Bynum is germane to this victory

It's not as if the Los Angeles Lakers needed the reminder, but Andrew Bynum supplied one anyway.

The Lakers and Indiana Pacers were possible trade partners during the off-season, but the Lakers refused to part with Bynum and Lamar Odom for six-time All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal.

Bynum delivered his latest thank-you note Sunday night against the Pacers, a 23-point, 13-rebound effort that drove the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-96 victory at Staples Center.

On a night when Kobe Bryant struggled with his shot, Bynum easily outplayed O'Neal, who had 13 points and four rebounds and cooled off considerably after scoring six points in the first 6:09.

The Lakers, still with Andrew Bynum on their roster. Sometimes the best trades are those that aren't made, or so the NBA adage goes.

"Definitely happy to be here," said Bynum, who got a warm ovation when he left the game in the final minute. "I'm happy they didn't trade me. They saw me work out this summer, and I guess they thought we would do all right with me down there."

The Los Angeles Lakers (21-11) won for the sixth time in seven games and took another step toward ridding themselves of an inability to beat teams with losing records, a problem last season. On the heels of a laughably easy 124-93 victory Friday over Philadelphia, the Lakers used a late 16-0 run to bury the Pacers (16-19).

They now hit the road for a quick two-game trip to Memphis and New Orleans. Memphis had the league's worst record last season (22-60) but managed to forge a 2-2 split with the Lakers. New Orleans, which missed the playoffs last season, is among the biggest surprises in the league with a 23-11 record.

It looked as if the Lakers would run away with Sunday's game and the starters would be able to sit out the fourth quarter, but a three-pointer by Mike Dunleavy Jr. pulled Indiana to within 92-85 with 6:16 to play, the Pacers having severely cut into what had been an 18-point Lakers lead to start the fourth quarter.

Bryant, Bynum, Derek Fisher, Luke Walton and Lamar Odom reentered the game after a timeout.

Bryant rattled home a 17-foot turnaround and followed it up with a 21-footer that gave the Lakers a 96-85 lead with 5:11 to play. Kobe Bryant then pushed the ball downcourt and fed Fisher for a three-pointer that made it 99-85 with 4:19 to play.

End of threat, end of game.

Bryant had 26 points on eight-for-21 shooting and Fisher had 22 points, making all three of his three-point attempts in the fourth quarter.

"It's one of the reasons it's so nice to have Fish back," Odom said. "He's made so many big shots in his career that those things were nothing for him. He came off the bench being cold and just knocked down a couple big ones, and Kobe came and hit some big ones, and before we knew it, we had the game under control again."

Odom had 13 points and 13 rebounds after returning from a one-game suspension for a flagrant foul on Boston's Ray Allen.

Bynum also excelled, making eight of 11 shots, seven of nine free throws and blocking four shots.

Bynum, 20, is averaging 12.8 points and 10.1 rebounds a game. He has one more year and $2.8 million left on his contract.

O'Neal, 29, is averaging 15.8 points and 7.4 rebounds. He has two more years and $44 million left on his contract.

Their styles deeply contrast, Bynum doing a majority of his scoring down low and O'Neal often scoring on mid-range jump shots. That helps explain why Bynum is shooting 62.9% and O'Neal 44.2% this season.

Bynum also outplayed O'Neal in the Lakers' 134-114 victory at Indiana on Nov. 20. In that game, Bynum had 17 points on six-for-six shooting, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. O'Neal had 14 points on four-for-13 shooting and failed to secure a rebound until the first minute of the fourth quarter.

"He's doing a great job," Kobe Bryant said of Andrew Bynum. "The key for him is to continue to read the defense. The game's easy. When I penetrate, guys have got to come over and help. The guy is so long, he's got great hands, he's got great leaping ability. He makes it easy to throw it over the top."

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