NBA: Lakers eke out win in D'Antoni's debut

Kobe Bryant scored the last eight points of the game to give new head coach Mike D'Antoni a winning debut as mentor of the Los Angeles Lakers, after the team carved out a 95-90 win over the Brooklyn Nets, at the Staples Center in LA.

The win extended the Lakers' streak to three straight victories, putting them above .500 for the first time this season at 6-5. The Nets on the other hand suffered their third defeat in nine outings.

In the first half, the Lakers came out on fire, putting up 56 points by the break. The problem was their defense, which gave up 57 to the Nets, allowing the visitors to take the lead.

Come the fourth quarter, the Lakers were up by four, 77-73, on a split at the line by Dwight Howard, but the Nets countered with an 11-1 run that made it 84-78 in their favor, as the Lakers didn't hit their first field goal, a Metta World Peace triple, until the 4:39 mark.

A split by Kobe Bryant knotted the game at 84-all, but Joe Johnson struck back for Brooklyn to regain the lead. The Lakers got an alley-oop dunk from Pau Gasol to Dwight Howard to tie, then Gasol nailed 1-of-2 from the foul line to put LA ahead for good. Bryant then closed out the game on a 6-for-6 free throw spree.

Bryant tallied 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, plus four rebounds and five assists. Dwight Howard added 23 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, but was 7-of-19 on free throws.

Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol chipped in 17 each.

Brook Lopez equaled Howard's output with 23 points, though he had just seven boards. Deron Williams added a double-double with 22 points and 10 dimes.

All-in-all, LA was just 19-of-37 from the stripe, which led to the close nature of the game. Brooklyn in contrast, was 15-of-21 for 71 percent.  - AMD, GMA News