Plagued by an injured finger on his shooting hand as well as back spasms that forced him off court on Tuesday, Bryant delivered the big shot to break a 95-95 tie and help Los Angeles (30-9) snap a four-game road losing streak.The Lakers closed the contest with free throws, spoiling the night for Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, who recorded 30 points in the losing cause to surpass 20,000 points over his career.
Bryant was otherwise quiet, scoring just 10 points and attempted 11 shots as big men Andrew Bynum, who got 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Lamar Odom (18 and 14) carried the load for the defending NBA champions.
“The idea coming into tonight’s game (was) just to continue to search for what is going to take for us collectively as a team to play the type of game we need to play,” Los Angeles guard Derek Fisher told reporters.
Other results: Atlanta 94, Washington 82; Indiana 122, Phoenix 114; New York 93, Philadelphia 92; Boston 111, New Jersey 87; New Orleans 108, LA Clippers 94; San Antonio 109, Oklahoma City 108, OT; Houston 120, Minnesota 114, 3OT; Denver 115, Orlando 97; Portland 120, Milwaukee 108; and Miami 115, Golden State 102.
