ATLANTA, Jan. 29 (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant scored 26 of his 32 points in the first half as the Los Angeles Lakers opened a big lead and blew out the Atlanta Hawks, 127-93, for their most lopsided road win of the season.

Shaquille O'Neal added 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting for Los Angeles, which had lost six of its previous nine games, including a 93-87 setback at Philadelphia on Sunday in the opener of a five-game road trip.

Neither Bryant nor O'Neal played in the fourth quarter, which began with the Lakers ahead by 102-69. But they still registered their highest point total of the season. Los Angeles' largest overall victory margin was a 120-81 home shellacking of Memphis on January 14.

"The way Kobe was going tonight, I had to sit him down," Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said. "He was going like crazy and took advantage of the small guard corps. He set the tone for the game."

NBA.comTV highlights from Lakers-Hawks: 56k | 300k Shaquille O'Neal wasn't needed to be in Superman form, yet he still made 10 of the 13 shots he took. Scott Cunningham NBAE/Getty Images

Bryant shot 10-of-12 for 20 points in the first quarter -- matching the Hawks' total -- in staking the Lakers to a 12-point advantage. His 20 points were a season high by a Hawks' opponent in a quarter this season.

"We came out and played hard," Bryant said. "We really came after them defensively. We played great defense."

After a layup by Dion Glover got Atlanta within 32-24 with 11:27 left in the half, the Lakers went on an 18-0 run that was capped by a dunk by O'Neal with 7:43 to go in the period.

The Lakers led by as many as 28 points before the break and took a 68-41 bulge into the locker room. Los Angeles shot 62 percent (28-of-45) through 24 minutes and 58 percent (50-of-87) overall.

"I felt like once we got a big lead, we got away from it a little bit," Bryant said. "We felt like we had such a good rhythm, we didn't have to execute. (But) we did a pretty good job tonight."

"The Lakers did whatever they wanted to do," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said. "They had their way from the beginning. They were outstanding and dictated every aspect of the game."

Los Angeles outrebounded Atlanta, 55-38, and limited the Hawks to 42 percent shooting (41-of-98).

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who was named to his first All-Star team on Tuesday, had 21 points to pace Atlanta, which has lost four in a row and 10 of its last 11 games.

"When you lose like that, nobody is doing what he's supposed to do," Abdur-Rahim said. "We didn't compete as hard as we needed to as a team. There's no pont screaming and yelling. We should be embarrassed."

"I am happy for him. It's about time," Bryant said. "Being in Vancouver (before this season), guys didn't have a chance to see him play. And it's a shame. He's an All-Star and he should have been an All-Star years ago."

Nazr Mohammed chipped in 15 points and Jacque Vaughn added 13 for the Hawks, who never led and trailed by as many as 40 in the fourth quarter en route to their six defeat in seven home games.

"They whipped us tonight and they whipped us on both ends of the court," said Jason Terry, who had 11 points and eight assists. "They came out and showed us they weren't going to let up. One through 12, they came out and beat us all night long. (They got) loose balls, rebounds, second shots, just everything."