Lakers thump Bobcats

Kobe Bryant's fast start afforded him the luxury of a late rest as the Los Angeles Lakers made light work of the free-falling Charlotte Bobcats with a 106-73 blowout home win on Tuesday.

The NBA's leading scorer notched 18 points in the first quarter and recorded the game-high 24 by halftime, where the Lakers built a substantial lead against the league's worst team, allowing Bryant to sit out the fourth quarter.

An entire quarter on the bench was a rare but welcome treat for the 16th year veteran, who entered the night second in the league in minutes per game.

Los Angeles (13-9) set the early tone with a 10-0 run in the first quarter, where they grabbed a 12-point lead before going up by 24 at halftime.  The defeat was the latest reverse for the tumbling Bobcats (3-19), who lost their ninth straight game, the most since they dropped a franchise worst 13 in a row in 2006.

Gerald Henderson led all Charlotte scorers with 14 points on a night his team shot just 34 percent from the field.

The Lakers, on the other hand, were able to break the 100-point mark for the second consecutive game after going 13 without doing so.

Andrew Bynum chipped in 20 points and 11 rebounds on the day he learned that he will be named to his first NBA All-Star Game when the voting is announced later this week.

Results: Boston: 93 bt Cleveland: 90; Indiana: 106 bt New Jersey: 99; Atlanta: 100 bt Toronto: 77; NY Knicks: 113 bt Detroit: 86; Memphis: 100 bt Denver: 97 via OT; Golden State: 93 bt Sacramento: 90; LA Lakers: 106 bt Charlotte: 73.