Lakers 98, Kings 95
Kobe Bryant scored nine of his 32 points in the final 3:12 of the fourth quarter as Los Angeles took over down the stretch and edged visiting Sacramento.
Bryant, who pulled within 31 points of passing Michael Jordan for third place on the all-time scoring list, went 11-of-27 from the field but hit all eight of his free-throw attempts and added six assists as the Lakers snapped their three-game slide. Carlos Boozer added 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench while Nick Young scored 12 in a reserve role for Los Angeles.
Darren Collison scored a season-high 26 points and Rudy Gay added 23 for the Kings. Ben McLemore contributed 15 points, but both Gay and Nik Stauskas missed 3-point attempts in the final 16 seconds as Sacramento fell for the sixth time in eight games.
Bryant came back into the game with the Lakers trailing 88-82 and handed out back-to-back assists as Los Angeles cut it to 88-87, and his 3-pointer knotted it at 92 with 2:15 to play. Bryant and Collison exchanged go-ahead layups before the former knocked down two free throws to give the Lakers a 96-95 edge with 34.4 seconds left, and he connected for two more to provide the final margin.
The Kings closed the second quarter with a 14-6 run to take a 55-46 lead into the break and held a 12-point advantage just over four minutes into the third quarter. Bryant scored nine points during an 11-2 run to cut it to 69-67 and the Lakers went into the fourth trailing 81-78.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Gay has gone over 20 points 13 times this season, including six of the last seven games. … The Lakers have won 12 of their last 13 home contests against the Kings. … Bryant will take his next shot at passing Jordan when Los Angeles visits the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.