Kobe Bryant scored 15 points and had six assists, leading the hot-shooting Los Angeles Lakers to a 56-46 halftime lead over the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday night at Staples Center. The Lakers used a 9-2 run to close the first quarter and build their lead. The Lakers might have had an even bigger advantage at the break were it not for 11 turnovers.
In the battle of brothers, Pau Gasol had the edge in the first half with eight points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, while Marc Gasol had two points and five rebounds for Memphis and was 0-for-5 from the field. Pau also had four assists, including a nifty behind the back feed to Andrew Bynum for a layup that prompted Stu Lantz to say on the Lakers' broadcast, "There is a point guard in Pau's body, just itching to get out."
The Lakers shot 56.1% (23 for 41) in the first half, fueled in large part by a strong effort from the reserves. Troy Murphy and Steve Blake combined for 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting. The Lakers' bench made seven of 11 field goals (63.6%) in the opening 24 minutes.
The Lakers, who shot 16.9% (14 for 83) from three-point range in their last five games, made four of 10 shots from beyond the arc in the first half Sunday.
Marreese Speights scored 12 points off the bench to lead Memphis, while Mike Conley and Rudy Gay each scored 11 points for the Grizzlies.
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