Apr 13, 2007, 6:00 GMT
Los Angeles, CA - Corey Maggette scored a career-high 39 points and Elton Brand added 32 as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from 17 down to beat the cross-town rival Lakers, 118-110, despite Kobe Bryant's 50 points at the Staples Center.
Brand also had 12 rebounds and seven assists and Maggette had nine assists and eight boards for the Clippers, who snapped a three game losing streak and tied idle Golden State for the eight and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Clippers took control of the game with a 17-1 run midway through the fourth quarter.
'This was big for us,' said Maggette. 'We had contributions from everyone. We played our hearts out. Sam (Cassell) gave us a big lift. This gives us a tremendous boost.'
Bryant shot 17-of-33 from the field and 15-of-15 from the charity stripe. He also had nine rebounds, but was held scoreless in the final 8:46. Smush Parker finished with 19 points and eight assists and Maurice Evans added 11 points for the Lakers, who have lost seven of their last nine games and fell 2 1/2 games behind Denver for the sixth spot in the West.
The Lakers, who led 93-86 heading into the final quarter, pushed the lead to double-digits, 102-92, on two Bryant free throws. The Clippers responded with a 10-0 run, capped by a Maggette three-point play tying the game with 6:34 showing on the clock.
Less than a minute later Tim Thomas drilled a trey, giving the Clippers the lead for good, 105-103. Thomas and Cassell then hit consecutive layups as the Clippers took a six point lead with 3:50 left.
Parker's triple pulled the Lakers to within 109-106 with 3:23 to go, but the Clippers reeled off five straight points, all at the foul line, to take a 114-106 lead with just 1:03 to go.
'It was disappointing tonight,' said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. 'You just can't send a team to the free-throw line. We lost our momentum and Kobe got tired in the fourth quarter. They went small and that was difficult for us.'
Brand's turnaround jumper sparked a 9-2 Clippers run to open the contest and the Clippers led 28-23 after 12 minutes.
The Lakers began the second with a 13-2 run, capped by an Evans layup putting the purple and gold ahead, 36-30, with a little over eight minutes to go in the frame.
The Lakers stretched the lead to 11, 48-37 on Bryant's dunk with just over three minutes remaining in the second frame. The Clippers scored 14 of the final 21 points in the stanza to cut the margin to four, 55-51, at the half.
Bryant scored 25 points and the Lakers shot 58.5 percent in the first half.
The Lakers began the third quarter with a 19-6 run. capped by a Bryant three extending the lead to 74-57 with just under 8 1/2 minutes remaining in the period. Bryant scored 13 points during the spurt.
The Clippers, though, answered with a 13-2 run, highlighted by a Thomas triple, to pull within six, 76-70, with a little under 5 1/2 minutes to go before the fourth quarter.
Game Notes
Cassell returned to action after missing four straight games with back spasms, scoring 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting in 19:38...The Clippers outrebounded the Lakers, 48-41...The rivals split the season series, 2-2...The Lakers are now just 1 1/2 games ahead of the eighth-seeded Clippers...The Clippers hold the tie-breaker with Golden State...This was Bryant's ninth 50-point game of the season and 20th of his career.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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