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 Bryant, needing 30 points, didn't catch Jordan for third place on
the NBA career scoring list. But the Lakers ran down the Spurs,
beating them 112-110 in overtime.
Guard Nick Young hit a 30-foot 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left in
overtime after a turnover by Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, giving the
Lakers (7-16) the victory.
Young released his shot barely before the 24-second shot clock
expired.
"Swaggy, desperation 3-pointer, piece of cake," Lakers coach Byron
Scott said of Young.
Young, a reserve, scored a season-best 29 points. The last 3-point
basket was his sixth of the game.
"Once it left my hand, I knew it was cash," Young said.
Ginobili missed a 3-pointer that could have given the Spurs the
victory just before time expired.
Bryant finished with 22 points -- eight short of Jordan -- and nine
assists. His 3-pointer gave the Lakers a nine-point lead with two
minutes left in regulation.
 But Ginobili, who scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, brought
the Spurs back. Then he missed one of two free throws with 6.8
seconds remaining in regulation, leaving the game tied and headed to
overtime.
Guard Jeremy Lin, forward Carlos Boozer and center Jordan Hill all
scored 14. Boozer grabbed 13 rebounds.
Forward Tim Duncan produced 19 points and 18 rebounds for the Spurs
(16-7). Duncan moved ahead of Jerry West into 18th on the career
scoring list. His basket gave the Spurs a one-point lead with 1:04
left in overtime.
Guard Danny Green scored 19. Ginobili scored 18, and guard Cory
Joseph had 16.
Jordan has scored 32,292 points. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the
all-time record with 38,387 points. Karl Malone is next with 36,928.
Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs forward who would have been assigned as
primary defender against Bryant, missed his second straight game
with a bruised right hand.
Leonard is the Spurs' best perimeter defender. With Leonard out, the
responsibility of guarding Bryant was handed to Green and Ginobili.
Bryant hit just 7 of 22 shots
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Bryant was limited to 11 points in the first half. He hit 3 of 9
shots. Even so, the Lakers led 54-50 at halftime after falling
behind 10-0. They made 9 of 14 3-point shots in the half, this from
a team that ranked 26th in the league before Friday with 32.6
percent accuracy.
Young did the most damage, hitting his first five 3-point attempts
during a 10-minute span.
Duncan led the Spurs with 10 points in the half. Point guard Tony
Parker, back after missing three games with a strained hamstring,
went scoreless with two assists.
Parker finished with five points and two assists while playing only
18 minutes.
Joseph, Parker's backup, filled in capably with five assists, four
steals and a lot of hustle in addition to his 16 points.
Overall, though, it was a lousy night for the Spurs, who committed
19 turnovers.
"I thought the Lakers did a great job. They had an edge," Spurs
coach Gregg Popovich said. "I thought our performance was pitiful.
We should be embarrassed."
NOTES: San Antonio Spurs F Kawhi Leonard bruised his right hand in a
game at Utah on Tuesday. "Catching and dribbling are pretty much
impossible for him right now," coach Gregg Popovich said. ... Spurs
C Tiago Splitter suffered no setbacks while playing eight minutes
against New York on Wednesday, his first game after missing 18 with
a tight right calf. ... The Spurs don't produce much internal drama,
but touring troupes come to San Antonio. On Wednesday, it was the
New York Knicks, who, according to an ESPN report that day, are not
enamored of coach Derek Fisher's triangle offense or how many shots
F Carmelo Anthony takes. On Friday, the Lakers arrived after G Kobe
Bryant's profanity-laced criticism of teammates to general manager
Mitch Kupchak in front of reporters. ... Lakers coach Byron Scott
stayed with the starting-lineup change he made early this week:
Ronnie Price and Ed Davis, at point guard and power forward, instead
of Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer.
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