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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- Standing two feet behind the foul line, Nick Van
Exel adds some adventure to his free throws. They looked as easy as
layups Wednesday night.
Van Exel hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 37 seconds remaining
and added eight consecutive free throws as the Denver Nuggets overcame
38 points by Kobe Bryant for a 107-101 victory over the Los Angeles
Lakers.
Antonio McDyess added 14 points and 16 rebounds to help the
Nuggets end Los Angeles' four-game winning streak. Denver had lost
11 of 14.
"It was good, but I'm not too excited because this is the kind
of team we can be all the time," Van Exel said. "It was a good
win, but we haven't been playing good as of late, so we've just got
to build on it."
Bryant, who returned after missing three games with a sprained
right ankle, hit 16 of 28 shots but missed an uncontested 3-pointer
after Van Exel had put Denver ahead for good, 99-96.
"Whew! It was kind of scary," McDyess said. "I'd rather have
Shaq try to shoot the free throws than Kobe trying to hit that 3
because he was hot all night. We kind of escaped when he missed."
Van Exel finished with 27 points and had 11 assists, and Raef
LaFrentz had 19 points.
After Bryant's miss, Van Exel hit two free throws with 30
seconds left. The Lakers got as close as 103-101 in the final 17
seconds but lost for just the third time in 12 games as Van Exel
kept converting free throws.
"I thought we made some real poor judgments down the stretch,"
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I think Nick hitting that
3-pointer changed the whole valence of that game."
Shaquille O'Neal finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. He and
Bryant combined for 26 consecutive points for the Lakers during a
15:45 span of the third and fourth quarters.
The Lakers, who lost to Denver without O'Neal in December, led
79-75 after three quarters and the teams traded leads nine times in
a six-minute span of the fourth.
Bryant's 17-footer tied the game for the 18th and final time
with 1:28 to go, and the teams traded misses before Van Exel hit a
3-pointer from the right wing. He had been 6-for-16 from the field
to that point.
"I've said this a dozen times. When the game's on the line,
there's not anybody else I'd rather have the ball than Nick,"
Nuggets coach Dan Issel said.
Showing no sign of having a bad ankle, Bryant made eight of 12 shots
and scored 17 points to help the Lakers take a 57-51 halftime lead.
He finished with 10 rebounds and six assists but committed five
turnovers.
"I was driving on it pretty good, but the pain was still
there," Bryant said. "I sucked the pain up. I can play through
it. The pain was as bad as it as going to get."
Denver led by three before Los Angeles closed the half with a
13-4 run, punctuated by O'Neal's one-handed dunk with 3.4 seconds
remaining.
Game notes
Before the game, Denver activated center Terry Davis from the injured list. Guard Anthony Goldwire (sprained right wrist) was placed
on the injured list to make room on the team's active roster. ... Injured
Nuggets guard Calbert Cheaney was allowed to leave the team to attend a
ceremony honoring Indiana University's all-century team. ...
Bryant, O'Neal and Horace Grant scored 23 of Los Angeles' 27
first-quarter points. ... Denver fans sitting behind the backboard
mocked O'Neal's poor free-throw shooting by wearing hard hats.
O'Neal, a 44 percent free throw shooter, went 7-for-15. ... Denver
scored 100 points for the first time in 11 games. The Nuggets are
16-1 when scoring at least 100 at home. ... The Lakers held a 49-40
rebounding edge but were outscored 22-4 on the fastbreak.
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NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
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RECAPS
Indiana 99
Milwaukee 86
Toronto 95
Atlanta 88
Charlotte 91
New Jersey 88
Minnesota 111
Detroit 100
Philadelphia 79
Miami 69
Houston 95
Chicago 78
Orlando 97
Phoenix 91
Utah 101
Vancouver 83
Denver 107
LA Lakers 101
Sacramento 122
Golden State 101
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