LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kobe Bryant hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 20 seconds left, after starting the game with 15 straight misses, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the last-place New Orleans Hornets 88-85 on Saturday.
By Gus Ruelas, AP
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) reacts after defeating the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday.
It was just the third field goal of the game for Bryant, who finished with 11 points on 3 of 21 shooting as the Lakers ended a two-game skid at home. Pau Gasol had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum added 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Ramon Sessions had 10 points and 10 assists.
Bryant was 0 for 7 on 3-pointers before making his only one. He had five assists, three rebounds and four fouls in 39 minutes. He endured the worst start to a game in his career, having previously missed his first 13 shots against San Antonio on Dec. 28, 2010.
Jarrett Jack had 18 points and 10 assists for the Hornets, but he missed a go-ahead bank shot with 4.9 seconds left.
Jason Smith added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and former Clipper Al-Farouq Aminu had 10 points for the Hornets, who lost playing their second straight game with just eight players available because of injuries. Trevor Ariza, Carl Landry, and Chris Kaman all sat out, while new father Gustavo Ayon and Emeka Okafor weren't with the team.
The Lakers' anemic bench still got outscored by the Hornets' three reserves, 26-19. As a team, the Lakers went 32 of 77 from the floor, playing poorly for much of the game until being rescued by Bryant's late heroics.
The Lakers trailed 75-65 before he hit a 17-foot jumper over Marco Belinelli with 7:52 remaining for his first field goal. Bryant followed on the next possession with a fadeaway jumper and got fouled, making the free throw to get his team within seven after sitting out the first four minutes of the fourth.
Bryant stepped to the line with 58 seconds left after Jack was called for a blocking foul. He made the first and missed the second, leaving the Lakers trailing 85-83 and the fans in agony. Their voices rose in a cheer when he finally made his first basket, and groaned on every subsequent miss.
Greivis Vasquez missed a 3-pointer with 31 seconds to go, setting up another signature closing moment by Bryant. He was 0 for 7 in the first half, missing four 3-pointers while dishing out five assists.
The Lakers opened the game on a 20-6 run before New Orleans scored the final eight points to trail 20-14. Steve Blake sparked the Lakers' bench with three 3-pointers in the second while Barnes scored four in a row to extend their lead to 41-30. But the Hornets closed with a 9-2 run and trailed 43-39 at halftime.
NOTES: Before the game, Bryant met with Lakers fan Allene Wynn of suburban Pacoima, fulfilling the 104-year-old woman's wish. She attended as a guest of the team and pulled no punches with Bryant, telling him, "You need to play better." … The Lakers played their first non-holiday home game on a Saturday in the regular season since Jan. 17, 2004. … The Lakers are 2-0 against the Hornets this season, having rallied from 17 points down on the road to win 107-101 in overtime earlier this month.
Sixers 95, Hawks 90
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Elton Brand scored 13 of his season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 95-90 comeback win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.
Andre Iguodala scored 18, and Brand had 10 rebounds to go with his 10-for-12 shooting.
Coming off a 21-point loss to lowly Washington on Friday that knocked them out of first place in the Atlantic Division and down to No. 7 in the Eastern Conference, the Sixers earned a hard-fought win against a team ahead of them in the standings.
Josh Smith led Atlanta with 34 points and Joe Johnson had 15. The Hawks have lost three of four after winning four straight.
The 76ers pulled within a half-game of Boston in the Atlantic. They had been in first place — either alone or tied — since Dec. 28, but fell behind after losing six of nine.
Knicks 91, Cavs 75
NEW YORK (AP) — JR Smith scored 20 points, Carmelo Anthony had 19, and the New York Knicks shook off more bad injury news before beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 91-75 on Saturday night.
Already without Amare Stoudemire, the Knicks announced before the game that Jeremy Lin would have surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and could miss six weeks. That leaves them without their second- and third-leading scorers as they try to hold onto a playoff spot.
But they showed they still may have enough. Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the eighth-place Knicks, who bounced back from a loss in Atlanta on Friday to win for the ninth time in 11 games. They have won seven in a row at home.
Antawn Jamison scored 13 for the Cavaliers, who played without injured rookie Kyrie Irving.
Pistons 110, Bobcast 107 - OT
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Will Bynum's 3-pointer with 15.7 seconds left in regulation sent the game into overtime, and the Detroit Pistons went on to edge the Charlotte Bobcats 110-107 on Saturday night.
The Bobcats led 93-85 with under 2:00 remaining before Detroit's Brandon Knight made a pair of 3-pointers and Bynum sank his tying shot from the left wing. Gerald Henderson had a great chance to win it for Charlotte, but his driving bank shot missed in the final seconds.
Jonas Jerebko put the Pistons ahead 105-103 on a tip-in with 50.5 seconds left in overtime, and Detroit led 108-104 before Reggie Williams made a 3-pointer with 6.4 seconds left to cut it to one. Tayshaun Prince made two free throws for Detroit, and Charlotte's Byron Mullens and Williams both missed last-ditch 3-pointers.
Spurs 112, Pacers 103
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tim Duncan had 23 points and 11 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs remained the hottest team in the NBA, beating the Indiana Pacers 112-103 for their seventh consecutive win Saturday night.
Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili added 18 points apiece. The Spurs are 8-1 since making a rare plunge into midseason moves by adding forwards Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw, giving what Duncan calls the deepest San Antonio bench of his career.
Paul George and Danny Granger each scored 18 for Indiana. The Pacers have lost two of three while trying to break out of the logjammed East playoff picture and secure some home-court edge.
The Spurs aren't budging in the standings, either. They're 2½ games behind first-place Oklahoma City and remain stuck behind the similarly streaking Thunder.
Grizzlies 99, Bucks 95
MILWAUKEE (AP) — O.J. Mayo scored a season-high 24 points, and Rudy Gay had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 99-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.
Marc Gasol added 13 points and 14 rebounds for Memphis, which is in the midst of playing seven games in nine days. The Grizzlies opened the stretch with a 98-89 loss at Houston on Friday.
Brandon Jennings scored 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting for Milwaukee.
Ersan Illyasova added 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Bucks, who were coming off a 37-point victory at Cleveland on Friday — their largest margin of victory since Feb. 20, 2002.
Mayo and Gay each came up big in the second half to help Memphis win for the third time in four games. Mayo scored 15 points after halftime and Gay, who missed all six of his shot attempts in the first half, had 14.
After Gasol slapped the ball out of Drew Gooden's hands as he went up for a shot near the lane, Mayo hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to give Memphis its biggest lead of the game, 93-81, with 3:49 left.
Luc Mbah a Moute stole the ball from Gay, which led to a layup by Jennings to trim the deficit to 95-90 with 57.9 seconds left.
After an airball from Mayo, Tony Allen fouled Ilyasova on a 3-point attempt. He made two of the free throws to trim the margin to 95-92 with 16.5 seconds remaining.
Mayo responded with two free throws for a 97-92 lead with 15.8 seconds to play, but again Memphis committed a silly foul. Gay fouled Ekpe Udoh on another shot from long range, and he made all three free throws to cut the deficit to 97-95 with 12.5 seconds to go.
Mayo clinched the victory with two more free throws for a 99-95 lead with 10.6 seconds to play.
Memphis held a 78-71 lead after three quarters when Mayo hit a 20-foot jumper from the right wing at the buzzer.
The Grizzlies opened the fourth with a 3-pointer from the right corner by Quincy Pondexter for an 81-71 lead with 11:35 left.
Notes: Gilbert Arenas scored four points after sitting out the last three games for Memphis (coach's decision). … Jennings missed a two-handed dunk on a breakaway, proceeded to get the offensive rebound and then converted a three-point play with 1:02 left in the second quarter. . Milwaukee's Carlos Delfino missed his third game in a row with a groin injury. . Memphis recalled guard Josh Selby from Reno of the D-League earlier in the day. The rookie, who has played in 23 games with the Grizzlies, did not arrive in time.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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