LOS ANGELES (AP) – Lamar Odom scored 21 points, Kobe Bryant added 19 points and a season-high 10 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Jersey Nets 99-93 on Sunday night.

Kwame Brown had 13 points and nine rebounds and Smush Parker also scored 13 for the Lakers, winners of five of their last six games.

Los Angeles won despite Bryant’s 8-of-24 shooting night.

Vince Carter had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Nenad Krstic scored 20, and Jason Kidd had 16 assists for the Nets, who lost their fifth straight – all to Western Conference teams.

Rookie Jordan Farmar outscored New Jersey 5-1 by to give the Lakers an 80-69 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Nets battled back, drawing within two on a basket by Krstic, but Odom’s five points during a 7-1 run made it 95-87 with 31/2 minutes to play.

Luke Walton’s 3-pointer with 1:53 left extended the Lakers’ lead to 98-89, but the Nets scored the next four points before Kidd’s miss with 20 seconds to go. Bryant made a free throw three seconds later to complete the scoring.

Odom and Walton scored five points each during an 18-7 run that gave Los Angeles a 64-60 lead – their first since the opening minute of play. The Nets drew within one before the Lakers outscored them 7-1 to finish the third period, putting them on top 73-66.

Rookie Marcus Williams, who scored a career-high 27 points Friday night in a 99-93 loss at Phoenix, scored 14 points in 11 first-half minutes, sparking the Nets to a 48-43 lead. Bryant shot 4-of-12 for nine points in the half.

The Nets shot 14-of-20 in the first quarter for a 33-24 lead. Richard Jefferson, Krstic and Williams combined to make 10 of 13 shots in scoring eight points each, and Kidd had seven assists.

Notes: The game was the first of eight straight for the Lakers at Staples Center including a game against the Clippers in which they’re the designated road team. … The Lakers have won eight games at home – most in the NBA. … Kidd had seven points and eight rebounds to go with his 16 assists. He has two triple-doubles this season and 77 in his career. He’ll tie Wilt Chamberlain for third on the NBA’s all-time list with his next one. … Lakers F Brian Cook missed his second game because of an upper respiratory tract infection. Farmar returned to action after missing two games because of a sprained right ankle and scored 11 points. … Nets F-C Clifford Robinson, among the NBA’s career leaders in games and minutes played, will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Monday and is out indefinitely. … Chick Hearn, the play-by-play voice of the Lakers for more than 40 years before his death in 2002, would have celebrated his 90th birthday Monday. … Jason Collins played in his 400th career game with the Nets – the ninth-most in franchise history. He had eight points and seven rebounds.

AP-ES-11-27-06 0010EST

Copy the Story Link

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.