Basketball: Los Angeles Lakers 103 Denver 97

Andrew Bynum made up for the absence of Kobe Bryant with 30 points Friday, lifting the Los Angeles Lakers to a 103-97 win over Denver. Bryant missed his fourth straight game with a shin injury and the Nuggets took advantage that to move two points in front with 3:45 to play. Los Angeles then went on a 12-4 run to end the game, building its lead over the Los Angeles Clippers to 1 1/2 games at the top of the Pacific Division. Denver, which had won two in a row, took a hit in its bid to make the playoffs. The Nuggets and Houston are tied for seventh and eighth place in the Western Conference, only one game in front of Phoenix and 1 1/2 ahead of Utah. Bynum made 11-of-19 shots from the field as part of the Lakers' 50 percent shooting effort. Matt Barnes came off the bench to add 24 points. Andre Miller had 20 for the Nuggets and both Al Harrington and Arron Afflalo scored 18.