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 Stephen Jackson scored six of his 31 points on two 3-pointers in the final 38 1/2 seconds, and the Warriors beat Los Angeles 115-111 Sunday night after blowing a 26-point lead to snap their nine-game losing streak to the Lakers at Staples Center.
The Warriors hadn't beaten the Lakers in Los Angeles since winning 114-110 on Jan. 22, 2003.
"It's been a long time since we won a game here, they tell me," Nelson said. "I haven't been with this team that long, but it's always a tough win here, and it always has been no matter what team I've been coaching."
Nelson, whose 1,275 victories are the second-most in NBA history behind Lenny Wilkens' 1,332, is in his second season as the Warriors' coach in his second tour with the team.
Jackson's first 3-pointer gave the Warriors a 112-108 lead. After Kobe Bryant's 3-pointer with 30.5 seconds left drew the Lakers within one, Jackson connected from the top of the key with 8.1 seconds to play to put the game away.
"He has made big shots for us all year," Nelson said. "I don't know how he does it. We put him in a good position where he was open."
Bryant made two 3-pointers in the last 56.4 seconds, drawing the Lakers within one point each time. But Jackson responded on both occasions.
"I hated that it came down to that," Jackson said. "I think we got a little too complacent with that lead. We should have known Kobe was going to come back and take over and bring his team back.
"The biggest thing was in the third quarter we walked the ball up and they ran. And we got the lead by running. But we found a way to win. That shows the growth of this team from last year. It was ugly, but it was still a win."
In other NBA games Sunday, the San Antonio Spurs beat Dallas 88-81 but lost reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki with an injured lower left leg; the Denver Nuggets topped Toronto 109-100, and the Washington Wizards defeated Detroit 95-83.
Monta Ellis also had 31 points along with seven rebounds and five assists for the Warriors, who won for the 10th time in 14 games. Baron Davis scored 18 points and Al Harrington added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Golden State (43-26), which remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Denver in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The win was the second straight for the Warriors over the Lakers after a nine-game losing streak to their in-state rivals. Golden State won despite being outrebounded 60-43.
"Jack has hit countless back-breakers for us this season," Davis said. "He had just hit one that extended the lead to 4, and then I saw Lamar Odom just sitting in the paint. So I was like,
'OK, I'm going to take this 3 or I'm going to give it to Jack.' It was unbelievable that he was just standing there, waiting to let it go. I really trusted that he was going to make it. It's better him shooting wide-open than me shooting with a hand in my face."
Bryant scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and added a season-high 14 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers (48-22), who had their three-game winning streak snapped and fell percentage points behind the Western Conference-leading New Orleans Hornets.
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Lamar Odom had 19 points and a career-high 22 rebounds and Ronny Turiaf and Derek Fisher scored 16 each for Los Angeles.
Lakers center Pau Gasol missed his fifth straight game with a sprained left ankle, and won't play Monday night when the teams meet again in Oakland in a possible playoff preview. Golden State's Mikael Pietrus sat out the game due to a strained groin.
The Warriors led 75-49 in the opening minute of the third quarter, but the Lakers battled back and took a 99-97 lead on two foul shots by Bryant with 5:08 to play. Golden State scored the next eight points to go ahead for good.
Spurs 88, Mavericks 81
Manu Ginobili scored eight points in a 19-0 third-quarter rally that helped the visiting Spurs beat Dallas, but the Mavericks were more concerned about the status of Nowitzki, who was injured during a nasty spill late in San Antonio's game-breaking stretch.
Both the ankle and knee seemed to buckle when Nowitzki landed after running to block a shot. He slapped the court and put a hand to his head in agony, then sat motionless for a few minutes. He put no weight on the leg leaving the court, then was seen limping into the X-ray room.
The Mavericks said he would be evaluated Monday.
Nuggets 109, Raptors 100
Allen Iverson had 36 points, Carmelo Anthony added 33 for the visiting Nuggets, who won for the fifth time in seven games. Chris Bosh was one assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists as Toronto lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Wizards 95, Pistons 83
Antawn Jamison had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who won for the sixth time in their last seven games to move 1 1/2 games ahead of sixth-place Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference. Richard Hamilton scored 19 points to lead the Pistons, who have lost two straight.
[Associated Press; By JOHN NADEL]
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