Diaw, Brown lead Bobcats past Lakers 117-110

[January 28, 2009]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Boris Diaw had 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, reserve Shannon Brown scored five of his 14 points in the second overtime, and the Charlotte Bobcats continued their surprising recent domination of the Los Angeles Lakers by beating them 117-110 on Tuesday night.

The win was the Bobcats' fifth in their last six games against the Lakers, who got 38 points from Kobe Bryant before the Los Angeles star fouled out for the first time this season in the final minute of the first overtime.

Raymond Felton had 22 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and nine assists, Raja Bell added 17 points and Gerald Wallace scored 15 before leaving late in the fourth quarter after a flagrant foul by Andrew Bynum knocked him to the floor.

Bryant had eight rebounds and five assists to go with his 38 points. Bynum added 24 points and 14 rebounds and Derek Fisher scored 14 for the Lakers (35-9), who had their four-game winning streak snapped while losing for just the fourth time in 27 home games.

Brown's 3-pointer with 2:14 remaining put the Bobcats on top 110-107, and they led the rest of the way. Okafor scored four points around a three-point play by Bynum and Felton added two foul shots with 25.2 seconds left, giving Charlotte (19-26) a 116-110 lead and clinching the victory.

The Lakers rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final 2 1/2 minutes to force the first overtime, and got two baskets from Bryant and another from Bynum to begin the first extra period up 99-93 lead with 2:55 left.

But the Bobcats came back, and a 3-pointer by Diaw with 32.2 seconds to play tied the game at 103. Bryant was out of the game at that stage, having fouled out with 39.8 seconds left after scoring eight points in the first overtime.

Neither team got a good shot off after that, forcing the second overtime.

Diaw scored seven points during a 9-0 run that gave the Bobcats a 90-83 lead before seven points by Bryant and a 3-pointer by Fisher with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter tied the game at 93. Felton missed a 22-footer as time expired to force the first overtime.

Neither team led by more than four points in the third quarter until Charlotte scored six straight for a 70-63 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left in the period. The Bobcats led 76-70 entering the fourth quarter.

The Bobcats outscored the Lakers 10-3 for a 36-26 lead midway through the second quarter. Gasol had shot 2-of-10 and Bryant was 0-of-5 at that stage.

Bryant scored for the first time on a jumper with 5:20 left in the period, and added 10 more points before halftime, helping the Lakers outscore the Bobcats 22-13 to draw within one point.

Lakers forward Trevor Ariza left with 4:52 left in the second quarter after suffering a concussion and didn't return. He's not expected to miss any playing time.

Notes: The game was the Lakers' first overtime contest of the season, leaving New Orleans as the only team that hasn't gone into overtime. ... The Lakers' 16 first-quarter points tied a season-low. ... The Lakers, who've played an NBA-high 27 home games and a league-low 17 road games, open a six-game trip Friday night at Minnesota. They're 23-4 at home and 12-5 away. They'll play 22 of their next 31 games on the road. ... The Lakers are 4-5 overall against the Bobcats, who joined the NBA as an expansion team in 2004. ... The Bobcats are 12-10 since acquiring Diaw and Bell from Phoenix last month. ... The Lakers have a 12-6 record against Eastern Conference teams this season and the Bobcats are 9-6 against the West.

[Associated Press; By JOHN NADEL]

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