Lakers rout Warriors to win sixth straight

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The Lakers made 24-of-28 free throws and never trailed in beating the Warriors for the 13th consecutive time in Los Angeles. They led by 27 points after the first quarter, by 25 at halftime and by 24 after three.

"We're on the right track. We're improving," Bryant said. "We did a good job coming out of the gate, moving the ball, hitting some open shots and we did a good job defensively, as well."

Especially on Antawn Jamison. He had 51 points in Golden State's overtime victory against the Lakers in December, but was held scoreless on 0-for-9 shooting in 28 minutes.

"This should never happen, but it happened," Jamison said. "I wasn't really looking for my shot."

Bryant, who also had 51 points in the loss, added 22 points in his third game back since being sidelined for three games with sore ankles.

Asked about Jamison's no-show scoring, Bryant said, "I can't relate to that."

The teams play again Tuesday at Golden State, and coach Dave Cowens said Jamison won't be scoreless again.

"He was tired. It all caught up with him, and he didn't have anything going on," Cowens said. "He just had a bad game."

Marc Jackson led the Warriors with 22 points despite a strained right groin, while reserve Bob Sura added 19 points.

"The Lakers were awesome in the first quarter," Jackson said. "They put on such a display, we couldn't get anything going."

The game's only excitement occurred when Jackson and Greg Foster tangled under the basket with 7:56 remaining. Foster received two technicals and was ejected, while Jackson earned a technical. He later picked up a flagrant foul on Mark Madsen in the final minute.

After the initial skirmish, Jackson stuck his finger near Foster's right eye and they exchanged words. Foster had to be restrained by teammate Madsen as he continued shouting and walking toward Jackson. Lakers coach Phil Jackson came on the court and spoke to the referees as Madsen kept pushing Foster toward the bench.

"It was a situation where you get two guys playing hard and emotions run high sometimes," Madsen said. "Both Jackson and Foster are great guys and I think it's behind us."

O'Neal was called for a flagrant foul in the third quarter after sticking his left hand out to stop Sura's drive. Sura ended up on the floor with a puffy right eye, but he got up and made both free throws.

Both O'Neal, whose sore arch continues to nag him, and Bryant got plenty of rest as neither played the fourth quarter.

Golden State outscored the Lakers 26-17 in the fourth, but it didn't matter. The Warriors were on their way to a third straight loss in the opening period when the Lakers ran off 14 straight points and never looked back. O'Neal had seven of those points.

"We came out and I can't believe how many wide-open shots we missed," Cowens said. "It didn't make very much sense."

The Lakers play a busy 17-game schedule in March, and they've started off 2-0 with victories over the Western Conference's two worst teams. They defeated Vancouver 98-88 on the road Saturday.

"We haven't had a whole lot of big wins this year," Rick Fox said. "We would like to think that we could put a team away like this more often. There is always a lot of talk in this locker room about how we can't beat anybody, so this is nice."

The Warriors used a 19-10 run to end the first half down 61-46. That was slightly better than the 27 points they trailed by after the first quarter when the Lakers tied a season high for a first period with 43 points.

Notes: A precautionary X-ray on Bryant's sprained and bruised right ankle was negative. Bryant's left ankle also is hurting. ... The fourth toe on O'Neal's left foot is infected. ... Golden State is 10-31 since beating the Lakers in overtime Dec. 6. ... Los Angeles is 7-7 on the second night of back-to-back games. ... The Lakers also scored 43 points in the first quarter of a victory over the Clippers on Nov. 5. ... O'Neal's college coach, Dale Brown, sat courtside watching the former LSU star.


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