Jason Richardson and Raymond Felton got sick Wednesday morning, putting their status in question for the Charlotte Bobcats' game against the high-flying Los Angeles Lakers.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, they recovered in time to play.

It's not how you start, it's how you -- and your team -- finish. Here are the March numbers for MVP candidates Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett:

Richardson had 34 points and 10 rebounds, Felton added 13 points and 10 assists, and the lowly Bobcats stunned the Lakers 108-95 on Wednesday night in a game where Kobe Bryant drew two technical fouls in a span of 29 seconds late in the fourth quarter and was ejected.

Bryant has 15 technicals, and one more means an automatic one-game suspension.

Usually accessible, the Lakers star left Staples Center without speaking to reporters. Coach Phil Jackson wasn't much help, either.

"Well, I may look like I'm here to explain something, but I have nothing to explain," Jackson said. "I can't explain it, so don't ask me any questions. It just looked like we were out of character, tremendously out of character, in more ways than one -- irrational play at times, inconsistent at best, but just some poor judgments, poor decisions."

When a reporter asked about Bryant, Jackson smiled, stood up and left the interview room.

The loss dropped the Lakers (49-23) into a three-way tie for second place in the Western Conference with Houston and San Antonio. They trail the New Orleans Hornets by one game.

"Our defense was terrible from the start," Lakers forward Luke Walton said. "Every team has talented players. If you don't show up ready to play, that's what's going to happen. There's no excuse for us to come out on our homecourt and not take care of business."

Matt Carroll added 18 points and Gerald Wallace had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Bobcats (26-56), who won for just the second time in eight games and snapped a six-game road losing streak. Emeka Okafor had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, which outrebounded the Lakers 52-40.

Bryant had 27 points and six rebounds before leaving with 3:40 left and the Bobcats in control. Lamar Odom had 18 points and nine rebounds, Ronnie Turiaf scored 12 and Sasha Vujacic and Walton added 11 each for the Lakers.

"No excuses, they deserved it," Odom said. "They played better than us tonight."

Lakers center Pau Gasol missed his seventh straight game with a sprained left ankle. He said before the game he aggravated the injury earlier this week, and hopes to return by next Wednesday.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it's not until Wednesday that he plays again," Jackson said. "We're hopeful it's Sunday. We'll have to let time take its course."

Richardson and Felton said before the game they got sick after eating breakfast.

"From what I understand, a few of the guys had something to eat and it disrupted their stomach," Bobcats coach Sam Vincent said beforehand. "We're trying to treat it as a non-issue."

It was the Lakers who felt sick afterward.

"I thought from the beginning of the game, the guys had a real sharp focus to come in here and play hard for 48 minutes, offensively and defensively, and it was a focus sometimes we have and more often than not, we don't have," Vincent said afterward. "The game just turned out our way tonight."

The Lakers scored the first 10 points of the final period to move within four points, and a 3-pointer by Vujacic made it 84-81 with 7:45 remaining.

But that's as close as the Lakers would get. The Bobcats responded with a 16-5 run for a 100-86 lead with 3:40 to play. Carroll's four-point play capped the spurt, and that's when Bryant was kicked out for protesting a foul call.

"He just started yelling at the ref," Carroll said. "I don't know what was said. They teed him up and that was it."

When asked if Bryant fouled him, Carroll replied with a smile: "It was a good call."

Richardson scored five points and Wallace added a 3-pointer in an 8-2 run to start the second half, giving the Bobcats a 65-46 lead. Bryant scored the Lakers' first 15 points of the third quarter, including five straight before a layup by Odom moved Los Angeles within eight points.

The Bobcats then outscored the Lakers 13-7 for an 82-68 lead entering the final period.

The Bobcats, coming off a 128-106 loss at Utah on Tuesday night, were clearly the better team in taking a 57-44 halftime lead. The Lakers drew within three points before Charlotte extended the lead to 13 in the final 52.3 seconds of the second period on 3-pointers by Carroll, Richardson and Felton and a foul shot by Richardson.

Game notes
The Bobcats have won four of their last five games against the Lakers. ... Odom entered having gotten at least 20 rebounds in two straight games, becoming the first Lakers player to accomplish that feat since Vlade Divac did it in 1995. ... The Bobcats are 19-17 at home, but just 7-28 on the road.

After center Andrew Bynum suffered a major knee injury in January, the Los Angeles Lakers made a blockbuster trade for Pau Gasol to help them stay competitive in the crowded Western Conference playoff race.

When Gasol went down with an ankle injury, the team didn't have to look as far to find its newest replacement.

Lamar Odom looks to continue his strong play in the absence of Bynum and Gasol as the Lakers try to reclaim first place in the West on Wednesday when they host the Charlotte Bobcats.

Los Angeles beat Pacific Division rival Golden State 123-119 in overtime on Monday, bouncing back from a 115-111 loss to the Warriors the previous night. The victory put the Lakers (49-22) in first place in the West, although they're now trailing New Orleans by percentage points.

"It was a huge win, especially for us," said the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who had 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. "You have to remember we are still not playing with two starters, who are two key members of our ball club. We are undermanned, but we are still playing very well."

Odom has been one of the biggest reasons the Lakers haven't faltered. He had 23 points, 21 rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots while playing all 53 minutes Monday, and made the go-ahead layup with 9.1 seconds left.

It was his seventh consecutive double-double -- dating to the game in which Gasol was injured -- and the 6-foot-10 forward is averaging 15.4 rebounds during that stretch.

"I just try to focus on rebounding because teams kill you when they control offensive rebounds," said Odom, who also had 19 points, a career-high 22 boards, four assists and four blocks in Sunday's loss. "If they are not hitting shots, it gets me involved in the game. That was really something I was trying to focus on to help us get the ball back."

Odom is averaging 17.9 points and shooting 52.7 percent from the field in the absence of Gasol, who's expected to miss at least one more game. Bynum, who hasn't played since dislocating his left kneecap on Jan. 13, isn't expected to return until the last week of the regular season at the earliest.

Odom's surge has been timely for the Lakers, who are involved in a tight playoff race. The top nine teams in the West are separated by only six games, but Los Angeles can claim sole possession of the top spot with a win Wednesday, coupled with a New Orleans loss at Cleveland.

"The losses are bigger than wins now," Odom said. "Every team in the west is hot. Anybody can beat anybody on a given night. Winning is like using your jab in boxing right now, you just have to keep these teams off of you."

Los Angeles should welcome a meeting with Charlotte (25-45), which has lost six of seven after a franchise-record five-game win streak. The Bobcats shot 50.0 percent from the field but struggled defensively in their 128-106 loss at Utah on Tuesday.

The slump has dimmed the playoff hopes for Charlotte, which is five games behind eighth-place Atlanta in the East with 12 games left on the Bobcats' schedule.

Despite never having posted a winning record in their four seasons of existence, the Bobcats are a respectable 3-4 all-time against the Lakers. They had won three straight -- the last two coming in overtime -- in the series before their run was snapped with a 106-97 home loss on Feb. 11.

Odom was held to eight points, 10 rebounds and six assists in that game, but Bryant scored 31. He is averaging 36.2 points in six career games against Charlotte.