LOS ANGELES – The Lakers had a perfect solution to offset Kobe Bryant’s painful right ring finger. They simply turned to an alternate scoring option.
No, not Pau Gasol. Not veteran guard Derek Fisher, either.
The Lakers went to 21-year old center Andrew Bynum who overwhelmed the Clippers in as dominating an inside scoring performance since the heyday of Shaquille O’Neal.
Bynum scored a career-high 42 points and for good measure, hauled in 15 rebounds, as the Lakers trounced the Clippers for the third time this season. The average margin of victory in those games is 22 points. The Lakers now have beaten the Clippers seven consecutive times, dating back to their four-game series sweep of last season.
The Lakers led 88-73 through three quarters, then fended off a fourth-quarter flurry by the Clippers. Rookie DeAndre Jordan led the Clippers with a career-high 23 points. Second-year forward Al Thornton scored 20.
Bryant had his right ring finger heavily taped. He suffered a dislocation in the first quarter of the Lakers’ victory last Sunday over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Athletic trainer Gary Vitti put the joint back in place seconds after Bryant got his attention. However, at Tuesday’s practice, the finger noticeably was swollen.
In response, Bryant took far fewer shots than he typically attempts and was generous with his passing. It led to his second triple-double of the season and 16th of his career. Byant scored 18 points, with 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Lamar Odom, who began his career as a Clippers’ lottery pick, buttressed Bynum’s big night with 19 points.
Bynum had 25 points by halftime, three fewer than the career-high 28 points he scored last season, against the Phoenix Suns. Bynum used his height advantage to score over 11-year veteran Brian Skinner. Jordan took a shot at guarding Bynum but did not fare any better than Skinner.
But against an injury-riddled Clippers’ squad, the Lakers only led 58-55 at halftime. The Clippers stayed close because of the hot outside shooting of Steve Novak, who buried 3 of 4 from outside the 3-point arc. Although Jordan was taking his lumps on the defensive end, he had five dunks and a tip-in and scored 12 first-half points.
The Clippers, who had only shot 50 percent from the field once this season, closed out the first half shooting 56.1 percent, after making 23 of 41 from the field overall. That included 4 of 6 on 3-point tries. The Lakers shot 50 percent, despite a 1 of 6 first-half shooting performance by guard Sasha Vujacic, who missed his first five shots before sinking a 3-pointer.
