 Kobe tied his career high with 12 assists. Robert Mora/NBAE/Getty Images from Lakers-Clippers: 56k | 300k |
They entered the fourth quarter with a 13-point advantage and pushed it to 82-66 on Devean George's jumper with 45 seconds into the period.
But the Clippers outscored their foe, 23-10, in a little over 10 minutes to close within 92-89 on a basket by Jeff McInnis.
The Lakers, who entered the game hitting only 67 percent from the line, missed four straight free throws to put the game in doubt.
With one minute remaining, Kobe Bryant finally made a pair of free throws to give the Lakers a 94-89 lead. However, Lakers point guard Lindsay Hunter missed four more attempts at the line and six in a row before being taken out of the game.
Sean Rooks converted two free throws to bring the Clippers to 94-90, before Hunter's replacement, Brian Shaw, made four from the line to seal the Lakers' 113th win over their fellow Los Angeles team.
"Well, that was an interesting finale to a game I thought we had control of but just couldn't finish up well," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I thought we might be able to ride through with the bench in the fourth quarter, but we weren't able to do it."
"We feel good because we didn't give up," Clippers guard Quentin Richardson said. "If we'd have just hit a few shots we normally hit, we would have won."
Bryant scored 25 points and tied a career high with 12 assists and Shaquille O'Neal added 22 and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won twice since suffering their lone loss and improved to 9-1.
Elton Brand scored 22 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to lead the Clippers, who were hosting their Staples Center co-tenants before the second largest home crowd ever (20,316). They have lost their last 10 home games to the Lakers, including five in a row since the Staples Center opened prior to the 1999-2000 season.
"I'm disappointed because it's a home loss," Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said. "We didn't get the ball in the basket tonight and sometimes it just happens like that."
Brand is the first Clipper to score 20 or more points in seven consecutive games since Loy Vaught, who did it from March 10-22, 1995.
The Lakers seemingly took control of the game at the start of the third, when they opened the quarter with a 9-2 spurt to take a 61-48 lead as O'Neal snagged a rebound, drove the length of the court and put down a one-handed slam dunk with 8:45 left.
"I'm glad I have that talent that I'm allowed to do that," O'Neal said. "They want me to do it more. I just took a couple of dribbles and then took off."
"The only bad thing (about O'Neal's coast-to-coast play) is that we have to listen to him for two weeks or so how he is our best point person on the bench," joked Shaw.
Samaki Walker contributed 13 points and seven rebounds and George and Rick Fox added 10 points apiece for the Lakers, who shot 44 percent (36-for-81) from the field, including 6-for-13 (46 percent) from 3-point range, but connected on 60 percent (20-for-33) from the free-throw line.
Rooks and Darius Miles came off the bench to score 16 points each and McInnis had 13 as the Clippers shot 39 percent (39-for-99), making just 1-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Clippers beat the Lakers on the boards, 57-39 and their 25 offensive rebounds allowed them to outscore the Lakers, 28-7, in second-chance points. But their 18 turnovers led to 23 points for the Lakers.
The Clippers' bench, which entered the game third in the league in scoring, held a 49-26 scoring edge.
Lakers forward Robert Horry, who had six points and six rebounds, left with 5:22 remaining in the fourth with a jammed left thumb.