Kings - Lakers 81-103

Webber (left) and Divac sit dejectedly on the Kings' bench

Sacramento, USA, May 11 (agencies) - Kobe Bryant scored 26 of his 36 points in the second half as the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 103-81 (29-19, 17-18, 19-17, 38-27) victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday to move within one win of a sweep of the Western Conference semifinals.

The Lakers took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series and can wrap it up in Sacramento Sunday.

O'Neal, who set an NBA record by getting more than 40 points and 20 rebounds in each of the Lakers' first two victories in the series, also got in early foul trouble and often couldn't get free from Vlade Divac and the Kings' double-teams. He got 21 points and 18 rebounds this time.

Stojakovic (Kings) goes up for the shot over Rick Fox

For Sacramento, Chris Webber scored 28 points and snared 14 rebounds, but missed 14 shots. The rest of the Kings didn't contribute much. Predrag - Peja Stojakovic, the Kings' second-leading scorer, again was hounded by Rick Fox into a poor-shooting night, finishing with 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting.

The Kings shot only 35 percent (32-of-91) and missed their first 13 three-pointers until Hidayet Turkoglu threw one in just before the final buzzer, making them 1-for-14 for the game.

The Kings, who lost to the Lakers for the seventh time in their last eight meetings, were indecisive and inaccurate in a performance that was sometimes painful to watch for the league's highest-scoring team.

The Kings pulled within six points late in the third quarter, giving hope to the Arco Arena sellout crowd of 17,317.

O'Neal puts up a shot over Divac

But then Bryant took over. He had missed 12 of his first 15 shots but made his last seven. He also attacked the basket and repeatedly got to the foul line, where he was 16-of-19.

The Lakers will go for a sweep in Game 4 on Sunday, which would likely set up a meeting with Midwest Division champ San Antonio in the conference finals.