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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With Shaquille O'Neal on the bench and Kobe
Bryant banished to the locker room, the Los Angeles Lakers were
still better than the Clippers -- although just barely.
|  | | Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who leads the league with 30 points a game, had 17 before being ejected Saturday. |
Robert Horry scored nine of his 13 points in the overtime, and
blocked Lamar Odom's shot on a drive at the buzzer Saturday night
as the Lakers ran their winning streak against the Clippers to 16
games and almost four years with a 116-114 victory.
Horace Grant scored on a tip-in with 4.5 seconds remaining, then
Odom's shot was repelled as the Lakers held off their Staples
Center co-tenants.
O'Neal had 29 points and 15 rebounds when he drew his sixth foul
with 1:37 remaining in regulation and the Lakers up 100-98.
Bryant had 17 points when he was ejected with his second
technical late in the third quarter, only the second time in his
career he's been tossed.
"It was an ugly game, but it was a win. They (the Clippers)
were playing with that `We have nothing to lose mentality,' and
that's the hardest type of game to play," O'Neal said. "The guys
played hard. Robert Horry stepped it up in the overtime, and Horace
got a tip."
O'Neal laughed and added, "And the Hack-a-Piatkowski worked."
The Clippers' Eric Piatkowski scored seven of his 27 points in
overtime, but he missed the second of two free throws that would
have tied it with 12 seconds left in the extra period.
O'Neal, who fouled out for the third time this season, wasn't
concerned that Bryant, the NBA's leading scorer, got himself
ejected.
"He said what he had to say, and they got him for it," the
Lakers center said. "Usually, guys with that type of stature can
get away with that. I've seen all type of guys get away with it --
except me."
Piatkowski's jumper 12 seconds into overtime gave the Clippers
their first lead, at 105-103, but Horry answered with a 3-pointer
and the lead seesawed until Grant's basket.
"It would have been a nice way to finish the year 2000,"
Piatkowski said. "It was a golden opportunity for us with Shaq and
Kobe being out.
"I thought we were going to win and to come up that short
again, it's getting old. I hope our guys don't get used to it."
The Clippers' Sean Rooks tied it at 103 with a putback with a
half-second left in regulation.
Bryant was ejected with 1:52 remaining in the third, drawing his
second technical as he argued with referee Rashan Michel.
The Lakers star believed he was fouled as he drove for the
basket, but Michel didn't agree. After Bryant kept complaining,
Michel tossed him.
The Lakers led 77-67 at the time, but the Clippers narrowed the
gap to 82-79 with a 14-0 run capped by rookie Keyon Dooling's layup
with 10:39 to play.
Bryant's first technical was called by Bob Delaney 1:31 into the
second quarter when Bryant also was complaining about not getting a
call.
Bryant scored his 17 points, all in the first half, on 7-of-18
shooting before he was sent off the court in the game played before
a sellout crowd of 20,327.
Shaw's 3-pointer at the buzzer ending the first half gave the
Lakers a 54-51 lead after they led by nine, at 30-21 early in the
second quarter.
Miles' driving layup pulled the Clippers even at 51 with 20
seconds left in the half, but Bryant, double-teamed at the top of
the 3-point arc, passed to Shaw for his last-second 3-pointer.
The Lakers used a 14-4 burst in the first quarter to open 28-15
lead with 2:51 remaining, but the Clippers closed to 28-21 before
the period ended.
Game notes
The only other time Bryant was ejected was last season
because of a fight he had with Chris Childs of the New York Knicks.
... The last time the Clippers beat the Lakers was a 97-95 victory
on March 14, 1997. ... The Lakers downed the Clippers 108-103 in
the first meeting this season and 98-83 in the second, on Nov. 27.
The Clippers led in the second half of the first loss, then were up
by as much as 10 early in the second. ... The Clippers are 0-5 in
overtime this season.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
LA Clippers Clubhouse
RECAPS
Orlando 95
Boston 90
Houston 114
Dallas 99
Seattle 104
Charlotte 102
Miami 110
Detroit 102
San Antonio 89
Indiana 77
New York 88
Minnesota 79
Philadelphia 107
Sacramento 104
Phoenix 109
Toronto 103
Denver 120
Milwaukee 113
Golden State 102
Vancouver 101
LA Lakers 116
LA Clippers 114
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Kobe Bryant Official Site
Rick Fox Official Site
Mark Madsen Official Site
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