Lakers Rally, Beat Hornets 108-102

The Los Angeles Lakers rally from 14 points down with just over six minutes left to beat the New Orleans Hornets Wednesday. Kobe Bryant scored 42 points in the game, 13 of which came during the Lakers comeback with six minutes left.

Bryant added seven rebounds and 12 assists as the Lakers won 108-102. Dwight Howard had 20 points and 15 rebounds while Metta World Peace shot four for nine from the field with 11 points.

The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday in a game where Kobe Bryant was bothered by a sore right elbow. The win over the Hornets brings the Lakers back to .500 basketball, at 31-31.

The Lakers are currently holding on to ninth place in the Western Conference, just two and a half games back of the Utah Jazz. The Jazz have lost two straight games and take on the Chicago Bulls Friday.

After a rough start which had the Lakers down 19 points at the half, Kobe Bryant stayed positive and was sure his team could comeback and win.

“I believed we were going to win it the whole time,” Kobe said after that game. “The most important thing for me was to bring my teammates along with me. I had to force the game upon them a little bit and change the momentum and get everybody believing we could do this together.”

The Lakers outscored the Hornets 33-9 in the fourth quarter on the way to a huge win if they plan on staying in the playoff race. Al-Farouq Aminu and Robin Lopez both finished with double-doubles for the Hornets. Aminu had 12 points and 16 rebounds, while Lopez finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. All five Hornets starters scored at least 10 points a piece.

The Hornets have now lost two straight games looking forward to a match up with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have won two straight games and currently hold the fourth position in the Western Conference.

The Lakers have won seven of their last 10 games and take on the Toronto Raptors Friday before a key match up with the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. Kobe Bryant is currently third in the NBA in scoring, at 27.6 points a game.

Mike D’Antoni’s team has a lot of work to do if they plan on erasing the slow start to the season. Injuries have kept the Lakers playing mediocre basketball all season long, but their pure talent has helped them slide back up the standings. The Lakers rally over the Hornets proved Kobe Bryant has no intentions of giving up this season and that his team must stick to the pace to have a shot at the playoffs.