.8) and he’s helped draw plenty of defenders to kick the ball out to Orlando’s shooters, who connect on a league-high 11.5 3-pointers per game.
Howard and his coach, though, have been less than thrilled with the team’s defense. The Magic are among the worst in the league in forcing turnovers at 12.2 per game, they’ve already allowed four opponents to score 100 points and they rank among the bottom third in the NBA in opponents’ field-goal percentage at 46.0.
“We haven’t played good enough defense to be a great team,” Howard said. “We have to try and be great every night, and that’s just not happening yet.”
Orlando allowed Detroit to shoot 51.4 percent and score 35 fourth-quarter points Friday but held on for a 110-103 wi
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