LOS ANGELES -- Coach Luke Walton claimed his Los Angeles Lakers never really got into an offensive flow, even if the 125 points they dropped on the Brooklyn Nets suggested otherwise.Imagine what might happen if Waltons surprising young squad actually finds its groove.DAngelo Russell scored 32 points and Julius Randle added 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double in Los Angeles 125-118 victory Tuesday night.Timofey Mozgov had 20 points and six rebounds for the Lakers, who maintained a steady lead down the stretch of their fourth win in five games at Staples Center this season. With six wins in eight games overall, the Lakers (7-5) are two games above .500 for just the second time since April 2013.We all love to play this game together, even on nights when it isnt all clicking, said forward Tarik Black, who had 12 points and nine rebounds in just 13 minutes. We didnt care what people were saying about this team before the season started. Its about this locker room. We knew what we had.Russell hit seven 3-pointers and had eight rebounds for the Lakers, who didnt win seven games until New Years Day last season, the worst in the 16-time NBA champion franchises history.Russell had the highest-scoring individual performance by any player this season for the Lakers, whose 10-deep player rotations and balanced production have made them particularly tough to play. Russell lit up Brooklyn again after scoring a career-high 39 on the Nets last year, including eight 3-pointers that prompted his now-famous Ice in My Veins celebration of big shots.While Mozgov had his highest-scoring game for his new team, Randle added another balanced floor game in his first triple-double since March 25.He is continuing to get better and really realize what he is capable of doing, Walton said of Randle.Brook Lopez had 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 29 points as Brooklyn rebounded solidly from a 32-point thrashing delivered by the Clippers in the same building one night earlier while Lopez sat out to rest.We bounced back from last nights tough loss, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. We just have to sustain it a little longer and do a little better on the defensive end.But the Lakers shot 43 free throws to the Nets 20, and Los Angeles solidly controlled the boards.Down the stretch, I dont want to comment too much on the calls, but we did foul too much and put them on the line, said Lopez, who hit four 3-pointers. That made it tough for us. We still had great looks. I want our guys to take those shots. They just didnt go down.BENCH BATTLEThe NBAs two most productive benches had big games. Led by Jordan Clarksons 13 points, the Lakers reserves outscored the Nets bench 43-40. Yogi Ferrell led the Brooklyn bench with 11 points.BLOCK PARTYLopez became the Nets franchise leader in blocked shots, passing George Johnsons 863 blocks with three against the Lakers. Johnson played for the franchise from 1977-80 and 1984-85. Lopez has blocked at least three shots in four consecutive games. He has accomplished that feat in five straight games just once, in November 2012.STEEP SCHEDULEThe Lakers just returned from a road trip that showcased their young rosters potential and limitations. They won at Sacramento and New Orleans, but were then routed by Minnesota on Sunday after their third long-distance flight in four nights.The Lakers will have to get used to learning on the court: Starting Friday, they will play 18 games in 30 days with five back-to-backs and no consecutive days off.TIP-INSNets: Former Lakers G Jeremy Lin missed his sixth straight game with a hamstring injury. ... Former Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko watched the game from courtside.Lakers: Clarkson had a career-high five steals. ... LA has beaten Brooklyn three straight times. ... The Lakers scored 120 points for the fourth time this season after managing the feat just three times in the previous two seasons combined.UP NEXTNets: The road trip ends Friday at Oklahoma City.Lakers: After their final back-to-back days off for an entire month, they host San Antonio on Friday. Cheap Air Max 270 .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Cheap Air Max 270 Sale . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. http://www.cheapairmax270.net/ . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Cheap Air Max 270 Free Shipping . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Wholesale Air Max 270 . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina lawmakers took steps Thursday to set aside a half-million dollars for the legal defense of a law limiting protections for LGBT people as a judge sought to streamline a cluster of lawsuits it has inspired.Republican lawmakers were mapping out the end of the session, including possible changes to the law known as House Bill 2, which has attracted high-profile critics including the NBA. The session could end this weekend.But there was no appetite to change the provision requiring transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate in schools, universities and many other public buildings. The law also excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from statewide anti-discrimination protections.Pressure to change the law has come from several quarters including NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who said earlier this month that there needed to be progress on changing the law this summer to ensure the league keeps its 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte.The league issued a joint statement late Thursday with the Charlotte Hornets saying they were doubtful that proposed changes would go far enough.We have been engaged in dialogue with numerous groups at the city and state levels, but we do not endorse the version of the bill that we understand is currently before the legislature, the statement said.Legislative leaders were weighing possible adjustments, while trying to determine whether theres enough support to get the legislation to Gov. Pat McCrorys desk. McCrory has urged lawmakers to repeal a provision preventing workers from using state law to sue over workplace discrimination.The governor has been public in what he has asked us to look at, House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said Thursday. We are reviewing those matters and its just still in discussion.Moore confirmed other changes are being considered but he declined to elaborate.The Senate also approved a plan to give McCrorys office $500,000 to defend the law in court, by transferring money from a disaster relief fund. The measure still must pass the House.Entertainers including Bruce Springsteen canceled concerts to protest the law, while scores of business leaders signed a letter seeking its repeal. Rallies to support the law, meanwhile, drew thoussands of conservatives to Raleigh.ddddddddddddOther legislators have said possible changes include increasing criminal penalties for people who commit sexual assaults in bathrooms and locker rooms. There also could be dispensations for transgender people who have undergone sex reassignment surgery but were born in the few states where the sex on a birth certificate cant be changed.Gay rights advocates held a news conference to say nothing short of the laws repeal would suffice.There is only one fix for H.B. 2, and its full and total repeal, said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. If they choose not to and Gov. McCrory and his political cronies run out the clock on this short session, they wont be able to outrun the voters of this state in November.McCrory discussed the law privately with Democratic legislators at the Executive Mansion.Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham, described the discussion as candid. But he said Democrats remained concerned that proposed changes dont fix fundamental problems with the law.A spokesman for McCrorys re-election campaign, Ricky Diaz, later said in an email: Any Democrat standing with the Human Rights Campaign and other out-of-state liberal interest groups by refusing any compromise is attempting to drive the NBA All-Star Game from North Carolina.Transgender residents and the U.S. Department of Justice have challenged the law in court, while McCrory, legislative leaders and a citizen group filed lawsuits to defend it. Legislative leaders will have their own legal expenses after filing a lawsuit separate from the governors.Federal Judge Louise Wood Flanagan, who was overseeing lawsuits by the legislative leaders and citizens group, on Wednesday ordered that they be sent to another federal court hearing separate challenges to the law. Her move increased the likelihood that at least four of the five cases will end up before one judge. It also denied efforts to consolidate the two cases with the lawsuit filed by McCrory before a different judge.The risk of inconsistent adjudication is high and the relative expense of multiple proceedings, as compared to a single proceeding, is plain, Flanagan wrote. ' ' '