DRAWING FIRST BLOOD BRYANT GETS 40 POINTS, AS LAKERS BEAT CLIPPERS LAKERS 105, CLIPPERS 101.

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

The bragging rights are only good for 11 days, with the Lakers and Clippers set to play again Dec. 2 at Staples Center, the same day as that other crosstown classic between USC and UCLA.

But the Lakers were happy to lay claim to being the city's best professional basketball team, along with taking over first place in the Pacific Division, with a 105-101 victory Tuesday night over the Clippers.

That it also was Kobe Bryant's strongest game after coming back from knee surgery might keep the rivalry as one-sided as it always has been, with the Lakers winning three games to every one for the Clippers in the two decades the teams have shared the city.

``It's fun for us,'' Bryant said. ``As players, it's just another game. But when the whole city gets involved in this atmosphere, we can't help but respond.''

The Lakers gave back all of a 13-point, third-quarter lead and went 7 1/2 minutes without a basket at the start of the fourth quarter. Yet there was Bryant, who cast his future with the Lakers instead of the Clippers in July 2004, coming through in the end.

Bryant finished with 40points on 12-of-23 shooting and went 15 of 18 from the foul line. It was the first 40-point game of the season for Bryant, who had a franchise-record 27 such games last season.

He had 20 points in the first quarter and capped his game with 55.1 seconds left by spinning past Tim Thomas and Quinton Ross and pushing in a shot just before Elton Brand arrived to help. The 10-footer put the Lakers in front 100-94.

``The thing that I looked at was that he had one turnover tonight and he's been having six and seven,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Bryant. ``I think the decisiveness is evident in that. He's doing some things a little bit quicker, making his moves a little bit quicker without as much hesitation, and that changes that considerably.''

The Lakers (8-3) won their fourth consecutive game and are 3-0 in the Pacific. They are five games over .500 -- a mark they didn't reach until April 2 last season -- and will play at Western Conference-leading Utah on Friday.

Lamar Odom overcame a ``nightmare'' game, as Jackson put it, to finish with 18 points and six rebounds.

Brand had 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who also got 20 points from Corey Maggette off the bench.

The Lakers made only 31 of 46 free throws in the game but made them when it mattered most. Center Kwame Brown, who missed everything on one foul shot in the third quarter, knocked down two free throws with 3:05 left to draw a ``wow'' from Jackson.

Odom missed three sets of free throws in the game but made two with 2:10 remaining to make it 96-91. It helped redeem a game in which he made just 6 of 18 shots and 4 of 10 free throws.

``You just kind of stick with it,'' Odom said. ``You stay in there. You stay tough. Hitting them when they count, I can sleep at night now.''

Brown totaled 10 points and 14 rebounds -- seven offensive rebounds -- and gave the Lakers the size needed against Brand.

As proof of how much they needed Bryant, the Lakers were outscored 9-0 with him on the bench to start the fourth quarter.

They missed four 3-pointers and didn't score until the 5:38mark as Bryant sank two free throws. Bryant made a tough jumper over Ross a minute later for the Lakers' first field goal of the quarter.

For a player who came in averaging 22 points per game, Bryant seemed to have a breakthrough in the first quarter. He scored 20 of the Lakers' 27 points, including the last 11, and capped the quarter by burying a 3- pointer over Shaun Livingston.

Bryant also assisted on four 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Lakers built their double-digit lead. He drew the defense on drives and found open shooters and went on to finish the game with five assists.

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy was questioned on why he kept guard Sam Cassell on the bench until the final 2:10.

Cassell scored 12 of his 18 points in the third quarter but didn't come back in the fourth until the Lakers were ahead 96-91.

``The group that was on the floor had them on a 1-for-17 run,'' Dunleavy said. ``We had the lead. We had it going. We were playing well. We were playing solid, so we stayed that way.''

Even though the Lakers own an all-time 79-21 record against the Clippers, the talk before the game was of the changed fortunes of the city's teams.

The Clippers have finished with a better record than the Lakers the past two seasons and advanced to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last season. It was a breakthrough for a franchise without a single banner hanging at Staples Center.

``People follow success,'' Jackson said. ``You saw a lot of our fans that jumped to support the Clippers because they're L.A. people and L.A. people will support the Clippers if they do well.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Lakers' Kobe Bryant, left, drives for a layup while being defended by the Clippers' Sam Cassell on Tuesday.

Jeff Lewis/Associated Press

(2) The Lakers' Lamar Odom rebounds over the Clippers' Elton Brand, left, and Quinton Ross.

Kevin Chang/Staff Photographer