Kobe Time Arrives, Well, Just in Time

This column could have been about a number of things, such as Karl Malone’s macho afternoon or Gary Payton’s re-introduction to the fourth quarter, or even the perils of the Lakers’ near choke job. As they all seem to be eventually, this column is about Kobe Bryant.

He stole it, just as he stole this game and this series away from the Houston Rockets in the span of about 37 seconds in overtime Sunday.

Bryant rescued himself from another round of questions about his poor shooting in this game and the series, bailed out the Lakers from two days of explaining how they could blow a 14-point lead in the final 13 minutes of regulation and quite possibly saved the Lakers the time and energy of having to come back here for Game 6.

After the Lakers’ 92-88 victory gave them a three-games-to-one lead in the series, they can wrap it up in Game 5 Wednesday at Staples Center.

Bryant took medication for stomach problems early in the morning, took flak from his coach for his decision making in the afternoon, took drops after getting poked in the eye in the fourth quarter, and through it all took shot after shot.

He fired up 21 in all, including one at the end of the fourth quarter when his vision was so blurry he said he saw three baskets. He missed that one and 13 others.

In the end, the only ones that mattered were the last two.

“You just put the rest of the game behind you,” Bryant said. “It all comes down to this. You just put everything behind you. You step up and do your best. I love those situations. That’s what I do best for this team.

“It’s an adrenaline rush. It’s addicting.

“Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t. The key is to have the confidence to shoot them. Not be nervous.”

Sometimes it’s because he’s a stubborn guy, as he explained when he ended his media boycott Friday. He always thinks his way is the best way, whether it’s shooting on an off day, trying to toss an alley-oop to Shaquille O’Neal through a crowd (which particularly irked Coach Phil Jackson) or attempting to beat double-teams with the dribble instead of a pass.

But something always seems to click in when it matters most.

With the Lakers trailing by one point and 1:17 remaining in overtime, Bryant deflected a pass by his man, Jim Jackson, gained control of the ball and headed toward the other end of the court, banking home a running jumper against three Rocket defenders. It ended his run of seven consecutive missed shots that began in the fourth quarter.

Steve Francis tied the score with a free throw with 56 seconds left. On the Lakers’ next possession, Bryant drove into the lane, hung, was bumped by Houston’s Maurice Taylor and threw the ball in the basket.

Bryant landed on the ground, sat up, calmly pointed his finger.

Count it.

He made the free throw and gave the Lakers a three-point lead that Malone made stand with a steal, a rebound and a free throw.

OK, Mail Time. Kobe can’t have all of this column. We have to dedicate several inches to Malone, who led the Lakers with 30 points and 13 rebounds. He took on any and all comers, from Francis, whom Malone compared to a gnat on his shoulder, to the giant Yao Ming.

He did most of it with a torn jersey, ripped when Houston’s Bostjan Nachbar grabbed it in an attempt to brace his fall while tumbling over Malone after a dunk.

He simply didn’t want to fix his jersey or wear a new one.

“I had a nice rhythm,” Malone said. “I’m not superstitious ... yes I am. I just didn’t want to change jerseys.”

One of the best things about Malone is how he takes the blame for losses, and spreads the credit for the victories.

“It was a great team win,” he said, about the same time O’Neal called Malone “the difference in the game.”

“It’s not about one guy,” Malone said. “It’s a great team win.”

For a change the team included Payton, a bystander in the previous two fourth quarters, who played in crunch time Sunday. With Malone getting rough and Payton talking yang, the Lakers were in their element again.

They led by 14 late in the third, after finally displaying some championship characteristics such as hustle, communication, patience and execution.

All four came into play on one play in the third quarter.

Devean George (who played well after starting in place of an ineffective Rick Fox) ran to save a missed shot before it went out of bounds, yelling “I got it, G, I got it!” before flipping it to Payton. Payton dribbled around and passed to Slava Medvedenko, who passed to Bryant, who passed to Malone. Malone gave it back to Bryant, then held out his hands to say, “stay cool.”

That’s exactly what Bryant did. He dribbled to his right, got past a double-team by Francis and Cuttino Mobley, started toward the lane and drew the attention of Yao. Bryant did the math, saw three defenders around him and passed out to a wide-open Payton for a three-pointer that put the Lakers ahead, 69-55.

Then the Lakers could not exhibit another important trait, poise under pressure, as their offense couldn’t convert and their defense turned Sacramento-soft in the middle as the Rockets rallied to tie the score in regulation and take a four-point lead in overtime.

And then it became Kobe Time. Sooner or later, it always is.

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Adande, go to latimes.com/adande.