LOS ANGELES, Feb. 21 (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant has the Los Angeles Lakers headed toward the postseason. The Portland Trail Blazers may be starting to look toward next season.

Bryant scored 27 points and Lamar Odom added 20 and 17 rebounds as the Lakers pulled away for a 99-82 victory over the Trail Blazers in the first game for both teams following the All-Star break.

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Once a fierce rivalry as two of the Western Conference's top teams, the Lakers ultimately were doomed by disharmony, while the Blazers fell victim to injuries and salary cap issues.

"We've lost a lot of guys with injuries and we are playing a lot of young guys," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "We just keep putting guys out there and try and work our way out of there. The main thing is to keep hope alive and look at what you didn't do well and try and do it better the next game."

However, Bryant clearly has the Lakers headed in the right direction as the league's leading scorer continues to play at a spectacular pace. He connected on 11-of-19 shots, helping to spark the decisive burst in the third quarter and singlehandedly keeping Portland at bay in the fourth.

"This was a good game to start the second half of the season," Bryant said. "We did not want to come out and have a sluggish game or drop a game. To start the second half of the season, we wanted to come out and make a statement."

Los Angeles held 44-40 lead at halftime before breaking open the game in the third quarter, outscoring Portland by a 23-15 margin.

Odom opened the period with a jumper and Smush Parker followed with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 49-40. Portland closed to 51-48 on a dunk by Ha Seung-Jin midway through the quarter before Los Angeles responded with an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to take control.

Kwame Brown, who finished with nine points and seven rebounds, threw down a dunk to ignite the burst. Odom added a layup and two free throws around a basket by Parker before Bryant capped the surge with a 3-pointer for a 62-50 advantage with 3:53 remaining in the session.

"My concentration level was high tonight," said Odom, who fell two rebounds shy of his career high. "It is just game-by-game now. You have to win."

The versatile forward, who made 9-of-21 shots and also dished out six assists, admitted to benefitting from the All-Star break.

"Time off is always important to both your mind and your body to keep your spirit up," Odom said. "I didn't really do anything differently tonight, still rebounded and drove to the hole."

The Blazers continued to battle in the fourth quarter, but Bryant took off on a stretch in which he scored 10 straight points for the Lakers. The 27-year-old superstar made two jumpers and a pair of 3-pointers in his impressive run en route to 15 fourth-quarter points.

"We did well," Bryant said. "We were very aggressive on both ends of the floor and got some steals in transition. We played well in spurts."

Parker and Devean George contributed 13 points apiece for Los Angeles (27-26), which currently sits in the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

"I just wanted to come out and knock down shots," George said. "When they double-team Kobe, you want to help out."

Juan Dixon scored 16 points and Darius Miles added 13 for Portland (18-34), which shot just 39 percent (32-of-82) in losing for the sixth time in seven games. The Blazers did themselves no favor at the foul line, making only 12-of-28 attempts.

"We just have to work harder," Miles said. "Injuries have affected us a lot. I was out about a month and a half, nearly two months actually. Theo Ratliff, Joel Przybilla, and now Zach Randolph might be out."

Randolph left the game late in the third quarter with a chipped tooth. The Blazers' leading scorer, Randolph scored only seven points on 3-of-12 shooting in 28 minutes.

"It looked like he was wrestling around for a rebound and he just came out of the pile with blood and we knew right away he was cut," McMillan said.