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Gasol guides Lakers over Magic

Mar 15, 2011 - 6:55 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Pau Gasol led the way with 23 points and five rebounds, while frontcourt mate Andrew Bynum held his own against Dwight Howard with 10 points and 18 boards, as the Los Angeles Lakers used a big second half to down Orlando, 97-84, at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant scored 16 points with five rebounds and four assists, while Derek Fisher chipped in with 15 points. Lamar Odom added 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Lakers, who have won two in a row and 10 of 11 overall.

"We got it together in the second half and made more shots and made more plays," said Gasol. "Defensively we were better and we were able to put pressure on their guys."

Howard led the Magic with 22 points and 15 rebounds, while four other players reached double figures led by Jameer Nelson and Ryan Anderson, who each scored 13 points. Hedo Turkoglu donated 12 for Orlando, which has lost two of three.

"Tonight he was all over me and all over the basket," said Howard about Bynum. "It was a tough game out there tonight. But, I like to battle and I look forward to the next one."

Orlando controlled the opening period, jumping out to a 21-12 lead on Brandon Bass' turnaround jumper and holding a six-point edge, 25-19, at the quarter's conclusion. The Lakers made just 27 percent of their shots in the period, but turned it around in the second, connecting on 45.5 percent of their attempts.

They didn't make a large dent in a lead that hovered between three and eight points for most of the period. Fisher's pullup jumper with just over 22 seconds left capped the first-half scoring for a 46-41 deficit.

The Lakers came out of the locker room strong, scoring seven of the first nine points of the stanza. Gasol and Bynum were responsible for the first five points and Ron Artest's layup tied the game at 48-48. Bryant's jumper moments later gave the Lakers the lead, and they enlarged it to as many as seven points late in the period, 71-64, on the second of two Bryant free throws.

Los Angeles made 62 percent of its shots, and Orlando lost its five-point halftime lead despite making 57 percent of its shots. The main issue was turnovers, as the Magic coughed up the basketball six times and took seven less shots in the quarter.

The first nine points of the final period went to the home team with Shannon Brown's three-pointer play making the score 80-66 with just over eight minutes to play. Turkoglu's three-pointer nearly four minutes in marked Orlando's first points, as the Magic missed their first five shots.

The lead never got lower than 11 points the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Lakers made 43.8 percent of their shots and took advantage of Orlando's 18 turnovers, scoring 20 points off the miscues...The Magic made 47 percent of their shots and 10 three-pointers, but attempted just 68 shots compared to 89 for the Lakers, who grabbed 14 offensive rebounds (nine from Bynum)...Jason Richardson scored 11 points and Bass nine for the Magic...Orlando won the previous meeting this season, 89-75 on February 13 in Orlando.