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Bryant comes up big as Lakers rally past Blazers in OT

Feb 24, 2011 - 7:41 AM Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant made two big shots late in regulation to tie the game and added a key jumper in overtime, as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied past the Portland Trail Blazers, 106-101.

Bryant finished with 37 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Lakers, who have won two in a row since a three-game skid.

Ron Artest made five three-pointers en route to 24 points for Los Angeles, which got 18 points and 14 boards from Pau Gasol.

LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Blazers, who had a six-game winning streak snapped. Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews both donated 22 points.

In good news for Portland, three-time All-Star swingman Brandon Roy returned to the lineup in a limited role. Roy had been sidelined since December 15 after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on both knees. He ended with five points in 15 1/2 minutes.

Batum's alley-oop slam with 4:23 to play in regulation gave the Blazers an 87-79 lead. But that was Portland's last field goal in the quarter, as the Lakers ended the period on an 8-0 run.

The next field goal in the game came with 1:29 remaining, when Artest made a three-pointer. Lamar Odom blocked Aldridge's shot at the other end, and from there Bryant took over.

With 46.9 ticks showing on the clock, Bryant drained a turn-around jumper to cut the gap to 87-85. Aldridge then missed a layup, leading to Bryant's game- tying jumper from the foul line with 4.7 seconds left.

Aldridge missed another layup as time expired in regulation.

"It's experience. We just gave ourselves a chance to win by getting stops. We've been in games like this before," Odom said.

Both teams were hot from beyond the arc early in the overtime period, and Artest and Rudy Fernandez traded three-pointers to make it a 95-95 game with 2:16 remaining.

Andre Miller made a jumper following a miss from Bryant to give the Blazers the lead. Portland, though, went cold from the field at the wrong time again.

Gasol recorded a three-point play to give LA a 98-97 edge. Miller turned the ball over at the other end, and Bryant made a big nine-foot jumper with 27.9 seconds left to make it a three-point contest.

Aldridge missed two free throws at the opposite end, and Bryant sealed the victory by going 6-of-6 from the foul line in the final 18.2 seconds.

"They made plays. We had opportunities to make big shots to close out the game and we missed ours and they made theirs," Aldridge said. "I think that's the case. We were up, went cold, then they made big shots like they do. That's why they're a championship team."

The Blazers led 29-23 after 12 minutes and took a 47-41 edge into the locker room.

Los Angeles outscored Portland, 26-22, in the third to cut its gap to 69-67.

Batum and Roy made three-pointers early in the fourth to extend the Blazers' lead to 79-71 with 8:19 to go.

Game Notes

The host has won 11 of the last 14 meetings in this series...The Lakers had dropped 15 of their previous 18 trips to the Rose Garden.