LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23 (Ticker) -- The Sacramento Kings had a few good men, but they could not handle Kobe Bryant.

Bryant scored 36 points and added a season-high 10 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away for their third win in four games, a 106-85 victory over the Kings.

NBA TV highlights from Kings-Lakers: Play

Lamar Odom contributed 19 points and nine assists and Devean George added 15 points for Los Angeles, which shot 52 percent (41-of-78) in winning back-to-back games for the first time since January 22-27.

Mike Bibby made a jumper to draw Sacramento within 81-74 with 9:25 remaining, but Bryant promptly answered with a difficult fadeaway over Ron Artest, who was glued to the league's leading scorer on the play.

"He made some good shots," Artest said. "It's just part of the game. I had some battles that I won and he had some battles he won. But tonight we lost as a team, so that is the only thing that counts."

After the basket, Bryant ran back downcourt and slapped hands with actor and renowned Lakers fan Jack Nicholson. On the ensuing trip, Bryant drilled another jumper and soon thereafter found George for a 3-pointer to extend the cushion to 88-74 with 7:40 to play.

"Bryant is hard to guard," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "He makes tough shots. He attacks you going to the basket and tonight he made some tough jump shots. He is just tough to cover."

Despite battling through Artest's hard-nosed defense, Bryant shot 14-of-27 from the field en route to his 35th 30-point effort of the season.

Bryant admitted that he did not make too much of the hype surrounding his matchup with Artest. "I don't pay too much attention to that stuff," he said. "It is really funny to me. That being said, I enjoyed the matchup. I enjoy the opposition looking forward to the challenge in matching up with me. It's fun."

Artest echoed those same sentiments.

"I wasn't worried about the matchup," he said. "It is always fun matching up with guys like Kobe but we lost. We need to try and get better."

Bryant received some much-needed help from his supporting cast, as Odom made 9-of-16 shots, George connected on 6-of-10 and Brian Cook chipped in 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

"I think this was our best game this season," Bryant said. "We played very well at both ends of the court consistently. We did a great job containing our energy and when we went to our bench they came in and maintained our energy. We had guys step up consistently and make big plays. That is what we have to do. If we can keep this rolling, we will make a lot of noise."

Artest made a 3-pointer to bring the Kings within 64-56 just over four minutes into the third quarter, but Bryant promptly answered with a jumper and a 3-pointer to restore order.

"Kobe really took over the game offensively," Odom said. "But we played great defense as a team. We want our defense to be able to make plays for us."

Less than a minute later, Kevin Martin converted a three-point play to slice Sacramento's deficit to 69-59. Bryant picked up his fourth foul on the play, forcing the perennial All-Star to the bench.

However, Bryant's teammates stepped up in his absence, pushing the lead to 76-61 in just over two minutes. Cook made a jumper and Odom drove for a layup before Cook drilled a 3-pointer to cap a stretch in which the Lakers made 11-of-12 shots.

"I think we just didn't play the way we need to play," said Adelman, whose team had won its last three games against the Lakers. "I really don't think we played well tonight. They were very good and we gave them too many runouts in the open court. Then in the fourth quarter, we just started missing shots and they blew us out."

Bibby scored 25 points but made just 9-of-24 shots and also committed four of the Kings' 15 turnovers. Brad Miller added 16 points and Artest 15 and seven assists for Sacramento, which had won six of its previous eight games.