Parker leads Lakers victory

It was an interesting thing to see on the court. Parker, a former Piston, helped the Lakers clearly defeat the Orlando Magic 106-93 Wednesday night. The player scored a season-high 20 -- 18 in the third quarter -- and Bryant had 27 points and seven assists to complete the perfect game .

We must mention that the Lakers picked up their third victory on a tough six-game road swing that ends at Charlotte on Friday. Furthermore, Andrew Bynum also had 13 points in 13 minutes against Orlando Magic.

"It's just that my team can't be giving the Smush Parkers of the league quarters like that," Magic coach Brian Hill admitted. "If it's Kobe it's different."

We can apreciate that former Piston Grant Hill had 20 points for Orlando, which has lost three straight. Also Jameer Nelson added 15 points and seven assists, and Dwight Howard had 12 points and eight rebounds.

It's not so strange to see that after scoring 15 in the first half, Bryant virtually disappeared in the third quarter. In fact, he hit three free throws but missed all three field-goal attempts and didn't make a second-half shot from the field until a 3-pointer 1:17 into the last quarter.

And fans must admit that Los Angeles didn't need him. Parker scored nine during a 14-3 run in the third quarter, and Brian Cook made a 3-pointer just before the period ended to give Los Angeles a 79-73 lead.

"I think that we just ran our offense," Parker expressed. "We executed our offense and I got open looks."