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 Udrih finished with 25 points and 10 assists for Sacramento, winning for just the second time in nine games in a stretch that included a defeat by the Lakers in Sacramento on Tuesday. Kevin Martin added 21 points for the Kings, and Ron Artest had 17.
Bryant scored 26 as the Lakers lost only their second in 15 games. Pau Gasol had 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Los Angeles, and Lamar Odom had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Both teams featured balanced scoring and not much defense. Francisco Garcia had 15 points for Sacramento, and Mikki Moore and Spencer Hawes 14
each.
Gasol's layup with 15 seconds left gave the Lakers a 113-112 lead, but Sasha Vujacic fouled Udrih and he calmly sank both free throws. After a Lakers' timeout, Bryant took the in-bounds pass, tried to drive, pulled up and his fadeaway jumper bounced off the rim.
Los Angeles, which trailed by as many as 13 early in the third quarter, chipped away at the lead and finally tied it at 100 on Gasol's running jumper midway through the fourth quarter. The Lakers' lone lead in the second half came on his layup with 15 seconds to play.
Vujacic finished with 15 points, including going 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He hit several shots down the stretch to keep the Lakers close.
Down 86-75 midway through the third quarter, Los Angeles closed the gap when Sacramento went a stretch of 4:18 without scoring. Derek Fisher's jumper narrowed the gap to 86-85 with 2:53 left in the period.
Garcia's 3-pointer four minutes into the second quarter began a 17-5 run by the Kings that ended with another 3 by Garcia 4:06 before halftime and gave Sacramento a 58-45 lead.
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Martin, coming off a career-high 48-point performance in a 111-103 loss to Minnesota on Friday night, had 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting to help the Kings open their 71-60 halftime lead over the Lakers.
Artest, back after missing two games with a sore left foot, had 13 points by the break and Udrih had 12.
Bryant scored 20 in the first half, but just five as the Lakers fell behind in the second quarter.
Artest's 23-foot jumper with two seconds left gave Sacramento a 31-29 lead at the end of the first period.
He and Moore had eight points each to lead the Kings in the first quarter, while Bryant had his 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting to keep the Lakers close.
Notes: The Kings won for the sixth time in their last 11 games on the Lakers' court. ... The Lakers beat the Kings 117-105 in Sacramento last Tuesday, when Bryant scored 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter.
[Associated Press; By KEN PETERS]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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