OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)—Kobe Bryant needed just a few minutes to thwart an Oklahoma City rally and put the Los Angeles Lakers on the way to improving the NBA’s best record.
It took quite a bit longer to shake off the effects of the ankle injury he suffered in the process.
Bryant scored 10 of his 36 points in a 3-minute span of the fourth quarter to stave off the Thunder’s comeback bid and lead the Lakers to a 107-93 victory on Tuesday night. He didn’t emerge from the Lakers’ training room until about 40 minutes after the game, but he was in a good mood when he did.
“It was my ankle, but I’ve got ankle insurance,” Bryant said with a smile. “I’m fine.”
Bryant moved into 19th place on the NBA’s career scoring list, ahead of Adrian Dantley only one game after he passed Elgin Baylor for 20th. Entering the game, he had needed only 13 points to tie Dantley.
He got to that point with the first of back-to-back jumpers that pushed the lead back to 18 with 7:05 left in the third quarter after Oklahoma City had gotten within 10. The Thunder still had one last charge in them, closing within one before Bryant returned from the bench and took over.
Coach Phil Jackson said he had to turn away Bryant once before he finally let his star check back in with 9:17 to play and the Thunder within two. Bryant said the thoughts that were running through his head were not pleasant ones.
“If I don’t check in within the next 2 minutes, I’m just not going to sleep very well tonight,” Bryant said. “It’s about time for me to go in and do what they ask me to do.”
He had 15 points in the fourth quarter after the Thunder were threatening, allowing the Lakers to improve to 47-10 on the season and 21-6 on the road.
Kevin Durant scored 32 to lead Oklahoma City in its sixth straight loss. “A guy like Kobe Bryant, he’s a great player,” Durant said. “He makes those shots. We forced him into some of those tough ones, but that’s the kind of player he is.”
Pau Gasol added 14 points, Derek Fisher scored 12 and Luke Walton had 11 for Los Angeles. After averaging 16 rebounds over the last seven games, Lamar Odom had only eight points and eight rebounds.
But Bryant had plenty of production, especially down the stretch.
He hit a jumper immediately after checking back into the game, then scored six points in a row to respond to Jeff Green’s three-point play that cut the deficit to 81-80. He used a series of hesitation moves and pump fakes to draw two fouls from Weaver, then backed his way in against the rookie for a layup that made it 87-80.
The Lakers’ lead eventually ballooned to 104-89 on Walton’s layup, and that allowed Bryant to exit with 1:26 to play. He had stayed in the game despite clutching his right ankle when he landed awkwardly after getting fouled on a layup attempt under the basket with about 4 minutes left.
Odom was disappointed in how Los Angeles squandered the big lead and said it “wasn’t a wholehearted effort at all defensively for us.”
“We’re pushing for perfection. We can play better than what we played tonight,” Odom said.
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