Kobe leads Lakers past Thunder in 99-96 thriller

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant made 18 free throws without a miss and scored 14 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied late for a 99-96 victory over Oklahoma City in Game 3 on Friday night, cutting the Thunder’s second-round series lead to 2-1.

Metta World Peace swiped the ball from Kevin Durant and hit two free throws with 12.9 seconds left for the third-seeded Lakers, who shook off the memory of their late collapse in Game 2.

When Durant missed a potential tying 3-pointer before Andrew Bynum blocked Serge Ibaka’s shot at the buzzer, the Lakers’ frenzied crowd celebrated only their second victory in the last six playoff games.

Durant scored 31 points before missing his last shot for Oklahoma City, which could have moved to the brink of its second straight trip to the Western Conference finals. Instead, the Thunder lost for the first time in the postseason.

Game 4 in the back-to-back set is Saturday night.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden scored 21 points apiece for the Thunder, who couldn’t match the Lakers’ late-game execution after soundly out-executing the Lakers in Game 2. Los Angeles finished Game 3 on a 6-2 run in the final 33 seconds, all on free throws.

Bynum had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who got 12 points apiece from Pau Gasol, Ramon Sessions and Steve Blake. Gasol also had 11 rebounds and six assists in front of the Lakers’ energized crowd, which didn’t appear worried while the Lakers flirted with an 0-3 deficit, which has never been overcome in NBA history.

Oklahoma City’s bench celebrated a 92-87 lead on Westbrook’s breakaway dunk with 2:55 to play, but the Lakers trimmed away with Gasol’s free throws, Bryant’s layup and several possessions of tenacious defense. Bryant’s free throws put the Lakers ahead with 1:09 to play.

Durant immediately hit a go-ahead jumper with a hand squarely in his face, but Bryant added two more free throws — his 15th and 16th — to put Los Angeles ahead 95-94. The Lakers finished 41 of 42 from the line, and the Thunder were 26 of 28.

The game was the first of four second-round NBA playoff games in just over 48 hours at Staples Center, also the site of the NHL’s Western Conference finals between and Kings and Phoenix on Thursday and Sunday. The top-seeded San Antonio Spurs will face the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday in an afternoon game before the Thunder and Lakers play Game 4.

Thanks to the NBA’s shortened schedule, the Lakers are playing their first back-to-back playoff games since May 22-23, 1999, in the second round against San Antonio during another season shortened by labor strife.

Staples Center was bubbling with energy even before tipoff, with thousands of Lakers fans actually deigning to wear the gold giveaway T-shirts that are usually tucked under chairs or slung over shoulders.

The Lakers responded to the buzz, jumping to a 16-6 lead while Oklahoma City missed its first five shots and used two timeouts. The Lakers led by 12 points in the first quarter, but Oklahoma City erased it quickly in the second quarter when Bryant left the game.

Harden was booed the first time he touched the ball in his first game at Staples since World Peace gave him a concussion with a vicious elbow in the Lakers’ penultimate regular-season games.

Tempers flared in the second quarter when Westbrook furiously attempted to prevent World Peace from tying him up for a jump ball. World Peace’s knee came down on Westbrook’s leg during a brief skirmish including Jordan Hill, and both Westbrook and World Peace received technical fouls.

Oklahoma City surged in front during the third quarter, but the Lakers kept it close despite a rough quarter from Bryant. Kendrick Perkins’ interior defense largely prevented Bynum from scoring in the low post, but the Thunder also struggled for offensive consistency.

The Lakers stayed in Game 3 with incredible free-throw shooting, making their first 28 foul shots before Bynum missed with 9:15 to play.

NOTES: Before the game, Gasol received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his charity work as a UNICEF ambassador. World Peace won the award last season. ... Perkins had six points in 30 minutes, but coach Scott Brooks put no limit on his minutes in the back-to-back games despite the veteran’s sore hip. ... NBA Commissioner David Stern, Denzel Washington, Snoop Dogg, The Game, Ice Cube, Redskins QB Robert Griffin III and the Los Angeles Kings’ Mike Richards, Drew Doughty and Jarret Stoll and attended the game.