Lakers 97, Warriors 90
Kobe Bryant scored 39 points and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the visiting Golden State Warriors 97-90 Friday night.
Bryant, who tallied 30 in a loss at Portland on Thursday, shot at will and made 13-of-28 attempts. He added 12-of-14 free throws and seven assists. Pau Gasol had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Golden State was led by Monta Ellis' 18 points and 10 assists, while reserve Klay Thompson added 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. David Lee had 15 points and 11 rebounds and former Laker Kwame Brown scored 13. In his first game with the Warriors, Nate Robinson had nine points, all in the first half.
The Lakers broke open a close game with an 18-5 run in the third quarter. Bryant had 30 points after three quarters as Los Angeles led 67-58.
The Lakers were in a miss-one, make-one mode from the line down the stretch, allowing Golden State to hang in. Matt Barnes added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists before fouling out and Andrew Bynum had 16 rebounds for Los Angeles.
Dorell Wright pulled the Warriors to 91-86 with 1:55 left but missed a 25-footer seconds later. Lee's two free throws with 50.7 seconds left made it 92-88. Bryant added two free throws with 30.9 left for a 94-88 lead. Ellis sank a jumper and Gasol made one of two free throws for a 95-90 lead with 15 seconds remaining.
The Lakers made only 15-of-41 shots (36.6 percent) in the first half and trailed by as much as eight.
The Warriors have lost seven in a row to the Lakers at Staples Center and are 2-23 all-time against the Lakers there.