Staples Center — LeBron James didn’t waste watching NBA legend Kobe Bryant as he scored 12 of his 33 points in the Lakers’ first nine-minute drive to a 122-101 defeat of the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center.
Bryant from courtside watched his former troop build to a 34-9 advantage over the Hawks and they never looked back.
It was the Lakers’ 11th win in their 12 games.
Kyle Kuzma added 17 points while Rajon Rondo, Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green and Alex Caruso had 15, 14, 13 and 11 markers, respectively.
Atlanta suffered its second-worst defeat after defeating the LA Clippers, 101-150.
In New Orleans, kicking J.J. Redick had 26 points to lead the Pelicans to a 108-100 lead over the Golden State Warriors.
Jrue Holiday scored 22 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds for New Orleans while Jaxson Hayes collected 10 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Eric Paschall led Golden State, losing in its seventh straight loss, with 30 points.
In Sacramento, Buddy Hield threw a season-high 35 points while Richaun Holmes connected on two free throws in the final 13.3 seconds to lead the Kings to a 100-99 dip against the Boston Celtics.
Sacramento ended Boston’s 10-game winning streak. (Chris Figueroa/IAMIGO/CNS)
