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Spurs Survive Scare From Bryant, Lakers

San Antonio extended its seemingly unstoppable home winning streak to 37 games, but not before an old foe had his say.

Kobe Bryant had brilliant stretches in scoring 25 points and guiding the Lakers to a fourth-quarter lead, but Los Angeles couldn’t finish off its hosts in his final game in the Alamo City.

Despite the 106-102 loss, Bryant is averaging 28.3 points in his last four games, though his legs ironically had him feeling like the "Wizard of Oz" character missing a heart.

"I was happy that I was able to get loose a little bit," he said. "I felt like the Tin Man for a while and I couldn't find any oil anywhere to loosen up these joints."

After a close opening quarter, the Spurs (43-8) pushed their lead to 13 in the second. But the Lakers (11-42) wouldn’t roll over against the team with the NBA’s second-best record.

L.A. slowly churned its way closer, then rolled off seven unanswered points to briefly take a one-point edge at the end of the half. Though San Antonio regained its advantage before intermission, Bryant still had yet to heat up.

In fact, it was San Antonio native Jordan Clarkson who kept the Lakers close by scoring 14 of his 21 points across the first two quarters. Bryant, meanwhile, was just 2-of-10 with four points.

However, that flipped around when the 18-time all-star ignited for his hottest stretch of the season.

Despite being covered by Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard, Bryant knocked down 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions — including while being fouled by Patty Mills on the the last one, resulting in a four-point play.

Head coach Byron Scott had actually sent Nick Young to the scorer's table to replace Bryant but then called him back when he realized the future Hall of Famer was in such volcanic rhythm.

Said Scott: "I looked at Nick and said, 'Maybe you want to go sit back down for a little while and let him finish out the quarter."

By the end of the period, Bryant had poured in 16 points and guided the Lakers to a two-point lead.

"It's like watching Michael (Jordan)," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I was just watching. It was great. We made some mistakes; he took advantage of it. He's fantastic."

L.A. extended its cushion to five early in the final quarter, but the Spurs were able to tie at 90 shortly after on back-to-back triples by Danny Green.

After the Spurs regained the upper hand, clutch shots by Bryant and Lou Williams tied the game on two occasions, though the Lakers found themselves trailing by three in the final seconds.

Green missed a jumper, which appeared to gift L.A. one more possession, but Leonard — who had 20 points and 13 rebounds — flew in for the offensive board to douse the Lakers’ hopes.

In spite of the outcome, the Lakers still gave the San Antonio fans their biggest scare of the season.

The Spurs had trailed in the fourth quarter for a total of two minutes and one second in its 27 previous home games this year, but L.A. managed to stay ahead for 4:36 of the final period. Still, San Antonio remained perfect at AT&T Center since March 12, 2015.

Remember the Mamba
After 20 years of battling the Spurs in both the regular season and playoffs, Bryant suited up for the final time in San Antonio.

Though longtime adversaries Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili sat due to injuries, Bryant still had an emotional farewell.

Prior to hearing his name called in pregame warmups, Bryant was presented with a video tribute put together by the Spurs.

“It was very nostalgic, brought back a lot of memories," Bryant said. "I felt extremely touched by it. It’s weird, it’s hard to get in the competitive mindset after that because you just feel so thankful for them even doing that, you know what I mean. … It shows again the mutual respect of the battles that we’ve had."

Notes
Julius Randle collected his 20th double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds, but sprained his ankle in the final minutes. … Roy Hibbert left the game in the first quarter with a left ankle sprain. … LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 26 points. … A sold-out audience of 18,418 attended at AT&T Center.

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