Half: Hornets 55, Lakers 47

Trailing by eight points at halftime was no big deal for the Lakers, but the possibility of injuries to two of their best player was one, however. First, Pau Gasol suffered a nasty cut below his left eye when D.J. Mbenga smacked him and he had to go to the locker room. Then, Kobe Bryant fell to the court after sinking a jumper from the wing and crashed into the first row of seats. Bryant stayed down while Chris Paul made a 3-pointer and Ron Artest countered with a 3 at the buzzers for the Lakers. Then everyone rushed to see about Bryant, who rose after a time and walked to the locker room under his own power. Bryant scored 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting in the half. Paul had 11 points and 11 assists.