• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Bryant leads balanced attack as Lakers rout Pacers

Nov 21, 2007 - 4:03 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant scored 32 points to lead eight others in double figures as the Los Angeles Lakers breezed to a 134-114 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.

Jordan Farmar poured in a career-best 18 points and Andrew Bynum picked up his sixth double-double with 17 and 10 rebounds and for the Lakers, who pushed their winning streak to four games.

"We executed extremely well," Bryant said. "Everybody did a good job of ready the defense, we played very unselfishly."

Starting for injured teammate Kwame Brown, Bynum played solid defense against Indiana's perennial All-Star Jermaine O'Neal, who finished with 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

During the summer there were several rumors of Bynum and Lamar Odom heading to the Pacers in exchange for the 29-year-old O'Neal.

"(Bynum) stepped up and played the kind of defense we like to see to see him play," Laker coach Phil Jackson said. "He got aggressive in there and got into a little foul trouble. Still, he's pretty good."

"He's very competitive," Bryant said. "He's quite, but he has a lot of fire inside. When he has matchups like this, or matchups like Yao Ming, he really steps forward and takes the challenge personally and I like to see that."

The 20-year-old Bynum made his presence felt at both ends of the floor in the first half, collecting 13 points and eight boards, to help Los Angeles race to a 71-63 lead at intermission.

"I wasn't really thinking about trade talk," Bynum said. "I was just thinking about getting a win, since we haven't won here in four years."

Indiana's Shawne Williams impressed for the straight second game, scoring a career-high 24 points off the bench. The 6-9 forward was taken 17th overall last year out of Memphis, but struggled to find time behind Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger as a rookie.

"I just tried to let the game come to me," Williams said. "I put up some shots and made some, but I'd trade all my points in for a win."

Granger netted 17 points and Dunleavy grabbed a season-best 12 rebounds for the Pacers, who have dropped seven of their last eight after opening the season 4-0.

"We got pounded by a very, very basketball team that seemed quicker at every position," Pacer coach Jim O'Brien said. "We didn't have the energy neccessary to give them any kind of game. It was not our best defensive effort."