Bryant Saves Day Again

The story of the Laker season was there for all to see Saturday, unraveling amid another defensive hemorrhage in an outdated arena where sellouts have been rare, victories even more so.

Then Kobe Bryant took over, tucking the Lakers under his arm with 21 points in the fourth quarter, none more important than a 20-footer with 0.9 of a second left that gave the Lakers a 117-116 victory over the expansion Charlotte Bobcats.

Bryant pump-faked Keith Bogans into the air, scored from the right side of the key and sent the Lakers to a second consecutive road victory for the first time this season, deflating a crowd of 23,319 at Charlotte Coliseum.

“Just time to take over the game,” Bryant said. “There’s certain times during the season where I’m just trying to take it over. Tonight was one of them.”

Bryant finished with 32 points and nine assists. He made eight of 12 shots in the fourth quarter, three of five from beyond the three-point arc. Chucky Atkins had 26 points and Jumaine Jones had 15.

Brevin Knight’s straightaway three-point attempt at the buzzer was off to the left, and the Lakers remained tied for eighth place in the Western Conference with the Denver Nuggets, who won at San Antonio.

Bryant credited a Bobcat fan in the first row who heckled him going into the fourth quarter, at which time the stat sheet showed him with 11 points on four-for-12 shooting.

“I looked at him and said, ‘Dude, I’m about to get going,’ ” Bryant said.

Bryant also thanked Knight, who exchanged words with him toward the end of the third quarter, leading to a technical foul for each player.

“Brevin Knight helped me out too,” Bryant said of the 5-foot-10 guard. “He got me going.”

By saying what?

“I don’t know,” Bryant said, smiling. “He’s too little.”

It was Bryant’s most significant last-second shot since his three-pointer against the Detroit Pistons sent Game 2 of last year’s NBA Finals into overtime.

Laker Coach Frank Hamblen, a former assistant with the Chicago Bulls, said Bryant’s effort didn’t surprise him.

“I was with another guy, very similar, in Chicago,” said Hamblen, waiting a beat before delivering a punch line. “Steve Kerr. He hit a lot of big shots when Michael [Jordan] would pass the ball to him.”

Hamblen wasn’t too jovial on the whole, calling out a Laker defense that gave up 59 points in the first half against the league’s fourth-lowest scoring team. The Lakers also allowed the league’s fourth-worst shooting team to make 45 of 83 shots (54.2%).

This from a team that has won 12 games, lost by 32 points Friday night in Philadelphia and was without starters Gerald Wallace and Kareem Rush on Saturday because of injuries.

“Of the 10 guys that played, seven of their players scored above their average,” Hamblen said. “We simply must get better defensively.”

It appeared the fourth quarter would not be won by Bryant, but by Matt Carroll, the sixth player off the Bobcats’ bench.

Carroll, who had averaged 4.5 points this season, scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a running layup to give the Bobcats a 100-90 lead with 7:32 left.

But Bryant brought back the Lakers, ensuring they would not lose to an expansion team in its first season for the first time since losing to the Orlando Magic in December 1989.

Bryant made a three-pointer with 4:20 left, bringing the Lakers within four at 107-103. He made another three with 3:22 left, slicing the Bobcats’ lead to 108-106.

Jason Hart’s 16-footer was short with 8.8 seconds left and the Lakers got the rebound and called a timeout with 6.8 seconds left.

Coming out of the huddle, Bryant was the first option. There was no second option.

“They may seem impossible to you, man, but I feel like if I raise up and get a good look, it’s a good shot,” Bryant said. “I feel like it’s a lot easier to make a shot when the pressure’s on than it is in the first quarter sometimes.”