January 14th, 2010 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
Kobe Bryant is one amazing athlete as he despite a broken finger and a sore lower back still makes an impact most nights. During the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night, Bryant proved why he is considered one of the top players in the NBA as he drained the game-winning basket with 28 seconds left, pushing Los Angeles past Dallas 100-95 ay American Airlines Center.
The first quarter was pretty close although an Andrew Bynum layup put Los Angeles up 14-7; the balance of the period was back-and-forth and the Lakers would take a 27-24 lead going into the second quarter. Jose Juan Barea’s jumper gave the Mavericks their first lead at 29-27 but the Lakers would build a six-point lead at 42-36. A pair of Dirk Nowitzki free throws would help Dallas retake the lead with 2:34 left in the half, but a 7-2 run boosted the Lakers’ lead to 49-45 at halftime.
There were several lead changes in the third quarter but a pair of Bynum free throws and a Jordan Farmar 3-pointer at the horn gave Los Angeles a 76-71 going into the fourth quarter. The Mavericks would chip away at the Lakers lead until Nowitzki’s trey tied the game at 95, but with 28 ticks left on the game clock, Bryant hit the game-winning basket.
Bynum led the Lakers’ scorers with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists while Lamar Odom chipped in 18 with 14 rebounds and 4 assists; Ron Artest added 16 with 11 rebounds and an assist.
The Mavericks were led by Nowitzki with 30 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists and a block while Josh Howard added 18 (including three treys) with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block while Jason Kidd chipped in 11 with 7 rebounds and 11 assists.
Los Angeles (30-9) plays again on Friday when they host the cross-town Clippers while Dallas (25-13) welcomes the Oklahoma City Thunder – also on Friday.
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