Lakers Avoid Repeat Loss

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers 121-119, avenging their last second loss to the Pacers in early December. Indiana tied the score when Mike Dunleavy, Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer with 26.4 seconds left, but Kobe Bryant hit a fall-away jump-shot with 3 seconds left to get the win. Defense took a night off as the Lakers shot .564 from inside the arc, while Indiana shot .488 to go with 11 3-pointers. Each team committed 13 turnovers, while Trevor Ariza, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Indian's Troy Murphy were each hit with technical fouls in the 4th quarter. Bryant led the game with 36 points and a season-high 13 assists, as well as 7 rebounds. Andrew Bynum had 20 points, and Pau Gasol had 21 with 11 rebounds. Josh Powell had his best game of the season off the bench, scoring 10 points. Danny Granger led the Pacers with 28 points, but fouled out with the game on the line. Murphy scored 24 points and Dunleavy had 22.