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Bryant's third-quarter burst leads Lakers past Durant, Sonics

Oct 19, 2007 - 4:49 AM BAKERSFIELD, California (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant scored 16 of his 20 points in the third quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers rolled a 126-106 preseason victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Thursday.

Perhaps the best player in the NBA, Bryant might be in his last days in a Lakers' uniform due to his on-going trade request with owner Dr. Jerry Buss, whose reportedly shopping the 6-6 All-Star.

It was Bryant's first action after sitting out of practice the past three days to rest his sore knee. He connected on 6-of-11 shots, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range.

Andrew Bynum had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Brian Cook also scored 19 points for the Lakers, who were without forward Lamar Odom due to offseason shoulder surgery.

While Los Angeles prepares for life after Bryant, Seattle is opening a new chapter with rookie Kevin Durant, who was taken No. 2 overall out of Texas in June's draft.

The 19-year-old Durant finished with 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting and recorded three steals in 31 minutes.

Chris Wilcox netted 16 points and Wally Szczerbiak and rookie Jeff Green chipped in 13 apiece for the Sonics, who shot 50 percent (44-of-87) from the field and committed 18 turnovers.