San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - On a night where Kobe Bryant could have passed the great Michael Jordan on the NBA's all-time scoring list, it was Nick Young who bailed the Los Angeles Lakers out against the defending champs.
Young's desperation 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left in overtime lifted the Lakers to a 112-110 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
"I have more confidence in him making those shots when guys are draped all over him," Bryant said of Young's 3-pointer.
Young finished with a team-high 29 points off the bench and Bryant added 22 points with nine assists in Los Angeles' second straight win.
Bryant entered the game 31 points shy of passing Jordan (32,292) for third place on the all-time scoring list.
Tim Duncan, who needed 15 points to pass Jerry West for 18th on the all-time scoring list, paced the Spurs with 19 points and 18 rebounds.
Manu Ginobili and Corey Joseph had 18 and 16 points, respectively, in the setback.
Joseph played the entire fourth quarter and overtime in place of Tony Parker, who returned to the lineup after a three-game absence due to a hamstring injury. Parker was limited to five points in just 17 minutes of action.
"The more experience I get, the more confident I get," Joseph said. "I'm just confident out there doing me."
The Spurs harassed Bryant in the fourth quarter and overtime, making sure to keep a couple of defenders in his area when he had the ball.
Bryant, who scored just three points in the fourth quarter and none in overtime, had a pair of assists to Jordan Hill midway through overtime period, then found Carlos Boozer inside to make it 109-106 with 1:47 on the clock.
San Antonio answered, however, as Duncan converted back-to-back layups to give the Spurs their first lead since the second quarter.
Ginobili committed a turnover with 31.5 seconds left to give the Lakers another chance for the lead. The Los Angeles offense was stagnant throughout most of the possession, but Young hit a contested trey right in front of Ginobili.
Ginobili's 3-pointer was short on the ensuing Spurs possession and the clock ran out as San Antonio grabbed the loose ball.
"(We have) a target on our back," added Joseph. "We're trying to defend a championship right now and everybody knows that. They took it to us today."
Duncan's patented bank shot moved him past West late in the fourth and cut the deficit to 96-92 with 3:39 left.
Hill's layup preceded a deep 3-pointer from Bryant, with the shot clock running down, that made it 101-92 with just under two minutes remaining.
Ginobili then scored six points during a 9-0 run to end regulation and send it to overtime. He had a chance to win the game, though, but split a pair of free throws with 6.8 seconds left to tie the game at 101-101.
Bryant was double-teamed by Boris Diaw and Danny Green in the closing seconds, and his jumper was off the mark.
Joseph corralled the rebound with 1.2 seconds left, the Spurs called a timeout, but Duncan's turnaround was long.
Young scored seven points during a 9-1 run to close the third quarter and give the Lakers an 86-75 lead entering the fourth.
The teams were tied at 25-25 after 12 minutes, but the Lakers managed to take a 54-50 lead at the half.
Game Notes
San Antonio is now 10-1 when scoring 100-plus points ... Spurs' Kawhi Leonard missed the contest with a hand injury ... Hill had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win ... Boozer and Jeremy Lin finished with 14 points apiece for LA, with Boozer grabbing 13 rebounds ... Green had 19 points for the Spurs ... The Lakers made 50 percent of their 3-point attempts and scored 25 points off 19 turnovers.
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