Bryant struggled through a dismal first half before scoring 29 of his 34 points after the break as the Lakers rolled to a 108-96 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.
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Bryant, who finished 12-of-26, had a jumper with 3:10 left to push the lead to 68-64, converted a three-point play with 92 seconds to go and finished the quarter with a pair of 3-pointers, including a 27-footer just before the buzzer.
The 27-year-old superstar was just 2-of-16 from 3-point range entering the contest, but made 4-of-5 from the arc against the SuperSonics.
"It was just a matter of reading what the defense would give," Bryant said of his 3-point shooting. "I felt like I was in rhythm and it gave us a good energy boost. Everyone just fed off the energy and we went from there."
He scored the Lakers' first six points of the fourth and made his final 3-pointer midway through the session to give Los Angeles a 93-78 lead.
"We knew he was going to come out firing in the second half," Seattle coach Bob Weiss said. "There is nothing you can do about Kobe when he is like that. He's shooting fadeaway threes and making them. I can't fault us there."
Lamar Odom scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Brian Cook finished with 17 and seven in his first start of the season for the Lakers, who had lost five of their previous six.
Seattle, which has dropped two straight following a three-game winning streak, got 32 points from Rashard Lewis but little support from leading scorer Ray Allen. The 6-5 guard was held scoreless across the second and third quarters and finished with 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
Bryant was matched with Allen through much of the contest and took satisfaction in shutting down the sharpshooter.
"Defense is more fun," Bryant said. "It is more challenging. Scoring the ball is pretty much like breathing, but defense is what I take a lot of pride in."
"In addition to Kobe being a great offensive player, he is one of the best (defensive) guards in the league," Weiss said. "He wasn't paying attention to anybody but Ray."
The Sonics took a 51-43 lead at halftime on the strength of a 32-19 advantage in the second quarter. Lewis had 17 points at the break.
Bryant's first 3-pointer gave Los Angeles the lead for the first time in the second half and Smush Parker, who had 16 points and a career-high eight rebounds, followed with an emphatic dunk over Seattle center Vitaly Potapenko for a 60-57 lead.
All five Lakers' starters finished in double figures.
"It is the first time I've seen five players in double figures all season," Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said. "And once Kobe got hot, we really focused on riding that energy we had."

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