BRYANT HOT WITH A COLD SCORES 42 IN LAKERS WIN OVER G.S. LAKERS 106, WARRIORS 94.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

OAKLAND - Whether or not there can be such a thing as a must-win game early in March, the Lakers had to have a victory Saturday night over the Golden State Warriors - one that came easier than they might have expected.

They said goodbye to the soft part of their schedule with a 106-94 win at The Arena in Oakland on a night when Kobe Bryant took matters into his own hands, even if he was not at full strength.

Bryant shuffled through the locker room before the game, his head clouded by a sinus infection, then played 42 minutes and scored 42 points to lead his team. He went 11 of 29 from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers.

Bryant scored every point for the Lakers for five minutes down the stretch and recorded his 16th 40-point game of the season.

Bryant also hit a jumper coming across the lane with 1:03 left in the first quarter to become the youngest player in NBA history to score 16,000 points. Bryant reached the milestone four days younger than Wilt Chamberlain.

The Warriors cut the Lakers' lead to 95-85 with 5 1/2 minutes to play, finally making things interesting. But Bryant answered with a tough turnaround jumper over Derek Fisher from the right side.

It was a game where Bryant was required to do all the heavy lifting. Chris Mihm missed two free throws with 4:30 left and Luke Walton couldn't get two shots to drop. Golden State made it 97-88 on a Baron Davis 3-pointer with 3:05 remaining.

But Bryant came up with the shot of the night, posting up Jason Richardson and freeing himself just enough to drill a 19-footer drifting toward the baseline. That put the Lakers back in control for good and ahead 101-90.

With a game tonight against Detroit at Staples Center and two against San Antonio next week, the Lakers could not afford a loss Friday, especially after giving away a game at Portland in the opener of this two-game trip.

The Lakers (30-29) were facing the possibility of falling below .500 for the first time since Jan. 3 with a loss and of letting Sacramento and Utah creep with a half-game of the eighth and final playoff spot.

Both the Kings and Jazz won Friday night and remain 1 1/2 games behind the Lakers.

The Warriors took 32 3-pointers for the game and put up little fight at the start of the third quarter. On one play, Smush Parker had to save the ball from going out of bounds with a desperation shot from the wrong side of the backboard.

He missed everything but Mihm collected the ball with ease and passed to Bryant, who gave it back to Parker for a 3-pointer. The Warriors called timeout, then gave up an offensive rebound basket to Odom out of it.

The Lakers led 88-70 after three quarters but Bryant sat for barely two minutes at the start of the fourth. It was indicative of just how much the Lakers had to have Friday's game.

Parker was ejected with 9:44 left after he was assessed his second technical and the Warriors briefly came to life.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he would watch Bryant's minutes, then played him the first 18 minutes to start the first half. Bryant was blinking his eyes and blowing his nose into his jersey on the court, trying to clear his clouded head.

Bryant hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter, then connected on a third over Mickael Pietrus to start the second half.

The Lakers opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run, which started with Devean George twice blocking Ike Diogu on one sequence and ended with Luke Walton spinning for a basket as the Warriors waited for him to get Bryant the ball.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

(color) The Lakers' Kobe Bryant, right, drives against Golden State's Ike Diogu during Friday's game.

Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images

Box:

(1) STORY LINES

(2) LAKERS vs. DETROIT