No more tears now; I will think about revenge. – Mary, Queen of Scots

You can well imagine what the Los Angeles Lakers were feeling after getting humbled by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas Day. A heck of a holiday present, no?

But as all quality NBA teams do, they regroup and play as if that episode never happened. Saturday would find the Lakers at Arco Arena, looking to rebound, for a lack of a better choice of words. And while the Sacramento Kings kept the game interesting and close for about 55 minutes, it was the clutch shooting of Kobe Bryant in the second overtime that enabled Los Angeles to outlast Sacramento 112-103 in front of 17,345.

The Kings were hot early as they outraced the Lakers to a 9- 5 lead on a Tyreke Evans jumper and would gradually increase their lead to eight before Los Angeles took a timeout. Sacramento briefly held a 9-point lead at 29-20 on an Evans layup before settling for a 31-28 lead going into the second quarter. The Lakers took their first lead of the game at 43-42 on an Adam Morrison free throw; Beno Udrih would drain a three-pointer at the horn, giving the Kings a 57-55 lead going into halftime.

Los Angeles would briefly re-take the lead at 72-71 on a Bryant jumper with 4:56 left in the third quarter but an Omri Casspi layup at the 3:11 mark helped Sacramento regain the lead at 73-72. Casspi would make a free throw with 21 seconds remaining in the period which tied the game at 78-all going into the fourth quarter. Shannon Brown’s jumper with 6:07 in the period helped the Lakers regain the lead once again at 87-86 and would increase their lead to six on a pair of Pau Gasol free throws. The Kings would go on a 6-0 run in the last 3:34 as Gasol missed a pair of free throws with 23 ticks left on the game clock, sending the game into the first overtime.

After Sacramento scored the first seven points in the first overtime, they went scoreless over the final 2:40 as the Lakers rallied. Gasol tipped in a missed shot by Derek Fisher from close range, tying the game at 101 with .04 seconds left. After Lamar Odom opened the second overtime with a putback basket, Bryant connected on a pair of 3-pointers to put the Lakers in front 109-103 with 2:37 left. Los Angeles outscored the Kings 11-2 in the second OT.

Bryant led the Lakers with 38 points (including four 3-pointers), 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals while Gasol chipped in 24 with 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 blocks; Brown added 15 with 7 rebounds and an assist while Odom added a double-double by scoring 13 with 15 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 2 blocks.

The Kings were led by Udrih with 23 points (including three treys), 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals while Evans added 18 with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a block; Donte Greene poured in 16 with 5 rebounds, an assist, 3 steals and 2 blocks while Casspi was good for 15 with 10 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Los Angeles (24-5) plays again on Monday when they go to Phoenix to take on the Suns while Sacramento (13-16) remain at home to host the Denver Nuggets – also on Monday night.