Game’s Up for Grabs, so Bryant Clutches It

Kobe Bryant stared into the stunned Arco Arena gathering, looking at no one in particular as he cupped his right hand to his ear, as if asking the sellout crowd of 17,317 for more.

Bryant had just nailed a three-point shot from the top of the key against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night, tying the score at 102-102 with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation. This after the Lakers had been down by 13 with less than nine minutes to play.

But Bryant saved his best for the extra period, scoring eight of his 31 points in overtime of the Lakers’ 112-110 victory.

“You just have to be patient because you know they’re going to crack eventually,” said Bryant, who was nine of 23 from the field with 10 rebounds and three assists. “They were playing solid defense, solid team defense. But you know as the game goes on, it’s a long game. You know mentally that a team is going to crack and give you a little bit of daylight and that’s when you open it up.”

With the victory, the Lakers (6-3) extended their winning streak to three games while ending the Kings’ winning streak at five.

“We persevered out there as a team,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said. “We had to struggle behind some very good [Sacramento] three-point shooting in that third quarter. They were terrific, but they cooled off in the fourth quarter.”

Indeed. Sacramento (7-3) closed out the third quarter with three consecutive three-pointers and entered the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead, 82-72.

The Kings were playing without injured all-star forward Chris Webber, who did not dress after suffering a sprained left ankle Sunday, and lost acrobatic point guard Jason Williams with a tweaked right ankle early in the second quarter.

“We knew that a couple other guys would step up,” said Laker center Shaquille O’Neal, who scored a game-high 33 points with 16 rebounds and a key block at the end of overtime. “It seemed like at times they never missed a shot. They shot the ball very well and we dodged a couple bullets and got a few lucky plays and hit a couple shots ourselves down the stretch.

“They will probably always shoot the ball like that when they play against us. Today we didn’t play good one-on-one defense. We let those guys get to the rim and get easy baskets.”

Sacramento small forward Doug Christie led the Kings with 32 points, including four three-pointers, while power forward Predrag Stojakovic had 29 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a game-high 51 minutes.

The Lakers actually outshot the Kings, making 49.4% compared to the 44% of Sacramento. But Sacramento made 11 of 25 three-pointers.

Laker reserve guard Isaiah Rider had 14 points on five-of-six shooting, including a three-pointer with 40.6 seconds left in regulation to get the Lakers within one, 100-99.

Stojakovic drove by Laker forward Robert Horry for a layup to put the Kings up three with 18 seconds to play before Bryant found his stroke.

Bryant’s game-tying shot came after Brian Shaw’s three-point attempt bounced off the front of the rim and was grabbed by Horry near the free-throw line. Horry passed back to Shaw on the right wing and he found Bryant at the top of the arc.

“I drained it,” Bryant said. “That was the best look I had all night. They were on me. . . . But when it came down to that last possession and everything broke down, I had a wide-open look.

Bryant said his hand-to-the-ear histrionics were in jest.

“I enjoy playing here so much,” he said. “The crowd is great, they’re loud and they really get into the game. I just enjoy having some fun with them.”

True enough, Bryant even gave his game shoes to a fan who said she’d trade some pro-Kobe cheers for the sneakers after the game.

While Sacramento grabbed a three-point lead, 106-103, on a Stojakovic three-pointer with 3:43 remaining in overtime, Bryant took over from there with four free throws and two field goals.

“They were playing good defense and, plus, I was rushing a little bit and I wasn’t used to playing against Christie,” Bryant said. “It’s a matter of reading what kind of defender he is and it took me a while to figure him out, but I got him now.”

*

That’s Two

in a Row!

Lamar Odom had 21 points and the Clippers battled back in the fourth quarter to win at Vancouver. D4

Portland

Rebounds

Clutch baskets from Rasheed Wallace helped overcome a 37-point game by Vince Carter. D4