Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 18 points in the third quarter, five Los Angeles reserves finished in double figures and the Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 106-78 on Sunday night for their third straight victory.

Los Angeles blew the game open by scoring 18 straight points to finish the third quarter and start the fourth for an 81-60 lead with 9:45 remaining.

The Bulls weren't closer than 15 points after that, and wound up losing by their biggest margin ever to the Lakers. The previous record margin was 27 points in 1968.

Andrew Bynum had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers; Jordan Farmar added 14 points and a career-high eight assists; Chris Mihm and Vladimir Radmanovic scored 11 points each and Luke Walton added 10.

Ben Gordon scored 20 points and Andres Nocioni had 14 points and six rebounds for the Bulls, off to a disappointing 2-7 start after they were picked as one of the Eastern Conference's best teams during the preseason.

The Los Angeles substitutes outscored their Chicago counterparts 73-31, and the Lakers outrebounded the Bulls 51-38.

Both teams played without a starting forward. Luol Deng, the Bulls' second-leading scorer, sat out because of lower back pain. Ronny Turiaf missed his second game for the Lakers due to a sprained left ankle.

The Lakers lost starting center Kwame Brown early in the game as well. Brown left in the first quarter with what the team called moderate sprains of the left knee and ankle.

The game was the first between the teams since early-season trade talks involving Bryant, who has asked to be dealt and apparently would welcome a move to Chicago.

"It was talked about incessantly for about two or three weeks,'' Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "We even talked about it as a team. We haven't talked about it for several days now, but it's over. It's just dead. Dead story.''

Brown was injured when Bulls center Ben Wallace fell into him. Bryant charged into Wallace while driving toward the basket and passing underneath to Brown, who went down in a heap clutching his left leg after the contact, which came as he was going up for a shot.

X-rays were negative, and team spokesman John Black said the Lakers would probably have a better idea Monday about the severity of the injuries.

Bryant, who scored eight points in the first half, had nine during a 15-2 spurt to start the third quarter, giving the Lakers a 60-48 lead and putting them ahead to stay. The Bulls drew within three points before Los Angeles went on its game-clinching run.

With Bryant watching from the bench, the Lakers scored 10 consecutive points for a 26-23 lead early in the second quarter. Neither team led by more than five points during the rest of the first half, which ended with Chicago on top 46-45.

The Bulls took a 21-16 first-quarter lead despite shooting 9-of-25 from the field. They were aided by nine Los Angeles turnovers leading to 11 points.

Notes: The Lakers finished with 22 turnovers to 19 for the Bulls. ... The teams have split their games each of the past three seasons. They play for the final time this season Dec. 18 in Chicago. ... Lakers coach Phil Jackson has a 10-5 record against Chicago - the team he coached to six NBA championships during the 1990s. ... Deng started the Bulls' first eight games this season and all 82 last season, when he averaged 18.8 points and 7.1 rebounds - both career bests.

The Los Angeles Lakers proved Friday that they can win even when Kobe Bryant is having an off night. Bryant will try to bounce back and lead the Lakers to their first three-game winning streak of the season when they host the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.

Bryant had 19 points in Friday's 103-91 win over Detroit, just the third time in eight games he has been held under 20 points. He shot just 2-for-14 through the first three quarters, but Lamar Odom picked up the slack and finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead six Lakers scoring in double digits.

"I can force the issue and go off for 40 or 50, but that's not beneficial to the team. You've just got to stick to the flow of the game," Bryant said. "I had some easy shots, they just didn't fall for me."

Bryant, who is averaging 27.4 points per game, did score 11 points in the final 5:38 to help the Lakers (5-3) pull away, but he also made up for his slow shooting night with strong defense.

"When you're not shooting the ball well, you have to lead by example and make the rest of the guys understand that even though you don't shoot the ball well, it doesn't mean you relax on defense. If anything, you pick it up," he said.

The Lakers were back home after a two-game swing through Texas that included a 107-92 loss in San Antonio on Tuesday and a 93-90 win in Houston the following night.

"It's definitely a confidence booster," Odom said of the back-to-back wins over Houston and Detroit. "We know we could have played a little bit better in that San Antonio game. Hopefully we can just keep the momentum going."

Odom is averaging 16.3 points in four games after missing the start of the season recovering from left shoulder surgery.

Forward Ronny Turiaf, who is averaging 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, missed Friday's game because of a sprained left ankle. Luke Walton started in his place.

Bryant is averaging 25 points in 18 career games against the Bulls, but has averaged just 20 in his last three since scoring 43 in a 96-93 home loss against them on Nov. 20, 2005. The Lakers have won eight of 10 against the Bulls in Los Angeles.

Chicago (2-6) is playing at Staples Center for the second consecutive night, after beating the Los Angeles Clippers 92-73 on Saturday for its first road win of the season. The Bulls, who are playing the third game on a six-game trip, had been outscored by an average of more than eight points in their first three games away from home.

Ben Gordon, who leads Chicago with 19.8 points per game, had 25 Saturday and Ben Wallace pulled down 13 rebounds, surpassing the season high of 10 he recorded in Thursday's 112-102 loss in Phoenix.

Andres Nocioni - starting in the second straight game - chipped in 21 points, was called for a flagrant foul and drew two flagrants himself.

"Clearly in both games he's started, he gives us a presence out there with how assertive he plays. And his emotion and passion for the game rub off on other people," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said.