Andrew Bynum Has Career Game vs. Los Angeles Clippers

Okay, so it was the Clippers. Yes, they are missing two key starters, Chris Kaman and Baron Davis, and they have lost 13 in a row and 14 out of 15. But still, they are not in the D-League. Okay, maybe they should be.

Nevertheless 42 points even in the D-League is nothing to frown at. With 42 points plus 15 rebounds and three blocked shots, Andrew Bynum becomes the first Laker other than Kobe Bryant to score 40 or more since Shaquille O'Neal.

And what about Bryant, playing with a dislocated ring finger and palm burn on his shooting hand and a fractured pinky on the other hand? You might say he held his own with a triple double—18 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds.

Altogether the Lakers had five players in double figures. Lamar Odom had 19, Luke Walton had 11, and Pau Gasol put up 10 points as the Lakers beat the Clippers 108-97.

You have to give the Clippers credit though. Playing shorthanded as they were, they didn’t merely lay down and die. They made a game of it.

The Lakers led by as many as 18 points in the final period. But the Clippers fought back to cut the Lakers’ lead to just seven points. However, Bryant and Bynum shifted into high gear at that point and shut down their across-the-hall neighbors.

DeAndre Jordan was high man for the Clippers scoring 23 points while making an amazing 11 out of 12 field goals. Jordan also contributed 12 rebounds. Al Thornton had 20 points. Eric Gordon put in 16 points, and Mardy Collins and Steve Novak had 14 points each.

The Lakers are at the halfway point in the season with a 33-8 record, the best in the Western Conference. They are five games in front of their nearest rival, San Antonio. However, they will have 24 of their remaining 41 games on the road.

They take on Washington tomorrow night at the Staples Center.