INDIANAPOLIS, January 28- Andrew Bynum scored a season-high 27 points and Kobe Bryant finished with 29 as the Los Angeles Lakers turned up the heat in the second half to beat Indiana 118-96.Bryant scored 19 points in the second half for the Lakers who moved to 3-2 in their current eight game road trip. Bryant also had nine rebounds and seven assists.
Bynum shot 12-of-14 from the field and had 12 rebounds while Pau Gasol chipped in 21 points and 13 rebounds and Lamar Odom finished with 12 and 14 on Wednesday.
The Lakers outrebounded the Pacers 62-42 and outscored them in the paint 54-32.
Roy Hibbert shot 10-of-18 and had 21 points to lead the Pacers. Troy Murphy scored 18 points and Danny Granger finished with 14 in Indiana’s fifth loss in seven games.
Indiana played in front of just their fourth sellout crowd of the year but at times it didn’t seem like it as the crowd chanted M-V-P for Bryant.
Odom nailed a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Lakers a 59-56 lead.
Derek Fisher connected on another a three-point play in the opening minute of the second half. Bryant hit a three-pointer, then Gasol dunked, was fouled and converted the three-point play to give the Lakers a 10-point lead.
The Pacers shot just 35 percent in the fourth quarter and the Lakers led by at least nine points in the final quarter.