a career-high 22 points, Pau Gasol had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and
the Los Angeles Lakers scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter
Monday night for a 98-92 victory over the Orlando Magic in the first
rematch of last season’s NBA finals.
Kobe Bryant scored just 11 points on
4-of-19 shooting, but his teammates carried the Lakers to their 18th
win in 19 home games in a remarkable fourth-quarter rally led almost
entirely by reserves.
Brown scored nine points in the
fourth, while Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar combined for 13 straight
points while Los Angeles roared away in the opening minutes of the
final period.
Dwight Howard had 24 points and 12
rebounds for the Magic, who wrapped up a four-game road trip with their
third straight loss and seventh in nine games. The way Orlando lost was
even more disconcerting, with a wildly up-and-down performance that
bottomed out in the fourth, when the Magic didn’t manage a field goal
for nearly six minutes.
Farmar scored 11 points and Odom had
nine points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who reached the halfway
point of their regular-season schedule with another win over the Magic,
who fell to Los Angeles in five games in the finals last summer.
Momentum reversed abruptly throughout
the night, with the Lakers dominating much of the first half before
Orlando overwhelmed them in the third quarter with a 20-2 run, turning
a nine-point deficit into a nine-point lead in less than 7 minutes.
Odom and Farmar then took charge
entering the fourth quarter, erasing the Magic’s 68-64 lead. Gasol’s
jumper put the Lakers up 79-68 with 7:42 left, and the Magic never got
closer than four points on Vince Carter‘s 3-pointer in the final
seconds.
Orlando got little from Carter, who
seems to be struggling with his sprained left shoulder. He has played
sparingly in January with the injury, sitting out three games before
returning at Portland last Friday. Although he went to the bench late
in the second quarter grimacing and holding his shoulder, he returned
in the second half to finish his nine-point, 3-of-11 performance.
Los Angeles reached the halfway point
of the regular season with the NBA’s best record, but the Lakers also
have played 26 of their first 41 games at home, an advantage that will
even up during an eight-game trip that begins Thursday at Cleveland in
a meeting of the NBA’s two conference leaders.
The Lakers haven’t lost at home since the Cavaliers’ visit on Christmas, winning seven straight.
Bryant again appeared to be feeling
the effects of his sore back and broken finger, managing just four
points in the first half before a 1-for-8 effort in the third quarter.
He fell well short of the 30 points he needed to become the youngest
player in NBA history to score 25,000 points in front of the home fans
before the Lakers’ lengthy trip.
Los Angeles jumped to a 21-8 lead
just 7 minutes in with inspired play by Derek Fisher, who hit two
3-pointers and a one-on-four fast-break layup while also playing
energetic defense. While Bryant struggled for open shots, Brown carried
the Lakers through the second quarter with 11 points before the Magic
capitalized on Los Angeles’ 5-of-22 slump to open the second half.
Notes
Orlando swept the
regular-season series from Los Angeles last season, winning 109-103 at
Staples Center exactly one year and two days earlier. … Unless Bryant
goes nearly scoreless for the next month, he’ll be the youngest player
to score 25,000 points. He also was the youngest player to score 23,000
and 24,000, although he had a big head start over Wilt Chamberlain by
skipping college. … Courtside fans included Adam Sandler, Leonardo
DiCaprio and model Bar Refaeli, and California first lady Maria
Shriver.