Atlanta, GA – Kyle Korver made two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to seal the Atlanta Hawks' 96-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
An entertaining fourth quarter came down to the final seconds. After Korver made 1-of-2 from the line to give the Hawks a 94-92 lead with 16.9 seconds remaining, the Lakers went to Kobe Bryant. The 15-time All-Star tried to tie the game on a baseline jumper. Instead, Bryant missed the shot and landed on Dahntay Jones' foot, rolling his left ankle. Bryant was able to walk off the court under his own power.
"That's a shot I'm very comfortable taking," Bryant said. "You just can't go under these shooters, man. It's a dangerous play."
Korver pulled down Bryant's miss and made two free throws at the other end to secure the win for the Hawks, who had lost four straight against the Lakers. Korver ended with 15 points.
It was announced after the game that Bryant severely sprained his left ankle and will be out indefinitely.
Devin Harris tallied 17 points and seven assists for Atlanta, which was without guard Jeff Teague (ankle) and forward Josh Smith (knee). Al Horford had 14 points and 14 rebounds, Johan Petro donated 10 points and 11 boards and Ivan Johnson and John Jenkins each scored 12 points.
"This was an important game and I wanted to make sure we set the tone early in the game. I thought we were able to do that," Horford said.
Bryant ended with 31 points and seven rebounds for Los Angeles, which had a four-game winning streak snapped. Metta World Peace tallied 20 points and eight rebounds, while Dwight Howard had 10 points and 16 boards.
Trailing by 12, 55-43, at the break, Bryant got his team back in the game with a 20-point performance in the third quarter. Bryant scored 12 straight Los Angeles points near the end of the third to cut the gap to 71-69.
Antawn Jamison made a 3-pointer moments later to give the Lakers a 72-71 lead with 1:25 remaining. The Hawks, though, ended the period on a 5-2 spurt to take a 76-74 edge.
The Hawks led for a majority of the fourth and held a 93-89 lead with 20.5 seconds left. Bryant responded with a 3-pointer to make it a one-point contest.
Atlanta led by as many as 13 in the first half and took a 55-43 edge into the locker room. Bryant was limited to three points in the first half.
Game Notes
Korver extended his franchise record to 57 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer ... Hawks coach Larry Drew received a technical foul early in the fourth after another no-call on Howard ... The Hawks snapped a three-game skid.
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