LA buries Charlotte, 106-73, but now it must try to improve on its 2-7 away record

LOS ANGELES - Having polished off their second subpar opponent in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers are turning their attention to a sore spot - the road.

Kobe Bryant scored 24 points, Andrew Bynum added 20, and the Lakers beat slumping Charlotte 106-73 on Tuesday night in their final home game before beginning their annual Grammy trip on Friday at Denver.

The Lakers have been a dominant 11-2 at home, but are 2-7 away from Staples Center.

"We just got to do our job, that's all. Go out, play hard, play physical and rebound the ball," Bryant said. "These road losses that we've had, the consistent factor has been teams getting on the offensive boards against us and we have to do a much better job of that."

Bynum had 11 rebounds, while Pau Gasol had 10 points and Andrew Goudelock keyed a big night for the bench with 12 points as the Lakers' reserves outscored the Bobcats' bench 48-30. Bryant, Fisher and Metta World Peace sat out the entire fourth quarter, when Bynum and Gasol each played less than five minutes.

"They played extremely well," Bryant said of the bench. "It's on them to make the most of it and if they don't, I have to come back in there, Pau has to come back in there, Andrew has to come back in there, and we have to play the whole second half or whatever the case is."

It was the Lakers' biggest victory against the Bobcats, who had beaten Los Angeles in eight of their previous 11 meetings. The Lakers have now topped the 100-point mark in each of their past two wins after failing to do so in 13 consecutive games.

Gerald Henderson scored 14 points in his return after a two-game absence because of a lower back contusion for the Bobcats, who fell to 1-11 on the road and 3-19 overall with their ninth consecutive loss. Derrick Brown added 12 points and Kemba Walker 12 coming off his triple-double against Washington on Saturday. Boris Diaw had 11.

"We've got a horrible record and we're trying to make our way back up," Henderson said. "We're starting to get guys back healthy. In fact, it seems like every game we get a new guy back. So hopefully, as we get more acclimated to each other, things will start improving."

The Bobcats were well-rested, not having played since that three-point loss, but that didn't help the league's worst team.

"It's been hard, but we're a very young club and we're in a rebuilding mode, so there's basically nothing you can do," coach Paul Silas said. "When I took over last year in December, we had about five or six of the players we have on the team right now. So it's been tough. My thing is, I love winning. And it's been hard on me, very difficult."

The rout was well under way in the first quarter, when Bryant racked up 18 points in 10 minutes and the Lakers led 30-18. He had six more points in the second quarter and the Lakers went into halftime ahead 60-36.

Associated Press