LOS ANGELES, 17 March 2004 — Kobe Bryant shrugged off a slow start, and carried the Los Angeles Lakers on his painfully sprained right shoulder.
Again wearing a protective shirt under his jersey, Bryant scored all but one of his game-high 38 points in the second half, rallying the Lakers to an unlikely 113-110 overtime victory against the visiting Orlando Magic on Monday night.
“It was a big fight for us tonight,” said Bryant, who hit 13-of-22 field goals after an 0-4 start. “We had to win this game.”
Shaquille O’Neal had 27 points and a season-high 23 rebounds for the Lakers, who erased a late 19-point third quarter deficit courtesy of Bryant’s franchise-tying 24 points in the final frame.
Bryant’s driving layup through three defenders with 41 seconds to level the game at 102. But his single-handed effort nearly ended in defeat. Tracy McGrady banked in a wild 25-foot heave at the buzzer but officials ruled it came after time expired.
In the five-minute overtime, Bryant concentrated on shutting down league-leading scorer McGrady.
But with the game knotted at 110, he spotted Gary Payton, (12 points and nine assists), who buried the eventual game-winning 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:44 remaining.
Orlando had one last chance but DeShawn Stevenson’s desperation 3-pointer fell well short at the final buzzer.
McGrady had 37 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for Orlando, which was outscored 40-22 in the final 17 minutes. Juwan Howard had a season-high 29 points and nine rebounds while Stevenson scored 18.
Suns 99 Rockets 97 (OT): Joe Johnson buried a 16-foot jumper with 1.4 remaining in overtime, and the Suns overcame an early 21-point first-half deficit, to snap the Rockets’ five-game winning streak.
Shawn Marion scored 29 points, Amare Stoudemire had 24 and 15 rebounds while Johnson finished with 19 as Phoenix stopped its four-game slide.
Yao Ming had 29 points, 19 rebounds and six blocks for Houston, which hit 13 of 25 3-pointers. Jim Jackson scored 23 points and Cuttino Mobley added 20.
Warriors 97 Spurs 80: Jason Richardson scored 22 points and Mike Dunleavy added 19 to help the slumping Warriors snap a season-long nine-game losing streak.
Erick Dampier 16 and 11 rebounds for Golden State, which earned it’s first victory since Feb. 27.
Tony Parker had 29 points for San Antonio, which has played nine of its last 10 games without league Most Valuable Player Tim Duncan because of left knee irritation.
