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Bryant poured in 30 of his NBA season-high 52 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, carrying the Lakers to a thrilling 108-104 home court victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

 "Kobe was feeling it and wasn't going to let us lose." Lakers teammate Jordan Farmar said. "All we had to do is get stops on defence and he did the rest."

   Bryant made 15-of-27 field goals with a pair of triples and 20-of-27 from the free throw line to eclipse the 50-point barrier for the 22nd time in his career.

 "I just got hot and it just kept coming to me," he said.

 Spaniard Pau Gasol had 17 points with 14 rebounds for the Lakers (42-18) who bounced back after having their season-high 10-game winning streak stopped by Portland on Friday night.

 "Kobe did an excellent job of stepping up at the right time and we got away with a big win," Gasol said.

 Reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas (39-21) with 30 points, including eight in overtime and grabbed 13 rebounds. Jason Terry tallied 18 points, Erick Dampier had 16 with 17 boards.

 "We were right there, but 'right there' in this league doesn't get you anywhere," Nowitzki said. "Hopefully we can keep working, keep improving, so we can win these big games on the road."

   Bryant scored the Lakers' final 14 points in regulation, including two free throws with six seconds left for a 93-90 edge. However, Nowitzki nailed a three-pointer with two seconds left to force the overtime.

 Bryant had six points in the opening minutes of the extra session to put the Lakers up 104-98. After Nowitzki's final two throws brought the Mavs within 104-102, Gasol made a free throw, but  fouled Jason Kidd (15 points and 11 assists) on a driving layup at the other end. However, he missed the free throw, that would have tied the game at 105 with 10 ticks left.

 Bryant grabbed the rebound and hit two free throws to make it a three-point game. Following a timeout, Nowitzki launched a three-pointer with seven seconds left that would have sent the game into a second overtime. But it failed to hit the rim and Lamar Odom made one free throw to seal the Lakers' win.

 Elsewhere:    Houston Rockets 103, Denver Nuggets 89    Tracy McGrady scored 22 points, Shane Battier had a season-high 20 and the Rockets extended the NBA's longest winning streak of the season with their franchise record-tying 15th straight victory.

 Argentine rookie Luis Scola added 18 points with a career-best 14 rebounds for the Rockets (39-20) who won their third in a row since losing Chinese superstar Yao Ming for the rest of the season to a stress fracture in his left foot last week.

 Carmelo Anthony led visiting Denver (35-24) with 19 points and Allen Iverson added 17.

 Cleveland Cavaliers 95, Chicago Bulls 86    LeBron James scored 37 points and the Cavaliers used a late 12-3 run to pull away from the visiting Bulls.

 Larry Hughes led the Bulls with 23 points while Drew Gooden had 11 and 10 rebounds in the first meeting against their former team following a blockbuster three-team trade on February 21.

 San Antonio Spurs 93, New Jersey Nets 83    Frenchman Tony Parker scored 25 points, Argentine Manu Ginobili had 17, and the visiting defending champion Spurs rolled to their season-high ninth straight victory.

 Washington Wizards 101, New Orleans Hornets 84    Antawn Jamison had 28 points and the Wizards went on a late 19-0 run to surprise the visiting Hornets for the second time in a week.

 Boston Celtics 98, Atlanta Hawks 88    Paul Pierce scored 30 points, Kevin Garnett had 20 points with 16 rebounds, carrying the league-best Celtics (46-12) to their fifth straight victory.

 Indiana Pacers 128, Milwaukee Bucks 106    Mike Dunleavy matched his career high with 36 points, Danny Granger had 27 and the Pacers beat the visiting Bucks, who lost Chinese rookie forward Yi Jianlian to a left ankle sprain early in the fourth period.

 Charlotte Bobcats 110, Toronto Raptors 98    Jason Richardson scored 30 points and the host Bobcats capitalized on the absence of injured All-Star Chris Bosh (sore right knee) to snap a five-game slide.

 Seattle SuperSonics 1110, Minnesota Timberwolves 108 (OT)    Kevin Durant scored 25 points while Chris Wilcox had 18 with 15 rebounds, and the visiting Sonics stopped a four-game slide.

 Al Jefferson led Minnesota (12-46) with 30 points and 12 rebounds.

 Sacramento Kings 120, Miami Heat 109    Ron Artest had 32 points, Kevin Martin added 29 and the host Kings outscored the league-worst Heat, 71-40 after intermission to overcome a 21-point deficit.

 Golden State Warriors 110, Portland Trail Blazers 104    Stephen Jackson scored 29 points, Monta Ellis had 22 and the Warriors beat the visiting Blazers for the first time in three meetings this season.

 Brandon Roy paced Portland (31-29) with 26 points.

By Paul Levine, dpa