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Bryant Arrives Late, Wins Game for Lakers

Posted on: Saturday, 20 December 2003, 06:00 CST

Kobe Bryant didn't have his usual pregame warmup, and he missed a handful of shots late in the game. But he made the only one that mattered when he hit a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer Friday night, giving the Los Angeles Lakers a 101-99 victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets.

"I haven't hit a game-winner in a while," he said. "I had a good feeling about it."

Bryant didn't start because he arrived late from a court hearing on his sexual assault case in Colorado. His plane landed 25 minutes before tip-off and he showed up at Staples Center with about four minutes left in the first quarter. He jumped on a bicycle in the locker room before joining his teammates.

"It was tough to get a feel for the basketball or a feel for the game," Bryant said. "The first time I just moved the ball around, tried to stay in focus and get my legs underneath me. I'd been sitting on them all day."

He finished with 13 points and five assists in 31 minutes. It was the first time since Dec. 7, 1999, that he came off the bench.

"It's been a long day," said Bryant, who awoke at 4:30 a.m. "That's life. You just have to struggle along with it."

In other games, Cleveland defeated Philadelphia 88-81, Sacramento downed Atlanta 98-86, New Jersey beat Washington 97-87, San Antonio topped Seattle 87-73, Houston defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 99-85, Indiana beat Detroit 80-75, Memphis topped Miami 97-83, Toronto edged New York 105-99 in overtime, Orlando downed Golden State 119-93 and Utah defeated Boston 99-96.

The Nuggets erased all of a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Lakers were still ahead by nine with two minutes left, but they got careless. Shaquille O'Neal missed two free throws, Gary Payton missed a layup and Bryant's jumper missed with 13 seconds left.

"I wasn't happy with the choices and the way we were playing down the stretch," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I didn't design that play for Kobe. It worked out. It was a great shot by him. He had to get it off early and he did."

Bryant took the inbounds pass from Devean George, drove left, pump-faked defender Jon Barry off his feet and sank the winning jumper from the top of the key before falling on his rear end.

The ball left Bryant's hands with one-tenth of a second left.

"Once I got him in the air, I knew he was done," Bryant said. "I just had to get the ball off in time."

He was mobbed by teammates, and the crowd that had welcomed him with a loud ovation at the start of the second quarter went wild.

"It's extremely courageous on his part to come and be here with us after taking care of his personal business," guard Derek Fisher said. "I'm sure it would have been really easy to just go home and be with his family and come back to work tomorrow, but he had enough respect for himself and for us as teammates to come back and give us the best effort he can give us."

O'Neal had 26 points, 11 rebounds and made 10 of 17 free throws to help the Lakers end a two-game losing streak. They are 13-1 at Staples Center.

Rookie Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 24 points, going 7-of-7 on free throws. Voshon Lenard added 14 points and Nene had 13.

Anthony was fouled by O'Neal with 2.5 seconds left. He calmly sank both free throws to tie the game at 99.

Cavaliers 88, 76ers 81

At Philadelphia, LeBron James ended Cleveland's 34-game road losing streak with his best shooting performance yet.

James made five 3-pointers and scored 36 points, leading the Cavaliers to their first away win since Jan. 12 at Seattle. James finished 14-of-24 and had four rebounds and five assists.

Cleveland's road losing streak tied for the second-longest in NBA history behind Sacramento's 43-game streak in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.

Kings 98, Hawks 86

At Atlanta, Brad Miller had his third straight double-double and hit a big 3-pointer late to hold off the Hawks.

Miller finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds and Peja Stojakovic scored 31 for the Kings, who have won six of seven.

Atlanta guard Jason Terry, coming off his first scoreless game in more than two years, had 25 but couldn't stop the Hawks from losing their sixth in a row.

Nets 97, Wizards 87

At East Rutherford, N.J., Kenyon Martin had 22 points, 14 rebounds and five assists and the Nets spoiled former assistant coach Eddie Jordan's return to New Jersey.

Richard Jefferson had 18 points and Kerry Kittles 16 as the Nets won for the sixth time in seven games. The victory put the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions over the .500 mark and into first place in the Atlantic Division.

Spurs 87, SuperSonics 73

At Seattle, Tim Duncan had 27 points and 20 rebounds in San Antonio's ninth straight victory.

The defending NBA champions improved their record to 18-10, including 7-7 on the road. They can tie the Los Angeles Lakers for the longest winning streak in the NBA this season with a win at Portland on Saturday night.

Rockets 99, Clippers 85

At Houston, Yao Ming recorded his 12th double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. The Rockets never trailed after the first basket as they snapped the Clippers' four-game winning streak.

Pacers 80, Pistons 75

At Indianapolis, Ron Artest scored 22 points, Jermaine O'Neal added 19 and Austin Croshere came off the bench for 12 - all in the fourth quarter - as Indiana avoided its first two-game losing streak this season.

Grizzlies 97, Heat 83

At Memphis, the Grizzlies moved five games over .500 for the first time in franchise history as Mike Miller scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures. The Grizzlies also set a franchise record for wins (15) before the All-Star break.

Raptors 105, Knicks 99, OT

At Toronto, Vince Carter scored 10 of Toronto's 12 points in overtime to help the Raptors end a four-game losing skid. New York's Allan Houston forced overtime on a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left, but he missed two jumpers and turned the ball over in the final 1:30 of overtime.

Magic 119, Warriors 93

At Orlando, Tracy McGrady had 29 points and a season-high 12 assists in leading the resurgent Magic to their largest victory margin of the season. Orlando has won five of seven since snapping a franchise-record 19-game losing skid.

Jazz 99, Celtics 96

At Boston, Raja Bell's jumper with 26.8 seconds left put Utah ahead for good as the Jazz won for only the third time in 12 road games this season.

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