Bryant’s Jumper Makes the Difference

Kobe Bryant did not score much, but he scored last.

He did not play to tie or spare himself margin for error or even bother himself with the fact that two Sun players were on him as time dwindled and the playoff series threatened to tilt back the Suns’ way.

Instead, down by one point with less than 20 seconds to play, then less than 10, then less than five, Bryant zigzagged his way to the free-throw line, jumped over Jason Kidd and around Rodney Rogers, hung in the air as they fell back to earth, and swished a 14-footer with 2.6 seconds to play.

That shot--and Penny Hardaway’s desperate miss at the buzzer--gave the Lakers a frenetic, pulse-pounding, 97-96 victory over the Suns at Staples Center and a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

Bryant, burdened by foul trouble early and some errant play late, scored 15 points.

O’Neal, who dominated the game for three quarters, scored 38 points and had 20 rebounds, but the Suns’ pressure defense in the fourth quarter took the ball out of his hands as the Lakers stumbled.

The Lakers committed two disastrous turnovers in the last 90 seconds--one by Bryant--and missed four free throws in the last 2:18, one by Bryant that could have tied the score with 43.5 seconds to play.

O’Neal blocked Hardaway’s driving shot with 22.9 seconds to give Bryant the chance to win it.

IN QUOTES

“I was so mad I missed the free throw. I was just glad I got the chance to redeem myself. . . . I just tried to go right, cut left, and went up for a jump shot. I think that I had a hand up, so I had to pull the shot back a little bit, and thank God it fell.”

KOBE BRYANT,

Laker guard

THE SERIES

Lakers lead, 2-0