Sasha Vujacic scored 19 points, Lamar Odom added 17 points and 16 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 103-91 Tuesday night.

Slowed by a groin injury, Kobe Bryant scored 18 points for the Lakers, but was a non-factor for long stretches against the team he targeted as a possible destination during the offseason.

Odom started an 11-point run with a layup and capped it with a dunk as the Lakers turned an 86-83 lead into a 14-point advantage with 3:24 left in the game. In between, they took advantage of several turnovers, and got an alley-oop dunk by Andrew Bynum and a layup and 3-pointer by Jordan Farmar.

Bryant seemed fine when he converted an alley-oop dunk in the game's opening minute, but he missed his next seven shots and was 7-for-19 overall. His skid ended with a jumper and a layup with just over 2 minutes remaining in the first half.

Bryant then scored the Lakers' first six points of the third quarter, starting with a thunderous reverse dunk in transition about 40 seconds into the period, but he needed help and got it.

Vujacic scored nine in the fourth quarter, and Luke Walton and Bynum finished with 12 points apiece. Bynum also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Luol Deng led Chicago with 26 points, and Kirk Hinrich finished with 17 points and eight assists. Andres Nocioni scored 14 points, but hurt his foot late in the game.

Bryant heard a few more cheers than boos during pregame introductions and one kid sitting about 10 rows off the court wore a Bulls jersey with masking tape and the number 24 scrawled on it.

There were oohs and aahs when Luke Walton found a cutting Bryant for an all-oop over Kirk Hinrich, but there was nothing like the "Kobe! Kobe!" chorus that roared through the United Center during several home games last month. Those chants were in response to trade talks that fell through and the Bulls' slow start.

The Kobe rumors picked up so much steam that Chicago general manager John Paxson did his best to squash them on the eve of the home opener, saying the teams were never on the verge of a deal.

A day later, fans chanted "Kobe! Kobe!" in the closing seconds as the Bulls fell to Philadelphia. The chorus continued during a 2-10 start that included a 106-78 loss at Los Angeles -- Chicago's most lopsided loss ever to the Lakers.

Those chants haven't been heard in weeks, with the Bulls winning six of nine entering Tuesday's game.

The early cheers, oohs and aahs quickly turned to boos for Bryant after that alley oop.

That play aside, the groin he injured late in Friday's loss at Golden State limited him, and the two-time defending scoring champion spent most of the first half on the perimeter.

Game notes
Bryant was stunned when he first heard about fans at the United Center chanting his name early this season. "A couple of my friends played against the Bulls when that took place," Bryant said. "They called me after they played them and said they heard something that was just the craziest thing they had ever seen. I was shocked by it." ... The Bulls assigned rookie F Demetris Nichols to the Iowa Energy of the D-League. Nichols had been inactive for the four games since being claimed off waivers on Dec. 7. ... Hinrich, who had made 27 straight free throws entering the game, missed his first foul shot and was 3-for-5.

A groin injury is limiting Kobe Bryant. Kwame Brown's ankle problem, meanwhile, has helped Andrew Bynum flourish.

With Bryant trying to fight through some soreness, Bynum and the Los Angeles Lakers look to sweep their season series with the Chicago Bulls when the teams meet Tuesday night.

Bryant was injured in the final minutes of a loss to Golden State on Friday night and was a game-time decision for Sunday's matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers, but the star guard had a game-high 32 points as the Lakers (14-9) won 113-92.

The two-time defending NBA scoring champion, though, had to make adjustments due to some pain.

"I can't really open up my stride as much as I'm used to, so I've got to take shorter, choppy steps as opposed to opening my gait," said Bryant, second in the league with 27.2 points per game. "So if I can just keep it in my mind to keep my stride short, I'll be all right."

Bryant was the only Lakers starter to reach double digits in scoring in a 106-78 win over Chicago on Nov. 18, finishing with 18 points. None of Los Angeles' starting five played more than 35 minutes in the blowout.

Brown injured his ankle in that game, and Bynum had 14 points and 10 rebounds in place of the Lakers' starting center.

Brown is still sidelined, but Bynum has given the Lakers a strong post presence. The improving 7-footer is averaging 11.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks while shooting 61.8 percent from the floor in 12 games since Brown was injured.

Bynum - the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft - had 14 points, nine rebounds and six blocks against the Clippers.

"I think he's really just focused on improving himself and continuing to show that he's the real deal," Los Angeles point guard Derek Fisher said. "He's taking seriously his role of being a protector for us on the defensive end with shot blocking and controlling the defensive boards."

The Lakers have won five of six, averaging 111.8 points in that span. Los Angeles is opening a four-game stretch on the road, where it's 5-5 on the season.

Chicago (8-13), meanwhile, has won six of nine after losing 10 of its first 12.

"Everybody knows what we're capable of doing," Bulls swingman Luol Deng said after a 101-96 win over New York on Friday night. "This season has been so up-and-down."

Deng had 29 points, while Kirk Hinrich recorded the second triple-double of his career with 15 points, 14 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds.

Hinrich also went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, and his 27 consecutive made foul shots give him the longest active streak in the NBA. He's shooting a league-best 95.6 percent (43-of-45) from the free-throw line on the season.

The fifth-year guard, however, has been terrible in his last three games versus the Lakers, averaging 6.0 points while shooting 29.2 percent from the floor. He had eight points on 3-of-11 shooting in the Nov. 18 matchup.