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Saturday, Dec. 30 10:30pm ET
Without Shaq and Kobe at end, Lakers win

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With Shaquille O'Neal on the bench and Kobe Bryant banished to the locker room, the Los Angeles Lakers were still better than the Clippers -- although just barely.

Kobe Bryant
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who leads the league with 30 points a game, had 17 before being ejected Saturday.

Robert Horry scored nine of his 13 points in the overtime, and blocked Lamar Odom's shot on a drive at the buzzer Saturday night as the Lakers ran their winning streak against the Clippers to 16 games and almost four years with a 116-114 victory.

Horace Grant scored on a tip-in with 4.5 seconds remaining, then Odom's shot was repelled as the Lakers held off their Staples Center co-tenants.

O'Neal had 29 points and 15 rebounds when he drew his sixth foul with 1:37 remaining in regulation and the Lakers up 100-98.

Bryant had 17 points when he was ejected with his second technical late in the third quarter, only the second time in his career he's been tossed.

"It was an ugly game, but it was a win. They (the Clippers) were playing with that `We have nothing to lose mentality,' and that's the hardest type of game to play," O'Neal said. "The guys played hard. Robert Horry stepped it up in the overtime, and Horace got a tip."

O'Neal laughed and added, "And the Hack-a-Piatkowski worked."

The Clippers' Eric Piatkowski scored seven of his 27 points in overtime, but he missed the second of two free throws that would have tied it with 12 seconds left in the extra period.

O'Neal, who fouled out for the third time this season, wasn't concerned that Bryant, the NBA's leading scorer, got himself ejected.

"He said what he had to say, and they got him for it," the Lakers center said. "Usually, guys with that type of stature can get away with that. I've seen all type of guys get away with it -- except me."

Piatkowski's jumper 12 seconds into overtime gave the Clippers their first lead, at 105-103, but Horry answered with a 3-pointer and the lead seesawed until Grant's basket.

"It would have been a nice way to finish the year 2000," Piatkowski said. "It was a golden opportunity for us with Shaq and Kobe being out.

"I thought we were going to win and to come up that short again, it's getting old. I hope our guys don't get used to it."

The Clippers' Sean Rooks tied it at 103 with a putback with a half-second left in regulation.

Bryant was ejected with 1:52 remaining in the third, drawing his second technical as he argued with referee Rashan Michel.

The Lakers star believed he was fouled as he drove for the basket, but Michel didn't agree. After Bryant kept complaining, Michel tossed him.

The Lakers led 77-67 at the time, but the Clippers narrowed the gap to 82-79 with a 14-0 run capped by rookie Keyon Dooling's layup with 10:39 to play.

Bryant's first technical was called by Bob Delaney 1:31 into the second quarter when Bryant also was complaining about not getting a call.

Bryant scored his 17 points, all in the first half, on 7-of-18 shooting before he was sent off the court in the game played before a sellout crowd of 20,327.

Shaw's 3-pointer at the buzzer ending the first half gave the Lakers a 54-51 lead after they led by nine, at 30-21 early in the second quarter.

Miles' driving layup pulled the Clippers even at 51 with 20 seconds left in the half, but Bryant, double-teamed at the top of the 3-point arc, passed to Shaw for his last-second 3-pointer.

The Lakers used a 14-4 burst in the first quarter to open 28-15 lead with 2:51 remaining, but the Clippers closed to 28-21 before the period ended.

Game notes
The only other time Bryant was ejected was last season because of a fight he had with Chris Childs of the New York Knicks. ... The last time the Clippers beat the Lakers was a 97-95 victory on March 14, 1997. ... The Lakers downed the Clippers 108-103 in the first meeting this season and 98-83 in the second, on Nov. 27. The Clippers led in the second half of the first loss, then were up by as much as 10 early in the second. ... The Clippers are 0-5 in overtime this season.
ALSO SEE
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RECAPS
Orlando 95
Boston 90

Houston 114
Dallas 99

Seattle 104
Charlotte 102

Miami 110
Detroit 102

San Antonio 89
Indiana 77

New York 88
Minnesota 79

Philadelphia 107
Sacramento 104

Phoenix 109
Toronto 103

Denver 120
Milwaukee 113

Golden State 102
Vancouver 101

LA Lakers 116
LA Clippers 114

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Kobe Bryant Official Site

Rick Fox Official Site

Mark Madsen Official Site


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