Lakers Gameday | 12/23/07 | Lakers 95, Knicks 90

Kobe Bryant scored 39 points, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the New York Knicks 95-90 Sunday.

Bryant added 11 rebounds and eight assists in his first game at Madison Square Garden in nearly two years. His 3-pointer in the opening minute of the third quarter allowed him to reach the milestone at 29 years, 122 days.

Before him, only Wilt Chamberlain (29, 134) and Michael Jordan (29, 326) had gotten there before turning 30.

Bryant's last basket came in the final minute after the Knicks had trimmed a 25-point deficit to one. The victory capped a 3-1 road trip for the Lakers, who headed home to host Phoenix on Christmas Day.

Jamal Crawford scored 31 points for the Knicks, who were again without Stephon Marbury and have lost two straight and eight of 10. David Lee had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Nate Robinson scored 16 points.

Despite a sometimes sloppy effort that included no assists in the second quarter, the Knicks were spared the usual wrath of their fans, who instead seemed content to cheer Bryant and Andrew Bynum, a New Jersey product.

In fact, fans cheered when Bryant had to get off the bench to return to the game early in the fourth quarter after the Knicks closed within single digits. Sasha Vujacic then made a 3-pointer and Jordan Farmar knocked down a jumper, seemingly putting Los Angeles back in control at 80-68 with 9:45 to play.

But Crawford scored nine straight points for New York, and two free throws by Lee cut the Lakers' lead to 91-90 with 1:55 remaining. Crawford later missed with a chance to give New York what would have been its first lead, and Bryant's soft jumper fell in with 57 seconds left.

The Knicks had a final chance, but Farmar stole Lee's tipped inbounds pass and went in for a clinching dunk.

Bynum had 13 points for the Lakers, playing without starting forward Luke Walton (sprained right ankle).

Bryant was back at Madison Square Garden, which he has called his favorite place to play, for the first time since Jan. 31, 2006. He missed last season's visit after he was suspended a game by the NBA earlier that day for striking San Antonio's Manu Ginobili in the face in the Lakers' previous contest.

Bryant scored 12 points in the first quarter, helping the Lakers open a 31-21 lead, then became more of a playmaker in the second. He had five assists in the period, the last coming on former Knicks forward Trevor Ariza's 3-pointer at the buzzer that made it 55-37.

Along with their no assists, the Knicks had seven turnovers in the period, drawing boos when Quentin Richardson threw the ball over the head of a wide-open Crawford on what should have been an easy breakaway.

The Lakers' lead grew to 25 in the third quarter, but the Knicks were within 75-61 headed to the fourth.

Notes: Bryant became the 31st player with 20,000 points. Though Bryant told reporters Saturday that the Knicks were one of the four teams he would have accepted a trade to, both coaches downplayed New York's chances. Phil Jackson said there were no serious talks before the season, and Isiah Thomas added, "I never sincerely thought that the Lakers would trade him.'' ... Thomas said before the game he isn't sure when Marbury will return. The point guard has missed seven of the last eight games as he copes with the Dec. 2 death of his father.

Once known for dysfunction and controversy, the Los Angeles Lakers have seemingly put those days behind them. It continues to be a completely different story for the New York Knicks.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers make their lone appearance this season at Madison Square Garden on Sunday to face the Knicks, who enter fresh off another team dispute.

The Lakers (16-10) had their share of off-the-court attention early in the season because of Bryant's trade demands. It's all in the past now as Los Angeles has won seven of nine games and sits in second place in the Pacific Division behind Phoenix.

For the Knicks (8-18), the season has provided little remedy after an offseason that featured a sexual harassment lawsuit against coach Isiah Thomas and the Garden. New York owns the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference and has played seven of its last 10 games without point guard Stephon Marbury since his father passed away on Dec. 2.

Marbury, whose status remains in limbo, was previously fined for skipping a game at Phoenix on Nov. 13.

Thomas was the focal point of another confrontation when he and forward Quentin Richardson got into an expletive-filled exchange in the third quarter of Friday's 105-95 loss at Charlotte. Assistant coach Herb Williams was forced to hold back Thomas during the argument.

"Sometimes you try to say some things to a player or say some things to your team just to get them motivated, to get some fire in them," Thomas said when asked to explain the incident. "There won't be any carry-over from it."

Richardson also downplayed the disagreement, which overshadowed another dismal performance as the Knicks fell behind by 23 points at halftime in their seventh loss in nine games.

"I thought that the whole group was bad, frankly," Thomas said. "We just had no fire, no competitiveness."

It was another poor effort for center Eddy Curry, who had 11 points and five rebounds. Curry, the team scoring leader last season, is averaging just 10.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in his last nine games.

That's a direct contrast to the emergence of Andrew Bynum for the Lakers. The 20-year-old center is averaging 16.8 points and 11.4 boards while shooting better than 70 percent in his last five games after a stellar performance in Friday's 106-101 win at Philadelphia.

Bynum made 10-of-11 shots for 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He scored 18 of Los Angeles' first 38 points and surpassed 1,000 points for his career.

"My teammates looking for me, especially in the first half, is nice," Bynum said following his third straight double-double.

Los Angeles continued to showcase its impressive balance as Bryant's 19 points was just the team's fourth-best total Friday. Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher each scored 21 points as the Lakers improved to 2-1 heading into the finale of their four-game road trip.

This is the first 2007-08 meeting between these teams after New York swept two games from Los Angeles last season for the first time since 2000-01. Bryant, averaging 34.3 points in his last four games at New York, missed the Lakers' visit to the Garden on Jan. 30 since he was suspended for hitting San Antonio's Manu Ginobili in the face in his previous game.