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 take it, along with first place in the Pacific Division, with a 105-101 victory over the Clippers. That it was Kobe Bryant's strongest game in coming back from knee surgery might keep things as one-sided as before.

The Lakers gave back all of a 13-point lead in the third quarter and couldn't hit a shot for seven-plus minutes at the start of the fourth quarter. Yet there was Bryant, who spurned an offer to sign with the Clippers in July 2004, coming through in the end.

Bryant finished with 40 points on 12 of 23 shooting and five assists.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.

It was the first 40-point game of the season for Bryant, who had a franchise-record 27 such games last season. Lamar Odom overcame a miserable first half to total 18 points and six rebounds. Brand and Corey Maggette each scored 20 points for the Clippers.

The Lakers (8-3) won their fourth consecutive game and moved to the top of the Pacific Division standings. They will play at Western Conference-leading Utah on Friday.

The Lakers struggled to hit free throws all game only to do so in the end.

Kwame Brown, who missed everything on one foul shot in the third quarter, converted two foul shots with 3:05 left. That drew a "wow" from Phil Jackson on the bench.

Odom came up empty on three earlier trips to the line but sank both free throws to make it 96-91 with 2:10 left. On the next possession, Brown (10 points, 14 rebounds) was swarmed by two defenders but found Luke Walton open for a layup to put the Lakers ahead by seven.

As proof of how much they needed Bryant, the Lakers were outscored 9-0 with him on the bench to start the fourth quarter. Odom was stripped on a drive and bricked two free throws.

They missed four 3-pointers in a row, two by Sasha Vujacic, one by Odom and one by Maurice Evans. Shaun Livingston scored seven points including a 3-pointer to tie the score 83-83 with 8:42 remaining.

The Lakers missed their first 11 shots in the quarter and didn't score until 5:38 was left as Bryant sank two free throws. Their first field goal came a minute later as Bryant hit a tough jumper over Ross.

For a player who came in averaging 22.0 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 Livingston.

Bryant came out aggressively with Ross matched up against him. He scored as part of a three-point play attacking the basket and catching Thomas in the restricted area. He drove the lane past Cuttino Mobley for another three-point play.

It was enough for the Lakers to take a 27-25 lead, even with the Clippers reeling off 13 straight points in the quarter. Bryant made 7 of 11 shots, had two steals and looked close to being the player he was before knee surgery.

The second quarter was a different story. The Lakers built a nine-point lead but Bryant went to the bench for the final 3:03 of the half after picking up his third foul. The Clippers closed to 51-48 by halftime.

Odom struggled to get anything going with Bryant on the bench to start the second quarter. He was stripped by Maggette and blew a dunk. Odom finally got to the foul line and hit two free throws in what proved to be a disastrous half.

There is something about the Clippers that always seems to weigh on Odom, who played the first four seasons of his career with them. Odom scored just four points on 1-of-7 shooting in the first half and missed four first-quarter free throws.

The Lakers connected on five 3-pointers in the third quarter and went ahead by as many as 13 points. Bryant assisted on four of the 3-pointers, drawing the defense and finding open shooters.

Bryant also had a nice sequence at the defensive end, knocking the ball out of Brand's hands. Mobley scooped it up only to have Bryant poke it free. That led to a Walton fast-break basket.

Even though the Lakers own an all-time 78-21 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 last two seasons and advanced to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last season. It was a breakthrough for a franchise with not a single banner hanging at Staples Center.

Jackson called Los Angeles "a dyed in the wool Lakers town for a lot of years. It's tough to change that around." He credited the Clippers for "raising the level of their game. We'd like to stay above their game."

"People follow success," Jackson added. "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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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