SAN ANTONIO — Kobe Bryant scored
24 points and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to
seven games with a 92-83 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday
night.
Lamar Odom added 19 points and Ron
Artest had 16, but it was Bryant who put the Spurs away for good. He
scored 10 in the fourth quarter, including two backbreaking 3-pointers
that San Antonio couldn't shake off.
Bryant backpedaled to half-court with
his shooting hand still hanging high over his head after both shots. The
Lakers then eased out of San Antonio with a come-from-behind win to
start a five-game road trip.
Manu Ginobili scored 24 points and
George Hill had 21, but the Spurs got little help from anyone else. San
Antonio had no other scorers in double figures, and got a dreadful
2-of-11 night from Tim Duncan, who finished with six points and 12
rebounds.
The Spurs led for much of the game,
but after Bryant took over in the fourth, San Antonio wilted late
against the best in the West. And the worst isn't behind the Spurs: Next
up is LeBron James and East-leading Cleveland on Friday.
The Lakers, meanwhile, continued
coasting.
Pau Gasol had 10 points and 12
rebounds as the Lakers head to Oklahoma City on Friday on their
second-longest winning streak of the season. It's the last lengthy trip
for Los Angeles before the playoffs begin next month.
The Lakers left well-rested. Having
played just twice in the previous seven days, Lakers coach Phil Jackson
said before the game he expected some lively legs.
Sure enough, the Lakers had all the
stamina at the end.
Bryant pulled up over Roger Mason Jr.
to hit his first of two 3-pointers in the fourth, putting the Lakers up
80-74 with 5:41 left. Two minutes later, another one from the corner
stretched the lead to 11.
The Lakers ran away from a game in
which they mostly trailed. Not until Shannon Brown hit a 3-pointer with
1:30 left in the third quarter did the Lakers take the lead for the
first time since the first quarter.
Hill got off to a blazing start and
had 20 at halftime, but missed all three of his shots in the second half
and mustered just one more point. It blemished what began as another
promising game for Hill, who made his 10th start in place of Tony
Parker.
The Spurs fell to 6-4 without Parker,
who isn't expected to return from a broken hand until the playoffs.
Notes
Lakers C Andrew Bynum told the
team Thursday that his injured Achilles' tendon is feeling better, but
Jackson said he isn't counting on Bynum coming back before the road trip
ends March 31. Bynum strained the tendon last week and was expected to
miss two weeks. … Bryant surpassed Alex English to move into 12th on
the NBA's career scoring list.