Kobe Bryant showed no signs of the groin strain that slowed him to a crawl in Sunday’s loss to the Houston Rockets. He scored a team-leading 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting in the first half. Andrew Bynum added seven points and seven rebounds against the undersized Pistons. Jordan Farmar added seven points in a reserve role. Ben Gordon led the Pistons with 11 points, but was no match for Bryant. Also, at halftime, injured Lakers forward Luke Walton said he had no idea how he suffered a pinched nerve in his back. He said it had been bothering him for about a week or so. He is expected to sit out six weeks.

UPDATED: Walton had this to say about his injury, “I want to get back as soon as possible. Last time (during a similar injury during training camp), they wanted me out longer, but as soon as the back started feeling good again, I was begging them to start playing again. They did and, obviously, it wasn’t a mistake. I wasn’t ready yet.”