Bodog Beat

Kobe Bryant lit up the Raptors for 46. (AI Wire photo)

Pau Gasol wasn’t in the building and Kobe Bryant didn’t need him.

The NBA’s two-time defending scoring champion poured in 46 points as the Los Angeles Lakers clobbered the Raptors 121-101 in Toronto on Friday night.

Prior to the game, L.A. nabbed Gasol, the hot-shooting Spaniard, in a deal with Memphis. But even though they were shorthanded, the Lakers could count on Bryant to pick up any slack.

L.A. was an underdog as the point spread favored the Raptors by 6.5. Bryant wasted little time in showing the oddsmakers how wrong they were on this one. He jammed several times and shot 19-for-28 from the floor.

The Lakers entered as loser of four of their past five while Toronto had won six straight, explaining the point spread.

In other NBA action on Friday:

Utah 96, Washington 87: A sixth consecutive double-double by Deron Williams complemented Mehmet Okur’s stellar game as the Jazz covered the five-point spread in the nation’s capital. Okur finished with 27 points and 11 boards while Williams had 11 points and 12 assists. Utah won for the 11th time in 12 games.

Orlando 108, Philadelphia 106: Among Hedo Turkoglu’s 23 points were two field goals with 2.4 seconds to play that won the game for the Magic. The 76ers, however, did cover the point spread at home. Orlando was favored by five.

Houston 106, Indiana 103: Five Rockets finished in double figures, led by rookie Carl Landry’s career-best 22 points. Underdog Indiana covered the 4.5-point spread in Indianapolis.

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