Kobe Bryant scored 28 points and the Los Angeles Lakers moved closer to securing the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs by routing the visiting Dallas Mavericks 110-82 on Thursday.

Pau Gasol scored 20 points, Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Lamar Odom had 16 points and 11 rebounds as Los Angeles (54-20) won its eighth straight game and 16th in 17 contests since the All-Star break.

Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas (53-22), which had a five-game winning streak snapped.

Odom scored 11 straight points on three 3-pointers and a layup as the Lakers stretched a nine-point lead late in the third quarter into a 90-70 advantage with 10:25 remaining in the game.

Ron Artest added 13 points for Los Angeles, which is now just 2 1/2 games behind slumping San Antonio for the top seed in the West.

Peja Stojakovic added 13 points for the Mavericks, who trailed just 54-51 at halftime before being outscored 56-31 in the second half.

Tensions between the teams escalated in fourth quarter when Dallas guard Jason Terry pushed Steve Blake to the ground after being called for a foul. Terry, Blake, Los Angeles forward Matt Barnes and Dallas center Brendan Haywood were all ejected in the ensuing scrum. Lakers swingman Shannon Brown was ejected later in the quarter.