Kobe carries Lakers past Hawks

Feb 6, 2007, 3:40 GMT

Atlanta, GA - Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 27 points in the final quarter, as the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Atlanta Hawks, 90-83, at Philips Arena.

Lamar Odom scored 15 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won three of their last four games. Andrew Bynum added 14 points and 10 boards for Los Angeles, which has won three of five on its current eight-game road trip.

'I think both teams had to adjust to the rims, the rims were pretty tight,' Bryant said. 'The ball was just rattling in and coming out. I took us a while to get used to it, in terms of putting the proper arc on the ball.'

Josh Smith scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished-out seven assists for the Hawks, who had won three of their last four games coming in. Joe Johnson pitched in with 27 points, but shot just 10-of-26 from the field in the defeat for Atlanta.

After two Zaza Pachulia free throws pulled Atlanta within 68-65, the Lakers used a 12-7 spurt to open up a 80-72 lead with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter. Bryant scored nine straight points during the stretch, which ended on Smush Parker's three-pointer.

A Johnson fade-away got Atlanta to within six, 84-78 with 1:15 remaining, but on the ensuing possession, Bryant got into the lane and found Bynum, who drew the foul and hit both free throws to put the Lakers back up eight with 58 seconds showing on the clock.

The Hawks got no closer than seven the rest of the way.

'He's (Kobe) going to make plays, and we knew that coming into the game,' said Hawks coach Mike Woodson. 'He's made plays all his career.'

Just six seconds into the game, Smith threw down a thunderous behind-the-head dunk on an alley-oop from Johnson. The Lakers immediately responded with a 6-0 run, capped by four straight points by Bryant. The Lakers never trailed thereafter.

The Hawks were able to tie, but could never overtake the Lakers and trailed 16-14 after a sluggish first quarter.

With the score tied at 18 in the second session, LA embarked on a 7-0 surge, started by a Jordan Farmar three. The Lakers took a 40-31 advantage into the intermission.

The Hawks shot just 29 percent in the first half.

Both teams got their offenses going in the third as the Lakers continued to control the game and took a 62-57 lead into the final quarter.

Game Notes

Atlanta shot 3-of-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

LA has won four of its last six in Atlanta. LA swept the season series, 2-0, also winning 106-95 at the Staples Center on December 8.

© 2007 The Sports Network