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Lakers win eighth straight in defeat of Atlanta

Mar 9, 2011 - 3:58 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant ended with 26 points while Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol dominated inside, as the Los Angeles Lakers rolled past the Atlanta Hawks, 101-87, to earn their eighth straight win.

Bryant also passed Moses Malone for sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list with his 13th point of the game.

Bynum had 16 points and 16 rebounds and Gasol chipped in 14 and 11 for LA, which was coming off a convincing 99-83 triumph at San Antonio on Sunday.

Al Horford led Atlanta with 17 points and nine rebounds, and Josh Smith scored 16 points in defeat, the club's third straight.

"I can't fault my team's effort tonight. We ran up against a really good team," Hawks head coach Larry Drew said. "We're not going to hang our heads, and we're not going to feel sorry for ourselves."

Steve Blake hit a late three-pointer to give the Lakers a 29-25 lead at the end of the first quarter, and LA scored eight of the first 10 points of the second frame to go up by double digits.

The visitors went into the locker room holding a 57-49 lead and controlled the third quarter, highlighted by a nine-point run that was capped by a Derek Fisher turnaround jumper for a 79-57 advantage with 2 1/2 minutes to go.

Atlanta trailed 81-65 going into the fourth and cut the margin to single digits, 90-82, on a Kirk Hinrich jumper with 5 1/2 minutes remaining.

The Hawks then went nearly four minutes without scoring, and Bryant's back- breaking three with Smith's hand in his face gave the visitors a 96-82 lead with 3:20 left they never relinquished.

"There was a message that was communicated from top to bottom to come here and play well," Bryant said. "We stuck with the game plan and got a big win."

Game Notes

Bryant now has 27,423 points. Shaquille O'Neal is fifth on the all-time scoring list with 28,590 points and counting...Lamar Odom and Fisher tallied 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the win...Joe Johnson had 11 points on 4- of-14 shooting for Atlanta...LA had a 44-20 advantage in points in the paint...The Lakers play at Miami on Thursday.