LEAD: Williams' late spree spoils Bryant's milestone night

By Paul Levine Feb 7, 2012, 7:43 GMT

Los Angeles - Lou Williams wouldn't let Kobe Bryant enjoy his milestone night.

Williams exploded for 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead triple with two minutes left, sparking the Philadelphia Sixers past the visiting LA Lakers 95-90 on Monday for their sixth win in the last seven games.

'The fourth quarter has always been my best quarter,' Williams said. 'That's when I'm aggressive, that's when I'm at my best.'

Bryant scored 24 of his 28 points in the opening half to vault him past former Lakers teammate Shaquille O'Neal as the NBA's fifth all-time leading scorer. He now has 28,601 points with Wilt Chamberlain in fourth with 31,419 points.

'It's a tremendous honour,' Bryant said. 'To be in that top five category is special.'

After getting burned by Bryant, the Sixers began double-teaming him and it paid off. The 14-time All-Star missed 11 of 13 second-half shots, including nine of 10 in the fourth quarter. Williams, meanwhile, got the hot hand.

With the Sixers trailing by two and the more than 20,000 fans at the sold out Wells Fargo Center chanting, 'Beat LA, Beat LA,' Williams responded, scoring all the team's points in a decisive 9-2 closing run.

Williams hit the game-tying jumper, dropped in the go-ahead three-pointer and followed with a runner, putting Sixers ahead, 93-88.

After Bryant's only field goal of the quarter, Williams sank two free throws with 10 seconds left, sealing the Sixers' first win over the Lakers in five meetings.

'This is a major win for us,' Williams said. 'We're a young team and we're building confidence every day. You never know what wins like this can translate into the rest of the season. It's huge.'

Andrew Bynum had 20 points and 20 rebounds for the Lakers, who dropped to 14-11 overall and 3-9 on the road.

Elsewhere: New York Knicks 99, Utah Jazz 88: Little-used guard Jeremy Lin had a career-high 28 points with eight assists in his first career start, Steve Novak scored a season-best 19, and the Knicks overcame the absence of Amar'e Stoudemire and the early loss of fellow All-Star Carmelo Anthony to beat the visiting Jazz.

Stoudemire flew home to join his family in Florida after his older brother Hazell died earlier Monday in a car crash. Anthony, meanwhile, left midway through the first quarter with a right groin strain.

LA Clippers 107, Orlando Magic 102 (OT): Chris Paul scored 29 points, Blake Griffin and Chauncey Billups added 18 apiece as the visiting Clippers rallied from 15 down in the opening half to beat the Magic for their sixth win in the last seven games.

The win may be costly, however, after Billups left in the fourth quarter with a left Achilles injury.

Dwight Howard had 33 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando, which had won the last nine meetings in the series.

Oklahoma City Thunder 111, Portland Trail Blazers 107 (OT) : Kevin Durant scored 33 points, including the game-sealing dunk with two seconds left in overtime, while Russell Westbrook added 28 points along with 11 rebounds and eight assists as the Thunder (19-5) handed the Trail Blazers just their second home loss of the season.

LaMarcus Aldridge poured in 39 points for Portland, which missed eight of nine shots in the extra session.

Houston Rockets 99, Denver Nuggets Argentine Luis Scola scored 25 points, Kyle Lowry added 20 and the visiting Rockets handed the Nuggets their fifth loss in six games.

Denver's Danilo Gallinari had 14 points but left early in the third quarter with a chipped fracture in his left foot.

Washington Wizards 111, Toronto Raptors 108 (OT): John Wall scored 31 points, Nick Young had a season-high 29 and the Wizards regrouped after blowing an 18-point third-quarter cushion to beat the visiting Raptors in overtime.

Jerryd Bayless and Linas Kleiza topped Toronto with season-high 30 points apiece.

Phoenix Sun 99, Atlanta Hawks 90: Steve Nash has 24 points with 11 assists and the visiting Suns built a 20-point cushion through three quarters en route to handing the Hawks their third straight loss.

Chicago Bulls 109, New Jersey Nets 87: Carlos Boozer scored 24 points, C.J. Watson had 14 points and 10 assists and the visiting Bulls routed the Nets, but lost league most valuable Derrick Rose in the first half because of back spasms.

Sacramento Kings 100, New Orleans Hornets 92: DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points with 19 rebounds, Tyreke Evans scored 11 of his 20 points in the final quarter, and the Kings rallied from 18 down to hand the host Hornets their sixth straight loss.

San Antonio Spurs 89, Memphis Grizzlies 84: Frenchman Tony Parker scored 21 points, Tim Duncan added 19 with 17 rebounds as the Spurs tipped off a nine-game road trip by beating the Grizzlies, who received 22 points from Spaniard Marc Gasol.