LOS ANGELES(AP) Kobe Bryant hit yet another buzzer-beating 3-pointer and finished with 39 points as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a 20-point deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings 109-108 on Friday night.
Lamar Odom had a season-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the NBA-leading Lakers (26-6). Pau Gasol had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four assists – one of which set up Bryant’s clutch basket from in front of the Sacramento bench.
Andrew Bynum added 16 points and four rebounds.
Ron Artest missed his fourth straight game because of a concussion.
Spencer Hawes had a career-high 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Kings, Omri Casspi scored 23 points, and Beno Udrih added 19 points and 13 assists.
The Lakers came out as flat as half-empty champagne bottles left over from New Year’s Eve, shooting 37 percent from the field in the first half and trailing 64-49 at intermission. Derek Fisher was the biggest offender, missing nine of 10 shots in the half while the Kings had the highest-scoring half by a Lakers opponent this season.
Fisher, who had six points, played 9 minutes in the third quarter without taking a shot, then sat out the entire fourth quarter.
The sellout crowd let the Lakers feel their pain, booing them loudly after Jon Brockman’s layup gave Sacramento a 38-23 lead with 9:12 left in the second quarter. The Kings built the lead to 20 at 52-32 with a 3-pointer by Ime Udoka that capped a 26-9 run with 5:06 left in the half.
In their previous game, Tuesday night at Staples Center, the Lakers fell behind by 15 points to Golden State and gave up 60 points in the first half before pulling out a 124-118 win. The last time they won a game in which they trailed by 20 or more points was Dec. 12, 2006, when they erased a 21-point deficit in a 112-101 double-overtime win against Houston at Los Angeles.
NOTES: According to Lakers coach Phil Jackson, it looks as though Artest will be back playing by early next week, following the fall at his home on Christmas night that caused the concussion, a deep cut on his left elbow and a slight loss of memory. “He’s improved significantly in the last two days, and optimistic that he’ll be able to practice soon – probably not a full-out practice with contact tomorrow, but will have non-contact activity with the team,” Jackson said. “There’s a number of checks they go through with concussions, like speech patterns. But with Ron, that doesn’t work.” … This was only the third time in the last 36 years that the Lakers played on New Year’s Day. Their overall record on Jan. 1 is 9-6.
January 2, 2010
12:16 am
Saif
I just got a text saying Kings are going to win this one. As a Laker fan for 20 years living in Sacramento, I was cool calm and collective. I checked out the seconds on the clock, then grabbed my iphone and texted back. My text message said “they better tackle Kobe”. Yes, somehow I knew the shot was going in. It was a big moment on New Years 2010. Kobe had scored the last 3 points to win. Prior to that, Kobe was in the huddle playing it out in his mind. Yes, Mamba it was your moment once again. Time is starting to fly and history his being made. The players are looking and moving different, announcers and media are getting desperate. But some things just don’t change. Mamba you are now among the best of the best! Thank you for giving so much!
January 2, 2010
12:39 am
joana
what a game kobe ur the best!!!!!go lakers
January 2, 2010
12:42 am
KOBE26
New year, but same old Kobe! =)
January 2, 2010
12:51 am
skylar
OMG ..that was a nice game go kobe
January 2, 2010
2:06 am
john esparza
VINTAGE MAMBA!!!!!
January 2, 2010
2:19 am
Kold B 24 LFL
Wow did you see the guy slip trying to get to Kobe right before he landed his signature buzzer beater shot .. It just works out for him all the time. Gasol is doing his thing right !!
January 2, 2010
2:27 am
kostas
this is sick man 3 for 3 MAMBA!!!
January 2, 2010
3:06 am
Black[24]Mamba
MVP !! MVP !! MVP !! MVP !! MVP !! MVP !! MVP !! MVP !!
January 2, 2010
3:22 am
dream chu
hahah.
Kobe,what an amazing moment you have made .!!!
January 2, 2010
4:05 am
VICHU
Its hard to be as good as Kobe……..
January 2, 2010
10:00 am
Sizzle
Kobe!!!!!! You are The Greatest Player on this planet that we call Earth! You are utterly A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!! No one is as great as The Black Mamba!! NO ONE!!!!
January 2, 2010
11:05 am
TeamLA
What an incredible shot by Kobe (again) !!!
He did it again. You are absolutely incredible.
M.V.P. 2010
Happy New Year to you KOBE !!
January 2, 2010
11:05 am
Brandon LaVelle
What more can we say other than INCREDIBLE!!! WOW! I couldn’t believe it! I was saying to myself “hmm can Kobe pull another game winner off?”
Ez-
January 2, 2010
11:48 am
jesse
Great job Kobe, you’re amazing!!! You left me speechless when you made that shot (although you tend to do that a lot!!!)You totally deserve to be MVP and All-Star again!! What you do is nothing like any other player in the NBA does!!!!!!
January 2, 2010
11:51 am
Eric
guys this is way kobe is the best player to ever play the game
January 2, 2010
11:53 am
dwayne
YEAH. no surprise there. kobe awsome. best of the best
January 2, 2010
12:35 pm
HOOPDREAMS 423
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
January 2, 2010
12:58 pm
KobeFan Jay
Oops, he did it again. Happy New Year to the Sacramento Queens.
January 2, 2010
1:17 pm
Moazzam Ansari
g.o.a.t
January 2, 2010
2:10 pm
LA Lakers 4ever!
that’s kobe!
January 2, 2010
3:41 pm
Hope Peyton Wright
speedy recovery to Ron! He is missed for his defense presence. Kobe I don’t know how you do it with those last buzzer heroics- not good for my blood pressure though lol
January 2, 2010
5:48 pm
Steven
Two words: BLACK MAMBA!!! We can’t ignore the play of Lamar Odom…Great game LO!!! Pau had a crucial and 1 down the stretch, and Shannon a big bucket in crunch time. Nice to see Jordan out there playing in crunch time and keeping his composure. Great way to start the new year!!!! Let’s get that RING!!!
January 2, 2010
6:08 pm
Waunie Wilson
Broken fingers, elbows, knee surgeries, Kobe Bean Bryant is AMAZING!!!
January 2, 2010
6:18 pm
KableMan
I was at that game!!! Best experience of my life!!! I was like, “Am I really going to be at one of these games lol!”
January 2, 2010
11:39 pm
Carlos Buenaflor
Kobe is just unbelievable, unstoppable and relentless.. he is a sickest basketball player ever!!!!
January 3, 2010
12:07 am
Gladys Gonzalez
Kobe is so amazing
January 3, 2010
12:15 am
Liz Esparza
Kobe Bryant demonstrated his gamesmanship skills once again.
January 3, 2010
3:47 am
yanebok
what can i say? i’m speechless..kobe you are the best..=)
January 3, 2010
6:35 am
Kobe24 Elijah
Oh my God, kobe does it again. He killed sacramento again.
January 3, 2010
4:57 pm
KC
I Love You Kobe!You are Amazing!!!
January 3, 2010
6:44 pm
R3NST3R
mann.. Beno was stupid enough to hopefully draw a push from the REF.. man dude we all know the refs swallows the whistle for the end game plays
January 3, 2010
10:26 pm
william
simply the best in NBA. MVP once again!!!!!
January 3, 2010
11:16 pm
Jossy Syuryadinata
MVP No Doubt…The gtreatest of all times….so WELCOME tO the reality of BASKETBALL World….NONE other MR. KB24….MY inspiration and my Idol
January 4, 2010
4:43 am
Sherwin Chase
MVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -”OPTIMO, MAXIMO, INTER PARES”by:SherwinChase
January 4, 2010
6:36 am
mags[number 1laker fanatic]
ahm………no comment for number 24..
a strong mvp candidate man..we are strong fan of kb24 here
in the philippines!!
January 4, 2010
12:45 pm
Kobe24
i couldnt believe it either thought the game was over but kobe and that 3 pointer in 1 tenth of a seconds man that made my day
no cant stop the black mamba not even lebron
MVP MVP MVP MVP
Kobe Kobe Kobe Kobe
January 5, 2010
5:11 am
Air Apparent
GOAT. Nothing more to say
January 5, 2010
7:07 am
Tyson Beck
seriously when kobe and the lakers are balling my life feels so great
January 5, 2010
12:17 pm
NiNaRoSs
He does it again!!! Great job Kobe!!!
~GO LAKERS~
January 6, 2010
4:26 am
Marius R.
haay,I come fron germany and Kobe is my example….!!
~Go Lakers~
January 10, 2010
3:37 pm
martinamalka
WHAT A GUY! THE BEST NBA PLAYER TODAY! TONIGHT!