Kobe Bryant had 28 points -- 26 in a strong first half -- to lead the Los Angeles Lakers in a 104-88 drubbing of the New Orleans Hornets at Staples Center.

Bryant shot 10-of-16 in the first half and sat out a large portion of the second half for the Lakers, who have won six of their first seven games. Shannon Brown added 15 points off the bench, while Luke Walton had 11.

Los Angeles continued to play without Pau Gasol (hamstring) and Andrew Bynum (elbow).

"We came out with our foot on the gas," Bryant said. "I miss Pau, and I guess I have to carry us a little more until he comes back. The bench played extremely well tonight; they came in tonight and gave us a huge boost."

Chris Paul had 15 points and nine assists for the Hornets, who have fallen to 2-5 to start the season. David West added 11 points in the loss, while James Posey, Emeka Okafor and Devin Brown each had 10 points. Okafor added 14 rebounds.

"We have to a better job with team defense," Brown said. "We have to come out and not put ourselves in a hole at the beginning of the game."

Bryant scored 14 points in the first quarter to give the Lakers a 27-17 lead heading to the second. The Lakers' star added 12 more points in the second quarter, and Los Angeles led 55-42 at halftime.

The Lakers took an enormous advantage in the third quarter, storming out of the gate with a 17-3 run to take a 27-point lead.

Derek Fisher began the run with a three-pointer, and Shannon Brown added two shots from long distance in the surge. D.J. Mbenga had four points, and his layup midway through the period made it a 72-45 game.

Los Angeles' lead stood at 82-58 heading to the fourth, and the Hornets never got closer than 14 in the final quarter.

Game Notes

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