Bryant hurt in Lakers’ win over 76ers

Too much experience, too much talent, and too much Lamar Odom.

A combination of those three kept the 76ers from defeating the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers had their chances - many of them - but it was the Lakers who kept building on their lead in the fourth quarter.

In the end, the Lakers beat the Sixers, 93-81.

Led by Spencer Hawes, who scored 18 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, the Sixers dropped to 10-16. The Lakers, led by Odom with 28 points and eight rebounds, improved to 20-7.

In nine games before the loss, the Sixers had gone 7-2.

About midway through the fourth quarter, on a three-pointer by guard Steve Blake, the Lakers went ahead, 81-68.

Blake's three extended the Lakers' run to 25-6.

A few seconds later, Odom's dunk made the run 27-6, the score 83-68, and the game over in everything except time on the clock.

With 12.9 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Sixers had been ahead, 62-56.

But as was the case at other times in the game, the Sixers stopped scoring and started missing.

The beginning of the game was not pretty. It was filled with air balls and ambitious jumpers and nearly a dozen missed shots - all by the Sixers.

There was another slew of misses from the Lakers.

The Sixers didn't score until 6 minutes, 36 seconds remained in the first quarter - nearly halfway through it - when Hawes finished a layup off the glass. He then made another bucket to give his team scores on back-to-back possessions.

It wasn't exactly off and running, but it was off and trying.

By the end of the first quarter, the Sixers had scrapped their way back into the game, leading by 21-18.

They patched together a run using defense and transition buckets by Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, and Andres Nocioni.

On that rising slam by Williams, with 42.9 seconds left in the first quarter, the Sixers were ahead, 21-16. Williams' jam concluded a 17-4 Sixers run.

Although the Sixers started on offense as if they were the bad-news bears, by the end of the first quarter and halftime, shooting percentages were about even.

Except for one statistic.

In the first half, the Sixers took only three free throws, while Los Angeles center Pau Gasol went 5 for 5. The Lakers finished the first half 14 for 15 from the line, which helped boost them to their 44-39 halftime lead.

The man who figured to make the difference, Lakers star Kobe Bryant, didn't do much in the first half after injuring a finger in the first quarter. He had an X-ray after the game, but the results were not disclosed.

Bryant made one pull-up jump shot, a layup, and a couple of free throws, but mostly he stepped aside for Gasol (19 points, 13 rebounds) and Odom.

With 1:51 left in the game, Bryant walked to the bench amid a mix of cheers and boos.

He finished with nine points, four rebounds, and the victory.