Kobe Bryant took over in the final minute and finished with 27 points as the Los Angeles Lakers concluded their six-game road trip with a 94-92 victory over the host Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Pau Gasol added 16 points and 17 rebounds and Andrew Bynum chipped in 14 and nine for the Lakers, who ended up 3-3 on the trip.
Jose Calderon had given the Raptors a 92-91 edge on a jumper with 20 seconds left, but Bryant was able to answer. After drawing a blocking foul, Los Angeles took the ball out of bounds and got it to Bryant, who buried a fadeaway jumper along the baseline with 4.8 seconds left.
Toronto had assumed control midway through the fourth quarter as Calderon hit a pair of 3-pointers during a 12-2 spurt. That gave the Raptors their first lead of the game with 2:11 remaining.
Bryant missed six straight shots during that run, but began to make up for it in the final minute.
The All-Star would break his drought with a 3-pointer to pull the Lakers back within 90-89. Bryant then stole the ball from Linas Kleiza and found Metta World Peace for a layup to take back the lead with 31 seconds left.
Calderon finished with 30 points to lead the Raptors.
L.A. Lakers | Toronto | |
Kobe Bryant 27 | Scoring | Jose Calderon 30 |
Pau Gasol 6 | Assists | DeMar DeRozan 7 |
Pau Gasol 17 | Rebounds | Ed Davis 8 |
Kobe Bryant 6 | Free Throws Made | Leandro Barbosa 4 |
Kobe Bryant 2 | Steals | Aaron Gray 3 |
Andrew Bynum 2 | Blocks | Aaron Gray 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
L.A. Lakers | 94 | 43.2 | 10-23 | 14-20 | 19 | 41 | 3 | 6 | 15 |
Toronto | 92 | 47.4 | 6-11 | 12-17 | 20 | 39 | 3 | 11 | 14 |