THE Lakers lost their 10th-straight game Sunday night, falling to the Charlotte Hornets, 101-82.

    Kobe Bryant returned to the court, after sitting out Friday against the Clippers with a sore shoulder, leading the Lakers with 23 points in 23 minutes.

    The rest of the team struggled to put points on the board all night against Charlotte’s defense.

    Jordan Clarkson scored 13 points on five of 10 shooting, but Lou Williams missed nine of 10 shots, Roy Hibbert all four of his attempts and Ryan Kelly six of nine. Nick Young missed six tries; Brandon Bass all four.

    The home crowd booed the team off at the end of the third period, with the Lakers down 83-60.

    The Hornets didn’t shoot the ball well from the field (37.5 percent), but they took and made a high number of three-point attempts (13-36, 36.1 percent).

    Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led Charlotte in scoring with 19 points each. Both also claimed double-doubles grabbing 12 rebounds apiece. Kemba Walker scored 12 points and Frank Kaminsky 11.

    Williams reached double figures for the Lakers (11 points) by virtue of a perfect night at the free throw line on eight attempts. As a team, the Lakers shot 33.8 percent from the field, 27.6 percent from behind the arc (8-29) and 87 percent from the line (20-23).

    Photos from the Lakers’ 101-82 loss to the Hornets at the Staples Center on Jan. 31.

    The Hornets hit 61.5 percent of their free-throw attempt (16-26), while dominating the Lakers on the boards 59-42.

    D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle both scored 10 points. Randle reached a double-double with 11 rebounds.

    The Lakers (9-41) played again last night, hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves (14-35). The Hornets (23-25) return home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers (34-12) tomorrow.

    (SD-Agencies)