Bryant reaches milestone, but Lakers lose to 76ers
PHILADELPHIA ??? Kobe Bryant hit the ground running Monday night, en route to a milestone. But it was Lou Williams who enabled the Philadelphia 76ers to steal off into the night with a victory.
Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers??? star guard, scored 28 points ??? 24 in the first half ??? to move past former teammate Shaquille O???Neal and into fifth place on the NBA???s all-time scoring list. But Williams, the Sixers??? explosive sixth man, packed nine of his 24 points into the final 2:34, lifting the Sixers to a 95-90 victory.
???Any scorer in this league will tell you that if he makes one, makes two, he???s feeling it,??? said Williams, who despite his reserve role began the night averaging a team-high 15.1 points a game. ???Tonight it was the same thing, where I got one jump shot to go, got another one and after that kind of blacked out.???
Jrue Holiday added 13 points and Andre Iguodala 12 for the Atlantic Division-leading Sixers (18-7), who improved to 13-3 at home. They are just 2-5 in games decided by seven points or fewer this season, though.
Andrew Bynum had 20 points and 20 rebounds for the Lakers (14-11), who lost for the ninth time in 12 road games. They enjoyed a 55-30 rebounding advantage, but committed 16 turnovers to just four for the Sixers. The latter number is a floor record.
Sixers coach Doug Collins called it ???an amazing win??? for his team.
???I don???t know if I???ve ever won a game where I got outrebounded by 25,??? he said.
The Lakers held an 88-84 lead with 3:23 left, but Sixers rookie Nikola Vucevic scored inside to trigger the decisive 9-0 run.
Bryant was called for an offensive foul against Iguodala, and Williams knocked down a jumper from the top of the circle with 2:34 left to tie the game. After a Bryant miss ??? he went 2-for-12 in the second half, 10-for-26 overall ??? Williams nailed his go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:06 remaining. He added a runner over Pau Gasol with 1:19 left, making it 93-88, and answered Bryant???s jumper by making two free throws with 10.1 seconds left.
Williams had 14 points in the fourth quarter.
???He???s our closer,??? Sixers center Spencer Hawes said. ???When he comes in the game, with his ability to score, he???s a tough matchup for anybody.???
???He can be 1-for-15,??? Collins said, ???and he???ll shoot the 16th.???
Bryant, needing 24 points at game time to surpass O???Neal (28,596 career points), reached that total on a jump shot with 5:08 left in the second quarter.
Bryant now has 28,601 points for his career. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Michael Jordan (32,292) and Wilt Chamberlain (31.419) have more in NBA history. Julius Erving (30,026) and Moses Malone (29,580) also remain ahead of Bryant on the all-time NBA-ABA list.
???It???s a tremendous honor,??? Bryant said. ???It???s a lot of work that you put in to get to this point.???
When asked where he hopes to end up on the all-time scoring list, he said, ???I just want No. 6, man.???
He was referring to championships. He has five to date, one fewer than Jordan.
???I???m not asking too much,??? he said with a smile. ???Just get me a sixth one, damn it.???
Bryant, who finished the first half with those 24 points, was the only player on either team to crack double figures in the first 24 minutes, when the Lakers fashioned a 50-46 lead.
They were still up 57-52 early in the third quarter, but the Sixers went on an 11-2 run that included two baskets by Iguodala and a 3-pointer by Jodie Meeks. That gave them a 63-59 lead.
The Lakers used a 13-4 flurry early in the fourth quarter to forge an 82-76 advantage. Bynum contributed four points to the run, as did backup guard Andrew Goudelock, and Gasol added three of his 16 in that stretch. Gasol also had 11 rebounds.
The Sixers cut the gap to two, but Bynum???s two free throws with 3:23 left gave the Lakers an 88-84 lead before Williams took over.
NOTES: The Lakers were without coach Mike Brown, who was suspended one game by the NBA for bumping an official and failing to leave the court in a timely fashion late in Saturday???s loss to Utah. Assistant coach John Kuester ran the team in his place. ??? Sixers forward Elton Brand missed his second straight game with a sprained right thumb. Brand, who suffered the injury in the first quarter of Friday???s loss to Miami, had hoped to play but said before the game that Collins ???kind of put the kibosh on that.??? Brand now hopes to be available for Wednesday???s home game against the Spurs. ??? Raul Ibanez, a free agent outfielder who has spent his last three years with the Phillies, was in the crowd. ??? So too was Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson. Jackson, a Los Angeles native, was wearing Lakers gear. ??? Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and ex-Sixer Rick Mahorn were also present.
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