Recap: LA Lakers vs. Golden State
Stephen Jackson posted 31 points and hit a pair of late three-pointers, as Golden State blew a 26-point lead, but recovered to edge the Los Angeles Lakers, 115-111, at Staples Center.
Monta Ellis also poured in 31 points for the Warriors, who snapped a nine-game losing streak at Staples Center against the Lakers.
Baron Davis added 18 points and four assists, while Al Harrington had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Golden State, which pulled within a half-game of seventh-seeded Dallas, which lost earlier Sunday. Golden State is also 1 1/2 games ahead of Denver for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 36 points to go with 14 boards and eight assists for the Lakers, whose three-game win streak ended despite a valiant comeback. Lamar Odom poured in 19 points and pulled down a career-high 22 rebounds for the Los Angeles Lakers, who get another crack at the Warriors, Monday in Oakland.
"We were trying to get used to their style in the first half," said Bryant. "Those guys have great hands around the basket. We did well in the second half, but Stephen hit some big, big shots down the stretch."
Derek Fisher and Ronny Turiaf had 16 points each for Los Angeles, which fell into a virtual tie with the New Orleans Hornets for top spot in the West.
An Odom layup pushed Golden State's lead to eight points early in the fourth, but the Lakers kept pressing. Bryant's reverse dish to Turiaf for an emphatic jam plus his free throw forged a 95-95 deadlock with 6:48 left.
Bryant made two from the line with 5:08 to go which gave the home team its first lead of the game, 99-97, but Jackson's two free throws keyed an 8-2 stretch which saw the Warriors establish a four-point edge.
LA cut the lead to one with under a minute to go on Kobe Bryant's trey, but Jackson countered from the top of the key and Golden State went ahead 112-108 with 38.5 ticks left.
Bryant then drained a 30-footer to bring the Lakers within one on the next trip down the floor, and once again Jackson rose to the occasion on his sixth three-point shot of the contest, coming with 8.1 seconds to go for a 115-111 game.
Bryant and Odom's three-point tries in the final seconds clanged off the rim and Golden State escaped with the victory.
"I hate to have it come down to that, but I thank God I was knocking them down tonight," Jackson admitted. "We almost let it go, but we got the win. We needed this game more than they did."
Jackson poured in 16 points in the opening quarter, and his three gave the Warriors a 34-30 edge after one.
Golden State's lead reached 14 after an 11-3 burst concluded on an alley-oop jam by Ellis off a dish from Davis with 6:26 left before halftime. The Warriors ended the half at a 13-2 clip, taking a 72-49 advantage to the break on a slicing right-handed layup from Ellis.
Harrington began the third quarter with a trey to push the lead to 26 points, but the Lakers slowly began to chip away. An 18-4 run thereafter got LA within 79-67 on a pair of Odom free throws with 4 1/2 minutes left.
Kelenna Azubuike's two from the line interrupted the charge, but seven straight points, capped by a Fisher three, made it 81-74. Another run saw Fisher unleash a rainbow from beyond the arc on the left side and Bryant's lay-in bring the home team within 84-81 inside a minute remaining.
However, the Warriors assumed a six-point bulge heading into the fourth after Jackson made two from the charity stripe and Matt Barnes hit 1-of-2.
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