NBA

Lakers amazing beyond arc, take over West lead

Conference leaders 12-of-17 from 3-point range in 2nd half against Clippers

Gus Ruelas / AP

The Lakers' Derek Fisher drives to the basket against the Clippers on Friday. The Lakers won the battle of Los Angeles 119-82.

updated 2:06 a.m. ET March 8, 2008

LOS ANGELES - The Lakers didn’t have to cross the line. They were doing just fine behind it.

Derek Fisher scored 17 points, Kobe Bryant had 16 and the Lakers went on a 3-point shooting spree in the second half of a 119-82 rout of the Clippers on Friday night.

“I think what we did is that we stepped up our pressure,” Bryant said. “Try to make them play at our pace, or execute things that they are not used to doing, and our shooters knocked down some big shots to blow the game open.”

The Pacific Division-leading Lakers, winning for the 13th time in 14 games to move past San Antonio by a half-game for the lead in the Western Conference, went 12-of-17 from 3-point range in the second half after making just two of six from beyond the arc in the first two quarters.

Fisher finished 3-for-4 from behind the line, Bryant went 2-for-3, Jordan Farmar and Coby Karl each went 2-for-2, and Vladimir Radmanovic and Sasha Vujacic 2-for-4.

The Lakers’ 61 percent from 3-point range was better than their overall shooting percentage — 54 percent.

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said the Lakers simply overwhelmed his team in the second half, and “Obviously, they made a ton of 3-point shots. They put it on us.”

Lamar Odom added 15 points and Ronny Turiaf had 13 for the Lakers. Radmanovic, Pau Gasol and Farmar each scored 10 to give them seven players in double figures.

The Pacific cellar-dwelling Clippers were good on just 3-of-14 from 3-point range as they lost for the seventh time in eight games.

The Lakers’ win, which came with their logo on the floor against their co-tenants, was their most lopsided since the Clippers moved from San Diego before the 1984-85 season. Their widest margin previously was by 34 points in November 1986.

“They’re a good team. They have the best player in the world (Bryant) on their team,” said the Clippers’ Chris Kaman, who scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds, but had only four points after the first quarter.

“They play really well together, they pass the ball, everybody plays with each other and they don’t care who scores,” he added.

Corey Maggette had 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the loss. Cuttino Mobley added 13 points for the Clippers.

The Lakers struggled through injuries last season, the Clippers have been without All-Star Elton Brand and point guard Shaun Livingston all of this one. Bryant said their absences obviously have cost the Clippers.

“They’d be a different ballclub. They’d be right there with the rest of the West, no question about it,” he said. “Injuries are tough, man, especially when you have a guy like E.B. and a young guy like Livingston go down. It makes things very difficult.”

The Lakers broke the game open with a 13-2 burst that began with Luke Walton’s 18-footer in the final second of the first half, and ended on Fisher’s 3-pointer for a 62-43 lead in the first 3:15 of the third quarter.

Notes: Livingston, out of action since tearing up his left knee in a game on Feb. 26, 2007, was re-examined on Thursday and Dr. James Andrews said he still expects a full recovery, but that Livingston’s progress has been slowed by tendinitis in the knee. ... NBA commissioner David Stern attended the game, the final stop of a trip through Portland, Utah and L.A. “I thought I would treat myself to three teams that are having surprisingly outstanding seasons,” Stern said. ... Clippers G Dan Dickau, who scored a season-high 20 points in Wednesday’s double-overtime win over Sacramento, made his first start in 47 games this season. He and F Josh Powell are the only Clippers to be physically available for all 60 games this season.

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