Bryant is too much as Kings falter down stretch

The man in purple tried his best to quiet the visitors, but he could do little about the wave of noise falling down upon him.

Never mind that this was just the second sellout at Arco Arena this season. Kobe Bryant and his incredible killer instinct had sparked deafening chants for "MVP," and the Kings fan seated near the floor waved his arms at the Lakers fans without any hope of lowering the volume.

Bryant made his latest case for the league's premier award by dominating the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 117-105 win Tuesday night, when the Kings watched helplessly as 42 minutes of work were spoiled because of the final six.

He scored 17 of his 34 points in the final period, including a stretch in which he scored 18 of the Lakers' 20 points as a seven-point Kings lead evaporated alongside their offense.

In attack mode when it mattered most, he went to the line 12 times (converting 11) and finally broke through the defensive wall that was Ron Artest to score on jumpers and sensational spin moves in the paint.

Showing he's still quite the two-way talent, Bryant had everything to do with the disappearance of Kevin Martin on the other end as the Kings shooting guard had just one shot in the fourth quarter after scoring 23 points through three.

"He's a special player, and he makes unbelievable plays," Martin said. "That's what he always does. He's just competitive, tough every possession. Nothing's easy. That's what makes him who he is."

Bryant, who was solely responsible for turning the moods of Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof from elated to infuriated in their courtside seats, showed why he's still considered by most to be the most dominating player in the game.

"I was able to get it going in the fourth," said Bryant, who had just 17 points on 7-for-20 shooting through three quarters and could do little against Artest and swingman John Salmons.

"I felt like it was my time to take it over and try to win it. We got a good rhythm on Ron and Kevin in the second half. They had their way early."

The Kings were well on their way to becoming just the third team to down the Lakers in the 15 games since they traded for 2006 All-Star forward Pau Gasol.

In the first meeting this season between the teams whose fans – if not their teams – still maintain a healthy rivalry, the atmosphere lacked nothing in terms of fanfare even if the feel at the end more closely resembled Staples Center than the Kings' home floor.

The Kings never trailed until there was 4:06 left, when Artest fouled Bryant and his free throws put the Lakers up 101-100. There was far more to the finish than the one-man takeover, though, as the Kings crumbled in a flurry of missed layups and stagnant offensive sets late.

Artest – who had 23 points on 10-for-23 shooting but was just 1 of 9 in the final period – had a dunk with 6:13 remaining to put the Kings up 100-93.

The collapse started there, as the Kings didn't score for three minutes. Beno Udrih and Salmons missed layups, and Artest missed a five-footer.

By the time the drought ended with a Udrih three-pointer, Bryant was on his way, and the Kings never pulled any closer than four points.

The Kings were just 6 of 23 from the field (26.1 percent) in the fourth after hitting 37 of 73 (50.7) through three quarters.

"I don't think of the Lakers by any means as a great defensive team," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "But you can't be as good as they are if you're not able to, in the crunch, lock down defensively. … "

By "they," Theus mostly meant Bryant. The MVP of the night and quite possibly the season.

About the writer:

• Read Sam Amick's Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.