Lakers 103, Kings 98: Dwight Howard had 24 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots as visiting Los Angeles outlasted Sacramento to remain tied with the Utah Jazz for the final playoff position in the Western Conference.

Kobe Bryant had 19 points and 14 assists and passed Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) for fourth place on the NBA’s career scoring list. Bryant has 31,434 career points in his 17 NBA seasons.

Tyreke Evans scored 21 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Marcus Thornton added 18 points for the Kings, who scored only 61 points in the final three quarters after tallying 37 in the first.

Los Angeles had a six-point lead after Pau Gasol’s basket with 2:56 remaining but the Kings pulled within two on Evans’ basket with 1:17 left. Cousins missed a tying 3-point attempt with 14 seconds left and Bryant hit two free throws with 12.4 seconds remaining as the Lakers held on.

Sacramento led 57-53 at halftime and increased the lead to seven on Jason Thompson’s basket with 5:39 left in the third quarter. Los Angeles finished the quarter with a 17-3 run to take an 82-75 lead into the final stanza.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The three players ahead of Bryant on the all-time scoring list are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928) and Michael Jordan (32,292). … The double-double was Cousins’ 33rd of the campaign. … Lakers PG Steve Nash played less than two minutes before exiting the game with a hamstring injury.