Lakers 99, Pacers 93: Kobe Bryant started but went scoreless in 12 minutes on a sprained left ankle, leaving Dwight Howard to pick up the slack with 20 points and 12 rebounds as visiting Los Angeles held off Indiana.

Metta World Peace added 19 points and Steve Blake went 5-of-7 from 3-point range en route to 18 points off the bench for the Lakers, who moved a game up on the idle Utah Jazz for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. Bryant, who was not expected to play, started and went 0-for-4 before shutting it down after the first quarter.

George Hill scored 27 points and Paul George collected 20 and nine rebounds as the Pacers fell for the third time in the last five games.

Indiana led by as many as four points early in the fourth quarter and held an 85-84 lead after Hill’s short jumper with 3:10 left. Blake responded with a 3-pointer to put the Lakers back on top and Hill struck again to knot it at 87 with 2:39 to play.

Blake forced a steal and Steve Nash found Howard for a three-point play to give the Lakers the lead for good. Antawn Jamison, who scored 17 points, buried a 3-pointer and split a pair of free throws to make it a 94-87 gap, and Los Angeles held on.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Bryant went scoreless for the 15th time in his 17-year career. … The Lakers handed out 27 assists on 33 made field goals, led by Nash’s nine and seven from Blake. … Indiana shot 37.4 percent from the field and was particularly cold up front, where Roy Hibbert and David West combined to go 7-for-25 from the field.