It was actually the Memphis Grizzlies who seemed to adopt that strategy, providing hardly any defensive resistance against Kobe Bryant whenever he attacked from the high post.

Bryant scored 41 points for the third time in four games, helping the Lakers overcome the absence of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum and coast to a 114-98 victory.

"What can I say? This is a guy that sees a weakness in a team and exploits it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Bryant. "Tonight they didn't seem to want to put a finger in the dike. They just let the leak continue. We just kept going down in the post where Kobe had a size advantage against this team and took advantage of it."

If the Lakers could have handpicked an opponent to face without their top two big men, Memphis might have been among their top choices. The woeful Grizzlies entered play having dropped four of five. That included losses in their previous two games to Sacramento and Golden State, two teams not expected to even sniff playoff contention.

After trailing by two at halftime, the Lakers finally achieved some separation from the Grizzlies as a result of a torrent of third-quarter three-pointers. Ron Artest, Josh Powell and Derek Fisher sank one each during a 10-0 third-quarter run that extended the Lakers' lead to 85-74 and drained any drama from the game.

Much of Bryant's damage came against 6-foot-4 O.J. Mayo, the former USC star who often had to fend for himself as Kobe backed him down and unleashed an array of post moves he worked with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon to perfect in September.

Bryant made an efficient 19 of 30 shots, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain with a second-quarter bucket to become the youngest player in league history to eclipse 24,000 points. He also passed Memphis reserve Allen Iverson for 16th place in NBA career scoring.

"It just comes easier to me because I'm well rested," Bryant said. "I have the energy to carry us for long periods of time. I'm fresher."

What should have provided Memphis a glimmer of hope was the presence of big men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, both prolific enough scorers to exploit the Lakers if they went to a small lineup.

The Lakers countered by starting backup center D.J. Mbenga and playing reserve power forward Powell heavy minutes, relying on them to limit Randolph and Gasol to 21 and 10 points, respectively.

Powell had 13 points. Mbenga grabbed 13 rebounds, including nine in the first quarter, and blocked four shots. Artest scored 19 points and Fisher 11 for the Lakers , who also boasted a 35-13 edge in assists over the dribble-happy Grizzlies.

Maybe the only bad news for the Lakers is that it's very possible they won't have either Gasol or Bynum again on Sunday against New Orleans. Bynum was still wearing an electro-stim pad before the game on his strained right elbow, while Gasol said it's looking "pretty doubtful" his hamstring will be ready by Sunday.

"It's taking me longer to heal than I'd like," Gasol said.

Reach Jeff Eisenberg at jeisenberg@PE.com