After blowing a 24-point lead, the Heat scored the final 12 points of the game and rallied for a 102-96 victory over the Lakers, who clearly missed Shaquille O'Neal.
Alonzo Mourning had a season-high 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, who ended their NBA record streak of 35 games without scoring 100 points. But it did not happen without a late surge that allowed Miami to avoid another embarrassing loss.
"It's not really over until the buzzer sounds," Mourning said. "I've seen a lot of games that are won in the last couple minutes of the game. We just continued to execute down the stretch."
 Jimmy Jackson backs down his man against the Lakers on Wednesday. Robert Mora NBAE/Getty Images |
"I think we're all a little angry," Bryant said. "We hate losing. We fought back from 24 points down."
"That was a great comeback on our part and we spoiled it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "(We) had a little lead in the stretch and couldn't score in the last three minutes."
Rod Strickland and Eddie Jones made shots around an offensive foul by Bryant. Horry missed a 3-pointer and Mourning's jumper tied it with 1:39 remaining.
Bryant forced a jumper and Horry fouled Jimmy Jackson, whose two free throws with 1:23 left gave Miami the lead for good.
"When we got down by six points, things really looked bleak," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "We stepped up and made some plays at the end."
Horry committed an offensive foul and Bryant misfired on another 3-pointer before Horry fouled Strickland, who hit two from the line for a 100-96 advantage with 18 seconds left. Bryant missed another 3-pointer, Horry committed another foul and Jackson hit two foul shots to seal it.
"I guess we used up all of our luck to get back in the game," Horry said.
Jackson scored 19 points and Strickland added 14 for the Heat, who improved to 2-1 on their four-game road trip and won at the Staples Center for the second straight season.
Bryant scored 29 points on 12-of-30 shooting. He was coming off a career-high 56 points against Memphis on Monday but could not compensate for the 7-2 superstar center's absence in this one.
"I think he'd like to have the last three minutes over again," Jackson said.
"They had the matchups tonight, size especially," Bryant said.
O'Neal served the second of his three-game ban for fighting in a game at Chicago on Saturday. The Lakers have lost three of four and fell one game behind first-place Sacramento in the Pacific Division heading into a showdown with San Antonio.
"Not having Shaq obviously helped," Riley said. "They were a perimeter-oriented team tonight. Kobe didn't go for 56 and we got off to a great start."
Mourning scored 13 points in the first quarter, when Miami shot 71 percent (17-of-24) from the field and raced to a 39-22 lead. It was the most points scored by the Heat in any period this season.
A driving layup by Strickland gave Miami a 53-29 lead with 5:26 left in the second quarter. It was the biggest deficit of the season for Los Angeles.
Derek Fisher made two 3-pointers and Devean George hit one in a 14-3 surge that closed the first half and pulled the Lakers within 60-48. LA made four more 3-pointers in the third period, including one by Rick Fox that tied it, 76-76, in the final minute.
"We got complacent," said Mourning, who made 12-of-17 shots. "We have a tendency to do that, to relax with teams. We can't afford to do that right now."
A tip-in by Bryant gave the Lakers their first lead at 87-86 with 6:31 remaining. He added a jumper and Lindsey Hunter hit a 3-pointer for a 92-86 advantage with 4:28 left.
Former Laker Jones and Eddie House scored 10 points each for the Heat (10-26), who shot 51 percent (40-of-79) and committed just eight turnovers.
"They might be the best worst team ever," Bryant said.
Fisher scored 17 points and Samaki Walker contributed 14 and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 40 percent (37-of-92) but made 11-of-26 from the arc.