LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant and coach Phil Jackson both thought the injury-depleted Lakers would get a stern early season test from the New Orleans Hornets. Instead, their visitors barely put up a fight.

Yes, DJ Mbenga and Shannon Brown were just that good.

Bryant scored 28 points, Brown added 15 and Los Angeles thrived again without its top two big men, beating the New Orleans Hornets, 104-88, last night.

Mbenga had 10 points and 12 rebounds in his fourth career NBA start for the defending champions, who easily won their fifth straight game and second in a row without injured center Andrew Bynum and forward Pau Gasol.

Before he took it easy after halftime, Bryant replaced those 14 feet of big men by repeatedly getting the ball in the post. He also got strong efforts from players who sometimes don't play at all for the full-strength Lakers.

"We believed this was going to be a really, really tough game," Bryant said. "Because of that, everybody's antennas were up, and everybody was really focused. We got a lot of help from DJ, Shannon, all the bench guys. There are going to be nights when we struggle, and we'll need their help."

After scoring exactly 41 points in three of the Lakers' previous four games, Bryant scored 26 in the first half, repeatedly capitalizing down low with ease against Devin Brown's defense. Bryant went scoreless in the third when New Orleans finally double-teamed him, but he rotated the ball to open shooters for five 3-pointers in the period — three by Brown.

Chris Paul had 15 points and nine assists for the Hornets, who made just 36.5 percent of their shots while opening a three-game West Coast road trip with their fourth loss in five games.

Suns 102, Wizards 90: Jason Richardson scored 22 points, Steve Nash had 17 assists, and visiting Phoenix beat Washington for the sixth straight time.

The Suns are 6-1, matching the best seven-game start in franchise history. Andray Blatche and Gilbert Arenas scored 20 points apiece for the Wizards, who have lost four in a row.

Blazers 116, Timberwolves 93: Andre Miller scored 21 points, LaMarcus Aldridge and Travis Outlaw each had 19, and host Portland built a 62-45 first-half lead in handing Minnesota its sixth straight loss.

Nathan Jawai led the Timberwolves with 16 points.

Kings 120, Warriors 107: Rookie Tyreke Evans scored 18 of his 23 points in the second quarter, and Jason Thompson added 19 points and 10 rebounds as host Sacramento won back-to-back games for the first time in nearly a year.

Stephen Jackson scored 21 points and Corey Maggette added 20 for the Warriors.

Pistons 88, 76ers 81: Ben Gordon scored 23 points, Ben Wallace added 16 rebounds and host Detroit held Philadelphia without a field goal the final six minutes.

Andre Iguodala led the 76ers with 24 points.

Thunder 102, Magic 74: Kevin Durant scored 28 points, and Russell Westbrook added 17 points and 10 assists to propel host Oklahoma City.

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 20 points.