Kobe Bryant had 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and Karl Malone added 20 points Tuesday night in the Los Angeles Lakers' 10th straight win, 98-90 over the struggling New York Knicks.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant goes up for a basket against New York Knicks during the second quarter at the Staples center, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2003, in Los Angeles. [AP]

It was the 27th consecutive regular-season home victory for the Lakers — three shy of the franchise record set in 1951 when they played in Minneapolis.

The Lakers, whose 18-3 record is the best in the NBA, are 12-0 at home this season.

The loss was the fifth in a row for the Knicks (7-15), who played without leading scorer Allan Houston (sore right knee).

Houston scored a career-high 53 points in leading the Knicks to a 117-110 victory over Los Angeles last Feb. 16 at Staples Center. The Lakers haven't lost a regular-season home game since.

Shaquille O'Neal had 18 points and 15 rebounds; Gary Payton added 17 points, and Bryon Russell scored 12 for the Lakers, who won despite being outrebounded 52-38.

Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley scored 26 points each and Keith Van Horn had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks.

New York outscored the Lakers 8-2 to begin the fourth quarter to move within four points.

But that was as close as the Knicks would get.

Baskets by Malone and Bryant gave the Lakers a 91-81 lead with three minutes remaining to put the game out of reach.

Anderson and Van Horn scored four points each during a 10-4 run early in the third quarter that cut the Lakers' lead to eight points. Los Angeles led 76-66 entering the final period.

O'Neal scored his first points 18 seconds into the second quarter, making a three-point play that triggered a 10-0 run, giving the Lakers a 28-25 lead.

It was 29-all when the Lakers outscored the Knicks 10-0 again to go ahead for good. O'Neal finished the second quarter with 13 points as the Lakers outscored New York 35-16 for a 53-41 halftime lead.

The Knicks committed 10 of their 21 turnovers in the decisive second period. The Lakers had only 10 turnovers in the game.

Van Horn scored the game's first five points and the Knicks led 9-0 before a dunk by Bryant put the Lakers on the scoreboard.

Anderson shot 5-for-8 and had 12 points in the first period, which ended with the Knicks on top 25-18.

Notes:@ The NBA record for consecutive regular-season wins at home is 44 by the Chicago Bulls over the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. The Bulls' coach those years was current Lakers coach Phil Jackson. ... Houston has missed two straight games and four overall this season. He is listed as questionable for Wednesday night's game at Utah — the finale of a five-game road trip. ... The Lakers beat the Knicks 104-83 in New York last month, going 37-for-47 from the foul line while the Knicks were 6-for-6. "I've never seen that disparity — that's once in a lifetime," Jackson said. The Lakers shot 28-for-39 from the line and the Knicks were 13-for-17 in this game. ... Despite being swept by the Lakers this season, the Knicks are 12-11 in games between the teams over the last 12 years. ... Former Lakers' star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, attended the game. Malone is second on the career scoring list.

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