Lakers 102, Grizzlies 101

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Shane Battier and the Memphis Grizzlies bottled up Kobe Bryant for almost 48 minutes.

Almost.

Bryant calmly made a 21-footer over Battier as time expired Friday night, completing a comeback from a 23-point fourth-quarter deficit and giving the Los Angeles Lakers a 102-101 victory.

``I tip my hat to him and move on to the next city,'' Battier said. ``I thought we did a pretty good job of containing him for 47 minutes and 58 seconds.''

Battier was the main defender on Bryant and helped hold him to nine shots in the first three periods.

Memphis didn't have as much success with Shaquille O'Neal, who led the Lakers with 33 points and 19 rebounds, hitting 13 of his 20 shots from the floor.

Bryant's basket from the top of the key came off Robert Horry's inbounds pass with 3.3 seconds remaining. It gave Bryant 21 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter.

Bryant almost passed to Horry cutting to the basket, but missed the open teammate.

``After I missed him, I just had to pull the ball back, regroup, check the clock, make sure I had enough time, and then operate,'' Bryant said.

Los Angeles won for the sixth time in seven games.

Combined with Utah's home loss to New York, the Lakers moved into a tie with the Jazz for sixth place in the conference. Los Angeles, which holds the tiebreaker over Utah, is two games behind Minnesota.

Memphis, which has lost six straight, was led by 18 points each from Jason Williams and Pau Gasol. Williams added 12 assists, while Gasol had 11 rebounds. Wesley Person scored 17 for Memphis.

The Grizzlies led 89-66 entering the fourth after a steal and halfcourt shot by Brevin Knight at the end of the third quarter. The blown fourth-quarter lead was the largest in Grizzlies history. The previous was 20 points in a loss to the Clippers in 1996.

Memphis was still holding a 100-98 edge when O'Neal tied the game on a pair of free throws with 26.1 seconds left. Gasol hit one of two free throws with 3.3 seconds left, setting the stage for Bryant's winner.

Los Angeles erased the deficit with the help of a 21-7 run midway through the quarter.

``We just took the guys too lightly,'' O'Neal said. ``We shouldn't have been down that far.'' He said that the comeback ``wasn't anything special. (The Grizzlies) shot the ball well and did all the little things.''

The Grizzlies held a 56-48 lead at the half thanks to a stretch of the second period in which they scored on eight of nine possessions. The run was capped with a 3-pointer by Williams, giving Memphis a 48-35 lead, its biggest of the half.

Meanwhile, O'Neal was dominating the middle, hitting nine of 13 shots from the field for 22 points and adding 12 rebounds almost single-handedly outrebounding Memphis, which had 15 in the half.

``Shaquille played great and went to the boards and punished them,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``The rest of the group struggled.''

There was little support in the first three quarters. Bryant was limited to 11 points, Derek Fisher was 2-of-7 and Horry missed all six of his shots.

Memphis built its lead in the third. An 11-0 run that included a pair of Williams' steals that led to baskets put Memphis ahead 76-59.

``We were playing the best game of the season by far,'' Gasol said. ``Everyone was giving their heart until the fourth quarter. Then everyone relaxed.''< ^Notes:@ Memphis F Mike Miller's back spasms limited his playing time again. Miller left the game with 7:40 left in the first period and didn't return. ... Los Angeles is now 6-25 when trailing entering the fourth quarter. ... It was O'Neal's 41st double-double of the season. ... Officials reviewed Knight's basket at the end of the third and Bryant's winner.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)