Lakers Get 1st Win Of Season With 107-92 Victory Over Hornets
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Kobe Bryant and Jeremy Lin each scored 21 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the Charlotte Hornets 107-92 Sunday night for their first victory of the season after five straight losses.
Carlos Boozer added 16 points in Byron Scott's first win as Lakers coach. Their victory left Philadelphia as the NBA's only winless team at 0-7.
Lin and Boozer's offense dominated the third, when the Lakers were down by seven before a 25-6 run sent them into the fourth leading 76-64.
It was a lead they never gave up.
Al Jefferson scored 23 points and Kemba Walker added 17 for the Hornets, whose two-game winning streak ended. Gary Neal added 14 off the bench and Lance Stephenson had 10 rebounds.
The Lakers scored 14 unanswered points in their dominating third-quarter run, including eight in a row by Boozer, whose jumper gave them their first lead of the game at 61-59.
The Hornets were held to five field goals in the third, and just two over the final 3:48.
Bryant, prone to taking over games while his younger teammates watched, still put up the most shots (20) of any Laker, but he scored just nine points in the second half.
Bryant had one basket in the fourth, with six other Lakers contributing to the offense. Lin and Wesley Johnson hit consecutive 3-pointers that had the long-suffering crowd on its feet cheering a victory that wasn't in doubt.
The Lakers have two days off before visiting Memphis on Wednesday.
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