Kobe Bryant hit yet another buzzer-beating three-pointer and finished with 39 points as the defending NBA champions overcame a 20-point deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings 109-108 on Friday night.

Omri Casspi had another solid game, scoring 23 points (shooting 8 for 13, and 3 for 4 from three-point range) in 41 minutes on the floor. He also had three assists and a steal. Spencer Hawes had a career-high 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Lamar Odom had a season-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the NBA-leading Lakers.

The last time the Lakers won a game in which they trailed by 20 or more points was December 12, 2006, when they erased a 21-point deficit in a 112-101 double-overtime win against Houston at Los Angeles.

“It looked like they went into a zone coverage on the inbounds pass, and that side was wide open,” said Bryant, averaging 35.7 points in his last 10 games. “It was just a matter of me getting to that spot with enough time to get a shot off. Phil drew up a play for a 3. He wanted me to get a good look and knock it down. I think he wanted to get out of here.”

“Kobe’s shooting the ball at a high percentage,” said teammate Pau Gasol. “But he’s not always going to shot like that. We understand that, and I think he understands that, too. But when he’s feeling it and the shots are going down, he’s going to keep shooting.”

Resurgent Robinson leads Knicks over Atlanta

In Atlanta, Nate Robinson made an emphatic return to the New York Knicks’ lineup after a month in the wilderness; the guard scored 41 points to lead his team to a 112-108 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. Playing for the first time since December 1 after falling out of favor with head coach Mike D’Antoni, Robinson capped a fine performance by scoring 11 of New York’s 13 points in the extra session to seal the dramatic victory.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Filed under: NBA

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!

Possibly related posts