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Bryant, Lakers look to bounce back

Jan 4, 2008 - 2:33 PM Philadelphia (14-18) at LA Lakers (19-11) 10:30 pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers will try to bounce back from a loss when the Philadelphia 76ers visit on Friday.

Bryant struggled with his shot in Monday's 110-91 loss to the Boston Celtics, finishing with 22 points as the Lakers had their four-game winning streak snapped.

"They're one of the elite teams," Bryant said. "They're at the next level. They're at the level we're trying to get to, and the challenge is there for us - do we want to stay in this middle pack, or do we want to get to that next level?"

Los Angeles will be without forward Lamar Odom, who is serving a one-game suspension for a flagrant foul on Boston's Ray Allen. Odom ranks second on the team in scoring with an average 14.1 points.

With a win Friday, the Lakers would capture their first season series sweep over the Sixers since the 1999-00 campaign.

Despite getting 30 points from Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia suffered a 110-107 setback to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday and fell to 1-2 on their current West Coast swing.