The road provided an unlikely refuge for the Lakers after all the questions about their coach and the benching of his star player had consumed the previous 48 hours.
A rainy night in an unfamiliar place seemed to be just what they needed Tuesday at Oracle Arena, with Kobe Bryant playing the critical fourth-quarter minutes and making the big baskets during a 104-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Bryant made two shots in the final 1 minute 4 seconds, including a 19-foot fadeaway jumper with 32 seconds left that gave the Lakers a 99-97 lead. The Lakers then made five of six free throws in the final 22 seconds to secure the triumph.
Two nights after Lakers Coach Mike Brown had benched Bryant for nearly four minutes late in a loss to Memphis, their was no sign of discord between the duo. Bryant finished with 30 points on nine-for-24 shooting, playing the final 6:39 of the fourth quarter.
The Lakers needed every second from Bryant after squandering leads that had been as large as 16 points. Forward David Lee gave the Warriors a 97-95 lead with 1:22 left before Bryant responded with a long jumper to tie the score. Lakers small forward Metta World Peace then blocked a shot by Klay Thompson, with the ball going out of bounds off Golden State.
There was some momentary drama involving Brown and another player.
Brown yanked Andrew Bynum from the game early in the third quarter after the center badly missed a three-point shot, though Bynum appeared amused on the bench as he mimicked the form on his release.
Bynum returned at the start of the fourth quarter and finished with 11 points and five rebounds, helping the Lakers continue their recent surge away from Staples Center.
They are now 11-15 on the road, which might not seem quite as shabby when you consider they have won five of their last six games away from home after a 6-14 start.
Pau Gasol added 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Lakers, who also received an unexpected boost off of what had been an underperforming bench. Reserve small forward Matt Barnes collected 18 points on seven-for-10 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and three assists.
The night held some historical significance for Bryant, who moved into second place on the list of points scored by a player for one franchise when he surpassed Michael Jordan's 29,277 points with the Chicago Bulls. With 29,283 points as a Laker, Bryant trails only former Utah forward Karl Malone (36,374).