NEW YORK, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Kobe Bryant finished with 42 points and 12 assists to help the Lakers make up 25-point deficit in the second half and beat the Hornets 108-102 Wednesday at New Orleans.

Kobe, who injured his right elbow in a loss at Oklahoma City on Tuesday night, played 42 minutes and scored 25 points in the second half, 18 in the final quarter as the Lakers improved to 31-31 and pulled back to .500, one and a half games adrift of the Utah Jazz (32-29), who lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Dwight Howard did a great job in leading the Lakers' defense in the fourth quarter and contributed 20 points with 15 rebounds. The Lakers hit 33 points while holding the Hornets to nine in the final quarter. The New Orleans Hornets never scored in the remaining 6:47.

The Hornets had seven players in double figures. Vasquez ended up with 15 points and 12 assists, Al-Farouq Aminu donated 12 points and 16 rebounds, Lopez had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Eric Gordon scored 18 points, Anthony Davis added 13 points, Ryan Anderson hit 14 while Austin Rivers had 10 points.