Lakers Beat Down Hornets To Finish Shootout

LOS ANGELES (AP) – LOS ANGELES (AP) — Maurice Evans scored 27 points and Lamar Odom had 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Los Angeles Lakers in a 113-106 preseason victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

The injury-depleted Lakers were without Kobe Bryant, Chris Mihm, Kwame Brown, Vladimir Radmanovic, Sasha Vujacic and Aaron McKie. Vujacic sat out because of the left ankle he sprained in Thursday night’s 91-90 loss to the Clippers, but Brian Cook returned to the lineup after missing one game with the same injury.

Reserve guard Bobby Jackson scored 17 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for the Hornets, also playing short-handed because of Tyson Chandler’s sprained right ankle and Marc Jackson’s injured left hamstring. Chris Paul, last season’s rookie of the year, had 10 points and nine assists, and David West added 18 points.

Down by as many as 19 in the third quarter, New Orleans closed to 83-75 with a 14-3 run that included eight points from Paul — including a three-point play with 41 seconds left in the period. But Cook, Luke Walton and rookie Jordan Farmar took charge at the offensive end for the Lakers in the fourth, helping restore their lead to 105-89 with 4:52 remaining.

Bobby Jackson, 0-for-4 from the field through the first three quarters, scored 11 points during a 13-3 spurt that sliced Los Angeles’ margin to 108-102 with 1:34 to play. But Evans responded with a three-point play and Odom sank two free throws to restore the Lakers’ double-digit lead with 41 seconds to go.

Los Angeles never trailed, building a 60-46 halftime lead with a 14-2 run in the final 3:49 of the second quarter. Assistant coach Kurt Rambis again ran the team for Phil Jackson, who is recovering from hip replacement surgery he had Oct. 3. Jackson expects to be ready for the season opener Oct. 31 against Phoenix at the Staples Center.

The Lakers continue the pre-season on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns from the iPayONE Center in San Diego. As always we will have live Gameday coverage when the game tips off at 6:30 PM PST.

Did Maurice Evans’ play on offense impress you? Is Lamar’s near triple-double play a sign of things to come? Will Andrew Bynum be up to the task to anchor the post with Brown & Mihm sidelined? Sound off in our ClubLakers.com Forums!

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