Bryant sinks Suns

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers needed two last-gasp shots from Kobe Bryant to beat the Phoenix Suns.

And two uncharacteristic mistakes from Phoenix star Steve Nash.

Bryant made a looping runner with seven-tenths of a second left in the fourth quarter to force overtime, and a 17-footer as time expired to lift the Lakers to an improbable 99-98 victory over the Suns and a 3-1 lead in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.

“It was the most fun shot I’ve ever hit, just because it’s us, enjoying this as a unit,” Bryant said regarding the latest in a long line of buzzer-beaters during his 10-year career.

Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal led the Lakers to three championships, from 2000-02, but with O’Neal gone, last year’s team failed to make the playoffs.

Many thought it would be the same story this season. But now, the Lakers are one win away from advancing to the second round.

“I have played a lot of playoff basketball and I have never had a game quite like this, with our backs against the wall, seemingly out of it, and us just battling back and getting this ‘W,’ ” Bryant said. “We matured about 10 to 15 years today. We did a lot of growing up in this game.”

The Lakers, who have won the last three games, can win the best-of-seven series Tuesday night in Phoenix. A sixth game, if necessary, would be Thursday night at the Staples Center.

The Suns appeared to have the game won late in the fourth quarter and again in overtime, but the Lakers took advantage of Nash’s mistakes.

Nash made a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left in overtime to give the Suns a 98-95 lead. Bryant’s layup with 11.7 seconds remaining drew the Lakers within one point, and Luke Walton tied Nash up with 6.1 seconds to play.

Walton won the tip, with Bryant chasing the ball down near the scorer’s table and then dribbling to the right corner of the key, where his ninth field goal in 14 tries swished through cleanly.

“It felt routine to me,” Bryant said.

The shot Bryant made to tie the game at 90 and force overtime was made possible when Smush Parker poked the ball away from Nash. Phoenix’s James Jones then failed to score after taking a lob pass near the Lakers’ basket as the fourth period ended.

Nash wouldn’t say he got fouled on either big play he was involved in.

“In those situations, those are tough calls to make,” he said. “The first one, I slipped. The second was pretty physical. Boris (Diaw) was calling time out. I don’t know. It was a jump ball.

“There were some costly plays down the stretch that didn’t go our way. We did everything we could to win the game. It wasn’t meant to be.”

Phoenix’s Tim Thomas expressed anger concerning the big plays involving Nash.

“We have Nash, the NBA’s MVP last year, and he can’t get a call,” Thomas said, alluding to the play when Parker stole the ball.

“Boris and Steve called timeout, but we did not get the call,” Thomas said of the play leading to the jump ball. “It was the most difficult loss, by far, of my career.”