Lakers vs. Kings: In-game report
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Lakers 112, Sacramento 103 (final in two overtimes)
Kobe Bryant was injured, his right elbow ringing with pain, the Lakers calling it a strain.
But when it counted the most, Bryant worked through his pain, drilling two big three-pointers in the second overtime, the second one giving the Lakers a 109-103 lead that spelled the end for the Kings.
Bryant was injured as the thrid quarter ended. He had problems lifting his right arm.
Still, Bryant finished with 38 points on 16-for-30 shooting.
After the game, Bryant walked over and hugged New York Yankess pitcher CC Sabathia, who was sitting courtside.
Lamar Odom had 13 points and 15 rebounds, Pau Gasol 24 points and 11 rebounds and Shannon Brown 15 points off the bench for the Lakers.
Lakers 101, Kings 101 (first overtime)
Down 101-94 with 2:39 left in the overtime, the Lakers looked dead, but Pau Gasol tipped in a Derek Fisher missed shot with less than a second left in overtime to tie the score, sending the game into a second overtime.
It didn’t look good for the Lakers after Gasol made just one of two free throws.
But Gasol scored in the post and Kobe Bryant scored on a left-handed layup to bring the Lakers to within 101-99, forcing the Kings to call a timeout.
But the Lakers got two big stops on defense to keep themselves alive.
Lakers 94, Kings 94 (fourth quarter)
Kobe Bryant wasn’t able to give the Lakers much offense in the fourth because of an injury, but his defense was just fine.
The score was tied at 94-94 after Pau Gasol missed two free throws with 23.3 seconds left.
Kings rookie Tyreke Evans tried to get past Bryant, but he couldn’t not. Bryant dived on the floor and knocked the ball away as time expired, sending the game into overtime.
With Bryant hurting and unable to provide offense in the fourth, and with Ron Artest home with a concussion, the Lakers needed someone to be an offensive spark and a defensive stopper.
Shannon Brown came off the bench and gave the Lakers a big night offensively. Pau Gasol provided offense down low and defense in the middle.
Injury update
Bryant strained his right elbow on the last shot he took at the end of the third quarter, an air ball. Bryant went to the locker room for treatment between the third and fourth quarters and returned with 9:07 left in the game.
Bryant looked to be in pain when he left the game.
When Bryant sat down, the Lakers were trailing, 83-82, after two free throws by Sasha Vujacic.
Bryant returned to the game with 9:07 left, but he had difficulty liting his right arm, often throwig passes with his left hand.
That became a problem for Bryant when he tried to shoot a left-handed shot, but had it blocked by Donte Greene with 51.7 seconds left and the scored tied at 94-94.
Lakers, 78, Kings 78 (third quarter)
By now, the Lakers knew they were in a game.
The Lakers knew the Kings were not going away.
The Lakers knew they’d have to play just as hard and with just as much energy.
Kobe Bryant knew this. That’s probably why he kept making faces at the Kings’ bench after he scored.
Bryant had 16 of his 30 points in the third quarter.
But the Kings were right there with the Lakers.
Kings 57, Lakers 55 (halftime)
Just when it looked as if the Lakers had gotten a break near the end of the first half, the Kings responded with a big shot that gave them a two-point lead at halftime.
Kobe Bryant looked as if he fell out of bounds, but Spencer Hawes was called for the foul instead.
Bryant made both free throws for a 55-54 Lakers lead with 5.6 seconds left.
That was more than enough time for Beno Udrih to dribble past Bryant and make a three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer sounded.
The Lakers got a big lift from their bench in the second quarter.
Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic, Adam Morrison and Jordan Farmar all played hard and well in the second quarter.
Brown had six points, making all three of his shots.
Vujacic made his only shot, a three-pointer.
Kings 31, Lakers 28 (first quarter)
The Lakers didn’t start the first quarter too well, falling behind by nine points to the Sacramento Kings.
Even though the Lakers shot 60% from the field in the first, they still trailed by three points.
The problem for the Lakers was that they turned the ball over frequently in the first.
After yet another turnover in the first quarter, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson got up out of his seat and called a timeout.
He was not happy that his team had turned the ball over seven times in the game’s first 8 1/2 minutes.
He was not happy that his team was not getting back on defense and was allowing the Kings too many fastbreak opportunities that turned into dunks.
Pregame Lamar Odom started at small forward in place of Ron Artest (concussion) on Saturday night.
That gave the Lakers a big frontline.
Odom, at 6-10, started alongside 7-footers Pau Gasol at power forward and Andrew Bynum at center.
Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryantwere the other starters in the backcourt.
Starting Odom meant that Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga were the next two big men off the Lakers’ bench.
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