LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant hit a
17-foot fallaway jumper with 1.9 seconds left, and the Los Angeles
Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter to snap their three-game losing
streak with a 109-107 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.
Chris Bosh hit a 3-pointer with 9.5
seconds left to tie it for the Raptors, who outplayed the defending
champions for most of the first three quarters before losing on another
big shot by Bryant, who scored 14 of his 32 points in the fourth
quarter.
Bryant, who missed a shot at the
buzzer in Los Angeles' loss at Toronto in January, got the ball on the
wing before eluding Antoine Wright's defense and gliding nearly to the
baseline for a graceful jumper. Wright's failed desperation shot set off
a celebration for the Lakers, who haven't lost four straight since
April 2007.
Andrew Bynum scored 22 points and Pau
Gasol had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who returned from a
winless road trip to beat Toronto for the eighth straight time at
Staples Center.
Bosh scored 22 points in his second
game back from a seven-game injury absence, and Andrea Bargnani had 21
as the Raptors opened a four-game road trip by struggling from the field
in the final minutes of their sixth loss in seven games. Jarrett Jack
added 18 points.
Lamar Odom had 10 points, eight
rebounds, five assists and several big fourth-quarter plays for the
Lakers, who pushed their suddenly tenuous lead over Dallas atop the
Western Conference standings back to three games while winning their
only home game in a 16-day stretch.
Bryant put the Lakers ahead on two
free throws with 3:54 left, and Derek Fisher stole Hedo Turkoglu's pass
and hit two free throws with 30 seconds left to put Los Angeles up by
four. Odom missed a free throw moments later to give Toronto a chance to
tie it, and Bosh coolly nailed his second 3-pointer of the game after
hitting just six all season previously.
An only-in-L.A. moment also factored
in the final decision moments earlier, when Toronto's Jose Calderon went
racing to the sidelines to save a loose ball with 1:48 to play. Before
Calderon could get there to attempt an out-of-bounds save, the ball was
tipped away by Lapo Elkann, the Fiat heir and international playboy
watching from a courtside seat.
Elkann got a loud ovation when he was
shown on the overhead scoreboard moments later.
Los Angeles lost at Miami, Charlotte
and Orlando over the previous five days, with an embarrassing blowout
loss to the Bobcats sandwiched between two tight games in Florida.
Bryant's various injuries and his teammates' struggles both played roles
in the slide, which allowed the streaking Mavericks to eliminate most
of Los Angeles' conference lead.
In a good sign the Lakers were
getting back to business, Ron Artest had shaved his head bald. On Sunday
in Orlando, the colorful forward unveiled a Rodmanesque yellow dye job
with the word "Defense" apparently written into it in purple in three
languages.
The Lakers will finish the regular
season with 11 of 17 on the road, including Friday's game in Phoenix to
open a three-game trip.
Toronto took a 58-50 lead into
halftime with 15 points from Bargnani, who hit two 3-pointers and played
his usual up-tempo game. The Raptors maintained their lead in the third
quarter with 13 points from Jack, and Gasol became enraged in the final
seconds when Amir Johnson got away with grabbing a fistful of Gasol's
shorts while the Lakers All-Star attempted a putback.
Gasol and Lakers assistant coach
Frank Hamblen both received technical fouls after the quarter ended.
Notes
Turkoglu returned from a
one-game absence to rest his sprained left ankle. … Lakers G Sasha
Vujacic returned from an eight-game absence with a sprained right
shoulder, playing just three minutes. … Besides Elkann, courtside fans
included actors Eddie Murphy, Jason Statham, Mark Valley, Russell Brand
and Noah Wyle.