Kobe heats up to lead Lakers past Kings
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-24 14:45

LOS ANGELES - Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and added a season-high 10 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers took command early in the final period to beat the Sacramento Kings 106-85 Thursday night.

Lamar Odom had 19 points, six rebounds and nine assists, and Devean George had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers (28-26), who won for the third time in four games and snapped a three-game losing streak to the Kings.

Mike Bibby scored 25 points, Brad Miller added 16 and Ron Artest had 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (25-30), who fell 3 1/2 games behind the Lakers in the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Bryant and George scored nine points each during an 18-3 run to start the fourth quarter, giving the Lakers a 95-75 lead. The Kings didn't threaten after that, and wound up shooting 5-of-18 while being outscored 29-13 in the final period. The Lakers shot 12-of-21 in the quarter.

Bryant scored five points to cap a 9-3 spurt that put the Lakers ahead 69-56 with 7:13 left in the third quarter. But he picked up his fourth foul less than a minute later, sending him to the bench.

The Lakers held their own in Bryant's absence until the Kings went on a 7-0 run to finish the third quarter to move within five points. He returned at the beginning of the final period, and Los Angeles quickly took command.

Miller made three straight baskets to give the Kings an 11-4 lead, but the Lakers scored the next 10 points in a span of 85 seconds to go ahead for good.

It was 20-18 when the Lakers started hitting, outscoring the Kings 25-12 for a 45-30 lead.

After going scoreless in the first six minutes, Bryant had 18 points during the rest of the first half, which ended with the Lakers on top 55-47.