BRYANT COMES BACK, HAS LAST WORD IN WIN LAKERS 125, DETROIT 119.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - If it wasn't the residual icky feelings from being sick, it was the ankles. And when it wasn't the ankles, it was Jerry Stackhouse. And when it wasn't Stackhouse, scoring at will, it was the two motor city motor mouths in the second row, ceaselessly nattering away at Kobe Bryant.

All told, a particularly irritating and painful evening. But by the end, a memorable one.

Bryant shook off four days of rust and illness, absorbed Stackhouse's 46 points and an insult to match every point, aggravated both of his sprained ankles and still had enough left to play hero, leading the Lakers to a 125-119 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons at the Palace.

Bryant's 39 points included the game-tying basket that forced overtime and the score that put the Lakers ahead for good in the extra period. It was Bryant's first game in almost a week, but he played 48 minutes and hit 16 of 28 shots.

``That's Kobe,'' Derek Fisher said. ``The things that people question about him or hate about him are the things that you have to love about him. He has that type of ability, he has that type of mental fortitude to push himself through things like tonight. And that's something we're going to need as we continue to build ourselves up for the playoffs and try to defend our crown.''

It would help, too, if they occasionally put away a sub-.500 team without the need for such drama. The Lakers had an early 10-point lead in this one, squandered it by the second quarter and played from behind the rest of the night, then went into overtime for the third time in four games.

Shaquille O'Neal, wrapped in a tapestry of Pistons for most the night - and ``lethargic'' according to coach Phil Jackson - scored 26 points but only nine after halftime. The burden fell to Bryant, illness, injuries and all.

Early on, his shots were flat and Stackhouse was near perfect. The fans became merciless.

So when Bryant hit the 17-footer with 2.3 seconds left in regulation, tying the score at 111-111, he skipped downcourt, arms out, fists clenched, and stared into the second row.

``What I've learned being in the NBA, it's not what you do for the first three quarters that matters. That's what I kept telling them,'' Bryant said. ``They kept talking and talking. I said, `Guys, it's the third quarter, there's a lot of basketball to be played.' ''

Despite landing awkwardly and hurting his ankles, Bryant came up with 16 of the Lakers' 32 fourth-quarter points, while Brian Shaw volunteered to shadow Stackhouse for a while, holding him to nine points.

``That's what team is all about,'' Bryant said. ``If I'm injured and I can't guard the guy, man, I gotta give that up. All that is just support.''

Free to concentrate on offense, Bryant scored eight points in overtime and set up Fisher for a 3-pointer that put the Lakers up 118-113. Stackhouse hit a 3 over Shaw to give the Pistons a 119-118 lead, but then Bryant hit the most magical shot of the night.

Bryant penetrated the Pistons defense, then pulled up for a 10-footer that bounced off the rim, grazed the backboard, bounced off the rim again and then through for a 120-119 lead. He followed with a pair of free throws to seal the game, then autographed a jersey for a courtside Laker fan while Robert Horry shot a couple free throws.

Jackson had wanted to rest Bryant to start the fourth quarter, but Bryant had just hurt his ankles again and didn't want them to stiffen up on the bench.

``He almost got down on his knees,'' Jackson said. ``Not quite, but he almost got down on his knees and begged me to stay in the game, so I left him in the ballgame.''

Fisher, playing just his second game of the season, got the start again and came through for 15 points to help the Lakers win the opener of this five-game road trip. Robert Horry scored 10 off the bench, including a 3-pointer that cut the Pistons' lead to one point with 14.7 seconds left in regulation.

``We played uninspired ball the first three quarters and then the fourth quarter picked it up, and Kobe got a hot hand,'' O'Neal said. ``Luckily, he got hot, because nobody else was really hitting shots.''

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Photo: (color) Lakers forward Robert Horry (5) gets past Detroit's Joe Smith for a dunk Thursday night.

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

Box: GAME RECAP