Lakers fall to the Spurs, 84-82, on late three-pointer

Spurs 84 - Lakers 82 (final)

Danny Green hit the game-winning three-pointer with 9.3 second left to give the Spurs their seventh victory of the season.

The Lakers took a one-point lead with 35 seconds left on a Pau Gasol jumper, but his three-pointer in the final seconds missed its mark. Metta World Peace wasn’t able to find Kobe Bryant, inbounding on the team’s final possession.

Against the clock, Gasol wasn’t able to pass the ball out of the corner and his shot didn’t fall.

With point guards Steve Nash and Steve Blake out due to injury, the Lakers ran an unorthodox closing lineup with Bryant at point guard along with Antawn Jamison, Dwight Howard, World Peace and Gasol.

The Lakers drop to 3-5, despite Bryant’s 28 points on 12-19 shooting and eight assists. Both Howard (13 points and 15 boards) and Gasol (10 and 10) had double-doubles.

The Spurs were led by Parker’s 19 points, and Duncan chipped in 18.

Green scored 11, with the final three being the difference in the ball game.

Spurs 60- Lakers 59 (end of third quarter)

The Lakers withstood an initial burst from the Spurs to maintain their five-point lead until late in the quarter when Kobe Bryant went to the bench. San Antonio closed the period on a 5-0 run to take a lead into the fourth.

Tim Duncan had eight points in the third, and now has 14 through three quarters to lead the Spurs, who are shooting just 38.1% for the game.

Bryant led the Lakers with 21 points, but it was a stretch of offensive rebounding from Jordan Hill that stalled an early third-quarter run from the Spurs.

Defensively the Spurs challenged the Lakers, holding L.A. to 39% through three quarters after a hot start.

Lakers 43 - Spurs 38 (halftime)

The Lakers took a five-point lead into the half while holding the Spurs to just 37.2% from the field.

Bryant continued to score efficiently, tallying 15 points on 7-11 shooting. He also dished out five assists.

The Spurs rallied back from their first-quarter deficit to take a small lead, but the Lakers kept pace and finished the half up five. Tony Parker was the only player outside of Bryant, in double figures.

The Lakers shot 43.9% from the field but missed five of eight free throws and turned the ball over nine times.

Lakers 24 - Spurs 18 (end of first quarter)

The San Antonio Spurs opened up the game against the Lakers with a quick flurry, taking a 10-2 lead after just two minutes and 26 seconds.

Interim head coach Bernie Bickerstaff called a time out and the Lakers responded with 14 straight points. The Spurs would score just eight points the rest of the quarter against the Lakers’ most impressive defensive showing of the season.

The home team got nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from Kobe Bryant. The Spurs were led by Tony Parker’s eight.

Bickerstaff started Darius Morris in the absence of Steve Nash and Steve Blake. Manu Ginobili, who was questionable for the game, was able to overcome a minor back injury to play.

Pregame

The Lakers host the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday at Staples Center in what could be Bernie Bickerstaff’s last game as interim head coach. Mike D’Antoni is expected to arrive late Wednesday night, though it’s unclear if he’ll be on the bench Friday against the Suns.

The Spurs sit atop the Western Conference with a 6-1 record but may be without Manu Ginobili (back), who remains a game-time decision.

Both Steve Nash and Steve Blake will sit for the Lakers, but Bickerstaff wouldn’t reveal whom he will start at point guard. The choices are Darius Morris and Chris Duhon, with Morris perhaps the more likely candidate.

The Lakers would climb within two games of the Spurs with a victory, despite the team’s 1-4 start.

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You can email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.