Monday night brawl between Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers thrilled thousands of fans as the two teams collided.

Lakers Bryant had plenty of help Monday night he had 20 points, six rebounds and 12 assists while shooting 9-of-22.

Pau Gasol led Los Angeles with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Andrew Bynum and Sasha Vujacic scored 14 points each. Derek Fisher added 11 for the Lakers.

While Cavs James had 23 points and nine rebounds, but shot just 9-of-25. Mo Williams added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Sasha Pavlovic scored 12 for the Cavaliers (31-8)

After a close first half that ended with Cleveland up one, the Lakers turned up the defensive effort in the third quarter and took control of the game, starting with a 13-3 run to open the second half. Andrew Bynum controlled the paint, Bryant did a good job denying LeBron the basketball, and when The King did get the ball the Lakers big men were there to help, forcing James to be a jump shooter.

Meanwhile, the Lakers dominated in the paint, outscoring the Cavaliers by 14 in that area. The Lakers crisp ball rotations led to a lot of open looks while the Cavaliers looked stymied by the Lakers defense that demands that kind of passing from the opposing team.

Well, LeBron James didn't look stymied all the time. He looked like an MVP candidate, with his ability to drive the lane and ability to hit threes. LeBron also hit teammates for open looks, but they didn't always go down.

But Bryant's supporting cast was far more effective, Lakers beat Cleveland 105-88 to snap a five-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.

Basketball