Half: Blazers 48, Lakers 44

The Lakers played without suspended center Andrew Bynum and seemed to be doing just fine until the Portland Trail Blazers ended the first half tonight at Staples Center with a 10-0 run to take a halftime lead. Pau Gasol shifted from power forward to center to replace Bynum and scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds. Lamar Odom moved from a backup’s role to Gasol’s spot and had eight points and five rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored a team-leading 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting. Nicolas Batum had 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting for Portland.