RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) --Kobe Bryant is well past the point
where youthful cockiness becomes supreme confidence. At 22, he's a
tested veteran who's been in tight spots before -- and knows just
what to do with the game on the line.
|  | | Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 31 points in the final five minutes, 2.3 seconds. |
Bryant hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in
regulation, then made the go-ahead jumper with 24 seconds left in
overtime as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings
112-110 on Thursday night.
Bryant, who had eight points in overtime, finished with 31
points, 10 rebounds and several staredowns of the heckling fans
behind the Lakers' bench. Until the exact moment he tied the game
and silenced the frenzied Arco Arena crowd, Los Angeles appeared
headed to a discouraging upset.
Kobe wouldn't let it happen.
"I just have a great time when I'm out there playing in an
environment like this," Bryant said. "That (3-pointer) was the
best look I had all night. I just waited for the chance."
Shaquille O'Neal had 33 points and 16 rebounds as the world
champions went from the brink of a loss to their third straight win
-- their fourth in a row over the Kings -- thanks to the poise of
their two superstars.
O'Neal also blocked Peja Stojakovic's layup attempt with six
seconds left in overtime as the Lakers avoided losing to a fired-up
Kings team playing without Chris Webber and Jason Williams.
"We had a chance if we kept coming back on them in the fourth
quarter, and we did and found our way in," Lakers coach Phil
Jackson said. "We had to struggle behind some very good 3-point
shooting (by the Kings), but they cooled off in the fourth
quarter."
The Kings got to brink of victory thanks to Doug Christie, who
scored 19 of his season-high 32 points after halftime, and
Stojakovic, who had 29 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
"You can't keep a player like (Bryant) down. He's too
talented," said Christie, who played sterling defense on Bryant
until the final minutes. "When you play Kobe, you just hope he's
not on."
Sacramento had its five-game winning streak snapped and lost at
home for the first time this season, but its spirited short-handed
effort should boost coach Rick Adelman's confidence in his bench
and in Christie, who was acquired in an offseason trade with
Toronto for his defensive prowess.
The Kings began the game without Webber, their leading scorer
and rebounder, who missed his second game with a sprained left
ankle. Then, just 39 seconds into the second half, the Kings lost
Williams to a sprained right ankle.
Sacramento jumped ahead of the Lakers with an impressive burst
of offense in the second half and led 91-78 with nine minutes to
play. But the Lakers battled back with O'Neal and Bryant leading
the way, and they pulled within one in the final minute.
Stojakovic blew past Robert Horry for a layup to put Sacramento
up by three, but after Brian Shaw missed with six seconds left, he
passed out to Bryant, who drilled a long 3-pointer from
straightaway.
After Bryant scored in the final minute of overtime, Stojakovic
drove the lane and couldn't get the ball over O'Neal. There was
only minimal body contact between the two, but both teams saw it
differently.
"He's not a dunker, so I thought he'd try to toss it over me,"
O'Neal said. "They wanted a foul, but I didn't touch him."
"I don't think there was any doubt about it -- it was a flat-out
foul that wasn't called," Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said.
"We'll have to live with it."
The game was the first meeting between the teams since their
contentious first-round playoff series last spring. Sacramento lost
twice at Staples Center, but won two elimination games at Arco
Arena before losing the deciding fifth game in Los Angeles.
The hard feelings from the series haven't subsided, as shown by
the "Beat L.A.!" chants throughout the stadium and the staredown
between Williams and O'Neal after a collision in the first half.
After Bryant hit his game-tying 3-pointer in regulation, he spent
several seconds staring down a heckler.
Game notes
Williams, who had 11 points and seven assists in his best
half since returning from a five-game drug suspension, collapsed on
the court and was helped to the locker room by teammates. ...
Sacramento doesn't play again until Wednesday night against
Chicago. The five days off comprise the Kings' longest break of the
regular season. ... San Francisco 49ers receiver Terrell Owens, who
didn't practice with the 49ers on Thursday because of turf toe, was
in the front row at Arco Arena. Afterward, Owens spoke to O'Neal
and Bryant in the locker room.
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NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Sacramento Clubhouse
Kings lose Williams to sprained ankle
May: Kings for a day, and much more
RECAPS
Portland 86
Toronto 80
San Antonio 99
Washington 95
LA Lakers 112
Sacramento 110
Houston 84
Charlotte 80
Denver 89
Chicago 85
Utah 99
Orlando 84
LA Clippers 76
Vancouver 72
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