Halftime: Lakers 62, Hornets 42

The Lakers appeared well on their way to their seventh consecutive victory tonight, battering the shorthanded New Orleans Hornets. Andrew Bynum scored a team-leading 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the first half. Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest had 11 points apiece and Pau Gasol scored 10. The Lakers shot 57.9 percent in the half and limited the Hornets to 42.9 percent shooting. Darren Collison, a rookie from UCLA, had 13 for New Orleans.