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Wednesday, Mar. 29 10:00pm ET
Kobe scores 28, Lakers hit 60 | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Kobe Bryant scored 28 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers reach the 60-win plateau for the second time in three seasons, pounding the Vancouver Grizzlies 108-99 Wednesday night. The victory gave the Lakers a 60-12 record and a magic number of five to clinch home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. It also was the second-fastest the Lakers have recorded 60 wins, trailing only the 1971-72 team, which won 69 games. All five Lakers starters scored in double figures, but it was Bryant who set the pace. He hit 7-of-10 from the field in the first half, and ended with four steals and six rebounds to lead Los Angeles to its 26th win in 27 outings. Shaquille O'Neal added 19 points and had eight assists, improving his average of 3.7 assists per contest. Michael Dickerson had 32 to lead Vancouver, which lost for the 14th time in 15 decisions. Teammate Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 30 points and 13 rebounds. The Grizzlies stayed with Los Angeles early, hitting seven of their first 10 field goal attempts and finishing the first quarter trailing 31-30 on 71 percent shooting. However, the Lakers' defense stymied Vancouver in the second period as the visitors took a 60-46 halftime lead. The win was the 16th in the last 17 road contests for the Lakers, who increased their Pacific Division lead to eight games over idle Portland. Game notesA.C. Green of the Lakers increased his consecutive games played mark to 1,100. ...The win marked the 56th time in 72 games the Lakers have held their opponent to under 100 points. ... Rick Fox got the start at small forward for Los Angeles in place of Glen Rice, who remained home with the stomach flu. ... With the crowd of 16,780 well short of capacity at GM Place, the Lakers had a 27-game road sellout streak broken. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard LA Lakers Clubhouse Vancouver Clubhouse RECAPS Denver 101 Washington 93
LA Lakers 108
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