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Lakers face Bucks eyeing fifth straight win

Jan 11, 2008 - 2:37 PM Milwaukee (15-20) at LA Lakers (23-11) 10:30 pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- After sweeping a brief two-game road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers return home on Friday to take on the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Lakers have won four straight games, including a 109-80 triumph over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday. The win came just a day after Los Angeles claimed a 16-point victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Kobe Bryant has scored a combined 44 points over the last two games and has received a lot of help from the supporting cast, as the Lakers reserves outscored the Hornets bench, 42-9, on Wednesday.

"My role now has changed," Bryant said. "I'm not the guy who has to go out and score 35-something points. They come to me, and I get buckets when we need a little boost here and there, and that's as it should be."

Bryant is averaging a team-high 26.4 points this season, which is well below the 31.6 points he averaged last season. The 29-year-old has taken a huge step back from his production during the 2005-06 season, when he averaged 35.4 points.

The Bucks enter Friday's contest on a three-game winning streak. Mo Williams scored a season-high 35 points as Milwaukee picked up its fourth win in five games with a 98-92 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

Williams, who is averaging 16.8 points per game this season, has scored at least 17 in each game during the win streak.