LOS ANGELES — After a month of playing short-handed, the Los Angeles Lakers are back to full strength. If Sunday is an accurate indication, that means trouble for every other NBA team.

Kobe Bryant scored 22 points before sitting out the fourth quarter, Pau Gasol added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, and the Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 99-85 in a matchup of the Western Conference's best teams that turned out to be a mismatch.

The win was the fourth straight and 14th in 17 games for the Lakers (35-8), whose .814 winning percentage is the best in the NBA although the defending champion Boston Celtics (37-9) lead them by a half-game in the overall standings by virtue of their 124-100 victory over Dallas earlier Sunday.

Backup point guard Jordan Farmar returned after missing 18 games because of an injured left knee, and scored 14 points. Luke Walton played in his third game after missing nine with an injured foot, and Lamar Odom (knee) and Sasha Vujacic (back spasms) were also sidelined for brief periods.

"We missed him a lot. He makes our second unit go, he's the motor," Bryant said of Farmar, who shot 5-of-7 including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. "Now that he's back, everybody falls into their natural positions and we are back clicking on all cylinders."

Reserve Trevor Ariza scored 17 points to match his season high and Andrew Bynum had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers.




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