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Bryant, Lakers aim to sweep Bobcats

Mar 26, 2008 - 2:28 PM Charlotte (25-45) at LA Lakers (49-22) 10:30 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles look to continue their march toward the top spot in the Western Conference when the Charlotte Bobcats visit on Wednesday.

Bryant had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Lamar Odom added 23 and 21 as the Lakers won the finale of a home-and-home series from the Golden State Warriors, 123-119, on Monday.

Los Angeles enters percentage points behind the New Orleans Hornets (48-21) for the top seed in the West standings with 10 games remaining on the season.

The Lakers are also seeking a season sweep of the Bobcats, who gave up 31 points to Bryant in a 106-97 setback on February 11 at home.

The reigning two-time scoring champion, Bryant has dominated Charlotte in the past, averaging 36.2 points while shooting 46 percent in six career meetings.

Charlotte came out on the short end of things in the opener of its four-game West Coast road trip, a 128-106 loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

"They just play physical. They play aggressive. They hit you," Bobcats coach Sam Vincent said. "They bang you, they beat you. Mentally, you've got to be tough to play these guys here because they're going to wear on you through the course of the game."