LOS ANGELES, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Lakers staged one of the greatest comebacks in NBA history Friday night as they erased a 30-point deficit for an improbable 105-103 victory over the league-leading Dallas Mavericks.
Kobe Bryant scored 21 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, when the three-time defending champions climbed out of an 88-61 hole. Bryant's spinning jumper with 8.4 seconds left gave the Lakers the win.
The comeback was the biggest in franchise history. The Lakers had erased a 25-point deficit to beat Chicago on April 3, 1979. They fell just short of the greatest comeback in NBA history, Utah's rally from a 34-point halftime deficit against Denver on Nov. 27, 1996.
"It's nice to have a team believe that they have the ability to overcome insurmountable odds, and it certainly looked insurmountable," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
The Mavericks appeared to have swung the balance of power in the Western Conference in their favor until allowing 44 points in the final period.
When Michael Finley's open 20-footer from the left wing clanged off the rim, the Mavs were saddled with their 24th straight loss on the Lakers' home court since Dec. 12, 1990.
"We choked, just flat-out choked," Dallas guard Nick Van Exel said. "They played like the world champs and we played scared, we played tentative and we just choked."
Shaquille O'Neal had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers (8-13), who climbed out of the Pacific Division cellar, percentage points ahead of the crosstown Clippers and Golden State.
Former Laker Van Exel scored 25 points, Steve Nash added 22 and Dirk Nowitzki 21 for the Mavs (17-2), who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Dallas shot a blistering 60 percent from 3-point range but under 33 percent inside the arc.
A driving layup by Nash gave the Mavs a 92-69 lead with 9:25 to play, but Dallas went scoreless for nearly four minutes and LA scored 15 straight points.
Bryant took over down the stretch. He had two free throws, a 3-pointer and a driving finger roll before O'Neal scored to make it 96-93 with 3:08 remaining. Nash threw in a scoop shot, but Bryant had a reverse layup and drive around two foul shots by Nash, then found Brian Shaw for a 3-pointer that tied it, 100-100, with 1:28 left.
Ten seconds later, a free throw by Robert Horry gave the Lakers the lead. Van Exel answered with a 3-pointer for a 103-101 lead with 1:04 to play, but Shaw drilled a corner jumper to tie it again just six seconds later.
Horry scored 11 points for the Lakers, who shot 51 percent (38-of-74), including a sizzling 89 percent (16-of-18) in the fourth quarter.
Finley scored 11 points on 4-of-19 shooting for Dallas.
The Lakers were booed off the floor in the first half. The Mavs used four 3-pointers to race to a 22-10 lead, allowed the Lakers to creep within 31-30 early in the second quarter, then seemingly obliterated them with a 33-6 rush to the end of the period.
In the final 1:44 of the first half, Van Exel, Nash and Nowitzki made 3-pointers and Finley and Nowitzki drove for three-point plays, completing a frightening 15-0 run for a 64-36 lead that had owner Mark Cuban whooping it up behind the bench.
A layup by Adrian Griffin opened the third quarter and gave Dallas its largest lead. Two free throws by Bryant cut the deficit to 75-56 with 3:12 left, but Finley made two 3-pointers and Van Exel one to help rebuild the lead to 27 points entering the final period.
