20 November,2009 12:57 PM IST | | AFP
Pau Gasol made the most of his season debut, scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 108-93 on Thursday.
Kobe Bryant added 21 points to pass Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the club's career scoring list.
Ron Artest added 15 points for the reigning NBA champs, who finally had their full starting lineup intact as they posted their ninth win in a dozen games to begin the season.
Gasol missed the first 11 games of the year with a strained right hamstring. He shot nine-of-15 from the field as the Lakers won their second straight game.
Bryant had nine rebounds and eight assists. He also vaulted past Abdul-Jabbar into second-place on the Lakers' all-time scoring list with 24,182 total points. Jerry West (25,192) is in first place while Abdul-Jabbar has 24,176.
The Lakers blew the game open in the third at Staples Center arena by extending their lead to 20 points.
It was also the eighth win in the past nine game for the Lakers against the Bulls who are in the midst of a lengthy six game road trip.
The Bulls were led by Derek Rose who had 20 points. John Salmons had 18 points with all coming in the opening half for the Bulls.
