BRYANT HAS PLENTY OF BITE GUARD CHIPS TOOTH, HELPS LAKERS END SKID LAKERS 96, GOLDEN STATE 89.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

The Lakers left their losing streak behind Friday, but not before leaving several minor chunks of their very being on the Staples Center court.

Kobe Bryant lost half a tooth, and Robert Horry got smacked across the jaw and for a while it was difficult to tell where the Lakers would finally land - the cellar or the intensive-care unit.

But the bodily sacrifices were gladly given and, as it turned out, necessary for the Lakers to have any chance of stopping an early-season spiral that had dragged them to unforeseen depths.

The Lakers finally stopped their losing streak at four games, taking a 96-89 overtime victory from the Golden State Warriors. The win, their third in nine games, meant little beyond a minor morale boost for a team that was mentally and physically beaten up.

But it did save them from the ignominy of sliding into last place in the Pacific Division, and for that they were grateful.

``I don't even want to think about it,'' Brian Shaw said. ``Mentally, it might have done some serious damage to us.''

He was able to laugh at the thought, but just a little.

The smiles came harder, and more painfully, for Bryant, who finished with 45 points and four stitches on the inside of his upper lip. The cut, and the chipped tooth, came from a frightening face-to-face collision with Antawn Jamison in the final minute of regulation.

Bryant was able to finish the game, and scored four points in overtime.

He got the stitches afterward, then addressed the media with a swollen mouth and a slight lisp.

``I actually kind of like it, man. I think I should have been a boxer,'' he said. ``I swear to you, I get off on stuff like this, man. It feels good.''

Bryant was 18 for 40 from the field, marking the second time in nine days that he has hit the 40-attempt mark.

Horry, scoreless in the first 45 minutes of the game, was the Lakers' savior in the end. He made a critical layup late in the fourth quarter, then scored the Lakers' first six points in overtime. Horry hit a 3-pointer, followed by a 3-point play, and the Lakers went ahead to stay, 91-87.

He paid a price, however. Jamison's forearm smacked Horry across the jaw as he drove for a fast-break layup. Jamison was charged with a flagrant foul.

The Warriors, with three second-year pros in the starting lineup, often showed their youth. The Lakers, without Shaquille O'Neal for a ninth consecutive game, often showed their desperation.

They blew a 15-point lead in the first half. They took a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, and squandered that, too. So coach Phil Jackson had a hard time getting too enthused about his team's first victory in 12 days.

``I saw them lose a 10-point lead in the last four minutes of the ballgame. That's what I saw,'' Jackson said. ``A team that's as experienced as we are shouldn't do that.''

Samaki Walker finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds and was the only other Laker in double-digit scoring.

Jamison led the Warriors with 25 points, but he and Erick Dampier combined to miss four consecutive free throws in overtime.

Jason Richardson forced the extra period by hitting a game-tying 3- pointer with 4.2 seconds to play - seconds after Gilbert Arenas (Grant High of Van Nuys) missed a 3-pointer from the same side.

The Lakers' opportunity to avoid overtime fell apart when Bryant and Jamison collided on the next inbounds play. Jamison, chasing Rick Fox, ran into Bryant, his forehead hitting Bryant's mouth. Bryant fell to the court as Horry's pass whizzed by him and flew out of bounds.

Jamison suffered a cut on his forehead, but Bryant clearly got the worst of it.

``I felt my tooth in my mouth, then the other tooth shifted all the way back diagonally so it was behind my other tooth,'' he said. ``I got up, I was like, what the hell is the call? I didn't know if we had the ball or what. I just went back to the bench, they popped it back in place and I was ready to go.''

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Photo:

(color) The Lakers' Kobe Bryant drives to the basket during his 45-point outburst Friday as Golden State center Adonal Foyle attempts to block his shot.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

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