NBA: LA Lakers 109, New Orleans 80

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Kobe Bryant helped keep Los Angeles hot with 19 points Wednesday in the Lakers' 109-80 victory over New Orleans.

The Lakers won their fourth in a row and their eighth out of nine. They have also grabbed seven of their last nine road contests.

Andrew Bynum contributed 17 points for Los Angeles and Luke Walton had 14.

New Orleans, which had won its previous three games, was paced by Chris Paul with 32.

Los Angeles began the game with a 16-4 run, during which Bryant had six points, and the Hornets could never seriously challenge.

Earlier in the day, the Hornets announced they had agreed to an extension of their lease. But if certain attendance benchmarks are not reached, the team would be free to leave New Orleans after the 2008-09 season.