Los Angeles  - With reigning league MVP Kobe Bryant under the weather, Lamar Odom picked up the slack and carried the Los Angeles Lakers over the top.

Odom had season-highs of 28 points with 17 rebounds, Bryant added 19 points despite flu-like symptoms and the surging Lakers dealt the Cleveland Cavaliers their first home loss of the season after 23 wins, with a gritty 101-91 victory on Sunday in a showdown between the NBA's top two teams.

"Kobe was throwing up, he was getting IV's at halftime, so I knew he wasn't feeling well," Odom said. "I just tried to stay focused and in the moment. It was a great win for us."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson applauded Odom's effort, saying, "That was one of the best games he's played for us. I think it was the total package of his game. He was able to do things that broke people down with his speed and quickness to the basket and got some easy shots."

The league-best Lakers (41-9) are the latest streak busters. They snapped the Boston Celtics' franchise-record 19-game run on Christmas Day, and halted their 12-game success on Thursday night in a rematch of the Finals, before ending the NBA's fifth longest home-winning streak to complete a perfect 6-0 road trip.

"This was a huge win here, it was really an outstanding road trip," said Lakers centre Pau Gasol of Spain, after finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds. "We're playing well and we're on top of the league right now."

Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 22 points, Mo Williams added 19, but LeBron James struggled to finish with 16 on an icy 5-of-20 shooting, along with 12 boards and eight assists for the Cavaliers (39-9) who were outscored 50-30 in the second half.

"You definitely have to give the Lakers credit. They came in with a game plan, both offensively and defensively," James said.

"Defensively, it was to keep us out on the perimeter. In the first half, we knocked down jump shots and in the second half we didn't knock them down or get any points in the paint."

Odom had 15 points when the Lakers outscored their guests, 31-16 in the third quarter to turn a 10-point halftime deficit into an 82-77 advantage entering the final 12 minutes.

The gap doubled to 90-80 with just under seven minutes left before the Cavaliers made their push. Two free throws by Ilgauskas cut it to 93-89 at the 3:06 mark.

Bryant, however, found the strength to knock down a rainbow fade-away jumper over James. Gasol followed with five straight points to seal the Lakers' most impressive back-to back road wins of the season. (dpa)