Kobe Bryant spearheads Lakers’ win over Sacramento
SACRAMENTO, California (AFP) — Kobe Bryant scored 38 points, eight of them in a game-ending 18-2 run, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to defeat Sacramento 112-103 in double-overtime in an NBA thriller Saturday.
One day after being humiliated at home in a blowout loss to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Lakers were less than a second from another defeat before rescuing a victory with an over-time surge.
Bryant scored 14 points in the first half and 16 in the third quarter but went scoreless in the fourth quarter as the Kings finished regulation time level at 94-94, then opened the first extra period with a 7-0 run.
Spanish big man Pau Gasol, who finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, hit a free throw and a basket to pull the Lakers back and Bryant followed with a steal and layup to trim the Kings’ lead to 101-99.
In the final seconds, Bryant missed a 3-pointer and Derek Fisher missed a follow shot but Gasol tipped-in the tying basket with four-tenths of a second remaining to send the game into a second overtime.
The Lakers outscored Sacramento 11-2 in the last extra session and Bryant, who shot 16-of-30 from the field, hit 3-pointers on back-to-back Los Angeles possessions to give the Lakers a 109-103 lead with 2:40 remaining.
The Kings missed their last shots, the Lakers hit their last free throws and the Lakers improved to an NBA-best 24-5 while Sacramento dropped to 13-16.
Lamar Odom added 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers after taking on a starting role due to Ron Artest’s absence. Artest suffered a concussion in a fall down a flight of stairs hours after Friday’s loss.
Slovenia’s Beno Udrih scored 23 points to lead the Kings, who also had 18 points from rookie Tyreke Evans, the fourth pick in this year’s NBA Draft, and 15 points and 10 rebounds from Israel’s Omri Casspi.