Kobe gets Lakers' scoring mark in loss to Memphis

[February 02, 2010]  MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Kobe Bryant scored 44 points, passing Jerry West as the Los Angeles Lakers' career scorer, but it wasn't enough as the Memphis Grizzlies got 22 points and 17 rebounds from Zach Randolph to defeat the Lakers 95-93 on Monday night.

Rudy Gay led Memphis with 25 points, and his 3-pointer with 29.5 seconds left helped Memphis end its two-game losing streak.

Ron Artest's 3-point attempt from the right side bounced high off the rim as the horn sounded, snapping the Lakers' four-game winning streak.

Bryant passed West's mark on a breakaway dunk in the third quarter. Bryant made 16 of 28 shots, including 4 of 7 outside the arc. Artest added 18 points, while Pau Gasol had 10 points.

Lester Hudson had 13 points for Memphis, and Marc Gasol finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis.

While Bryant got the franchise record for scoring, the loss prevented Lakers coach Phil Jackson from passing Pat Riley as the winningest coach in regular-season games for Los Angeles. The two are tied at 533.

The game was tied at 88, when Memphis ran the shot clock to near the end before Randolph made a 22-footer for a 90-88 lead with 1:08 left. His two free throws extended the lead to 92-88. Bryant scored on a drive before Gay's 3-pointer with 29.5 seconds left gave Memphis a 95-90 lead, and the Grizzlies held on.

Memphis got an unexpected offensive boost from Hudson, the rookie shooting guard who was picked up Jan. 8 off waivers from the Celtics.

Hudson had 11 points -- his career high -- in the second quarter as Memphis extended the lead to 11 before carrying a 52-50 lead into the half as the Lakers outscored Memphis 11-2 to close the half.

Memphis extended the lead to 11 again at the start of the third quarter as the Lakers missed eight of their first nine shots. Meanwhile, Randolph and Gasol were effective inside.

But the Lakers narrowed the deficit again. Bryant's dunk to pass West's mark in the third quarter was part of a stretch where Los Angeles closed the quarter on an 18-6 run.

NOTES: Memphis reserve Sam Young, the Grizzlies' leading scorer off the bench with a 7.5-point average, was inactive because of an allergic reaction. The Lakers wrapped up an eight-game road trip Monday night with a record of 5-3. ... After the pre-game introductions, Pau Gasol, who started his career in Memphis, bumped fists all the way down press row to the Grizzlies bench. ... The teams were tied at 24 at the end of the first because of a mental lapse by Gay, who thought the game clock was running out and fired up a 47-footer with about 5 seconds left. The errant shot bounced hard off the backboard, and the Lakers moved the ball to Bryant, who connected on a 3-pointer from the corner as time expired.

[Associated Press]

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