The scouting report was straight forward and succinct: The Lakers spend a lot of time in the lane on the offensive end of the court.

Although the Hornets limited Los Angeles to just 18 points inside the lane in the first half, the final two quarters and overtime were a different story.

The Lakers scored 36 points in the paint in the second half and consequently went to the free-throw line 35 times — including three by Kobe Bryant with 19.3 seconds in regulation that pushed the game into overtime — and Los Angeles outlasted the Hornets 107-101 in the New Orleans Arena before an announced crowd of 17,272.

The Hornets play at home again tonight against the Washington Wizards.

Los Angeles finished the game with 54 points in the lane, and in the Hornets’ past three games opponents have scored 146 points inside.

“In the first half, we had 18 in the paint; in the second half we had 36,” Lakers Coach Mike Brown said. “We found ways to score down there. But you’ve got to give New Orleans credit, because they made it crowded all night. In the second half, we got the ball down there and made some nice finishes.”

Finish is what the Hornets could not do Wednesday night, despite a good effort through nearly four full quarters.

New Orleans led by 17 points late in the second quarter and was up by 14 at halftime. But the Lakers outscored the Hornets 30-16 in the third to tie the score at 70 and made more plays down the stretch and throughout overtime.

Bryant had a game-high 33 points, including 11-of-11 shooting on free throws. Center Andrew Bynum had 25 points and 18 rebounds, and power forward Pau Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Jarrett Jack led the Hornets with 30 points, and Chris Kaman had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Kaman had a wide-open look from 15 feet with just 3.2 seconds to go in regulation and the game tied at 93, but couldn’t convert.

With the Hornets trailing 102-99 in with 41.9 to go in overtime, Kaman lost the ball, which was stolen by Metta World Peace. World Peace also blocked a shot by Kaman with 14.9 seconds to go and the Lakers leading 103-99.

“Our guys just game out at halftime and were determined to play the right way in terms of getting stops,” Brown said. “In the first half, we weren’t defensively present at all, and I thought they were able to get what they wanted. We picked that up in the third quarter, and at the end of the game, all our guys did a nice job, but Metta had some nice stops down the stretch. His defensive prowess, his hands, have been very big for us down the stretch in a lot of ball games.”

Bryant’s driving slam dunk with an and-one free throw added on the first play of overtime gave the Lakers a 96-93 lead, the first time Los Angeles led since 4:19 of the first quarter.

“The losses just drive you nuts,” said Hornets Coach Monty Williams. “Losing always makes you overanalyze or become real emotional. Winning is almost the same every time. I can say a lot of stuff right now, but I’m proud of the way our guys responded tonight. I told them if they continue to play that way, we’ll win more games.

“But our execution down the stretch was poor. There’s no other way to put it. A lot of that is on me. I’ve got to get guys in a position to execute and get some shots.”

The Hornets had three turnovers in overtime, two by Kaman.

New Orleans led once in overtime, 99-98, after Trevor Ariza’s jumper with 1:21 to go, but Los Angeles outscored the Hornets 9-2 the rest of the way.

“We fought hard,” said Jack. “I can’t really complain. My guys gave everything that they had. Obviously, we’re not at full strength, but you don’t look for any cop-outs or excuses.”

Williams offered none, as well.

“Every time I come up here after a loss,” Williams said, “I’m talking about us. But the Lakers beat us. They did what was necessary to win the game. That’s a championship team over there, and they are just going to get better. I thought they played their game. They were in our paint all night long, and they did what was necessary to win. Couple that with the lack of execution down the stretch, and you get the result.”

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Jimmy Smith can be reached at jsmith@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3814.

NEW ORLEANS – Willie Green hit his first 12 shots and finished with a season-high 31 points to lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 109-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

Green, who was 5 for 15 in his previous three games, made a 3-pointer soon after entering midway through the first quarter. He made all five of his shots in the second quarter, one in the third quarter and put the Suns away with five more in the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter — the last three baskets coming in a 29-second span as the Hornets extended a 99-88 lead to 107-88.

He finally missed, failing to even hit the rim when he tried to draw a foul on Phoenix’s Jared Dudley with less than 5 minutes left. He missed his next four shots as well, finishing 12 for 17 — including 5 for 6 on 3s.

Trevor Ariza added 21 points for the Hornets, Carl Landry scored 17 and Chris Paul had 12 assists as the Hornets tied Portland for sixth place in the Western Conference.

Dudley had a team-high 18 points for the Suns, who played without NBA assists leader Steve Nash and will have to win their final three games to avoid their first losing season since 2003-04. Marcin Gortat added 17 points, and Grant Hill scored 15.

The Suns were still in it, trailing 85-79 at the end of the third quarter, before Green’s final surge. He hit a 3 to give the Hornets a 90-79 lead, then sank an outside shot to make it 94-82. New Orleans led by double digits the rest of the way.

His first 10 shots came within the framework of the offense. Then the Hornets started feeding him and letting him go to work in the fourth quarter.

He shook his arms as if he were too hot to be contained after his fourth 3 gave them a 102-88 lead. The next time down the court, he faced up Zabian Dowdell, dribbled in place and launched an outside shot that hit nothing but net.

After a scramble play under the basket on New Orleans’ next possession, Ariza passed to him for one more wide open 3, which he swished as the crowd went wild.

Phoenix closed to 10 points down the stretch, but couldn’t get any closer.

The Suns took a 28-18 lead in the first 8 minutes, scoring from everywhere on the court. Hill had nine of those points, hitting four of his first five shots, and Dudley went 3 for 3 with a dunk and two layups.

Outhustled during that stretch, the Hornets responded with a 13-2 run. Paul scored his only points of the first half in the final 35 seconds of the quarter hitting a 3-pointer to close the deficit to 30-29 and a step-back buzzer beater to give New Orleans its first lead, 31-30.

The Hornets never trailed again, shooting 55.6 percent from the floor. Landry was almost as proficient as Green, sinking eight of 10 shots.

Phoenix fell to 1-6 without Nash, who sat out to rest a strained right hamstring. Starting in Nash’s place, Aaron Brooks had nine points and nine assists, making two of seven shots.

NOTES: The Hornets have won three in a row for the first time since January, when they won 10 straight. … Nash is on pace to lead the NBA in assists for the fifth time in the last seven seasons, averaging 11.4. Boston’s Rajon Rondo is second at 11.2. … The 6-foot-7 Dudley met his preseason prediction with his 10th dunk early in the first quarter off a pass from Brooks. His goal was a source of amusement for his teammates all year. He had none through the first 49 games.