LAKERS SEE ARENAS GO FROM 0 TO 60 GRANT HIGH PRODUCT SCORES 60 POINTS TO LIFT WIZARDS OVER L.A. WASHINGTON 147, LAKERS 141 (OT).

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

For a player who wears No. 0 to signify the minutes that critics once said he would play in college at Arizona, Gilbert Arenas forever will be associated with 60 whenever he comes back to his native Los Angeles.

Playing in front of 75 friends and family members just 15 miles from where he starred in high school at Grant High of Van Nuys, Arenas owned the stage Sunday night like few players ever in NBA history.

When the final horn sounded, Arenas turned to the Staples Center crowd and took two bows, having scored a franchise-record 60 points, 16 in the five-minute overtime, as the Washington Wizards beat the Lakers 147-141.

He joked about the game being a ``Christmas present to myself'' and described it as a dream come true. He talked about coming home next summer ``with my chest out high'' and said the most important thing was getting the win.

``I just wanted to go out there and play my game,'' Arenas said. ``I've been on a roll the last two weeks, the team has been on a roll. So I just wanted to go out there with the mentality of just keep attacking and anything can happen.

``I found the rhythm, especially in overtime and in that fourth (quarter), and I never looked back.''

Arenas joined Wilt Chamberlain 40years later as the only players ever to score 60 points against the Lakers. He broke Earl Monroe's old franchise record of 56 points for the Baltimore Bullets in a Feb. 13, 1968 game against the Lakers. Chamberlain, who played for the Warriors in Philadelphia and San Francisco and then for the 76ers before joining the Lakers, scored 60or more points against them multiple times, the last a 65-point outing in 1966.

Arenas finished 17-of-32 from the field, 5-of-12 from 3-point range, and went 21-of-27 from the foul line in 49 minutes. It came on a night in which Kobe Bryant scored 45points for the Lakers and made the first seven 3-pointers he took.

It was only last season at the All-Star game that Arenas talked about being the first person to have a DVD of Bryant's 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors. He called the Wizards video coordinator in the middle of the night and asked for a copy.

On another Sunday at Staples Center, Arenas delivered a performance not seen in the NBA since Bryant's immortal night.

There was no shortage of highlight plays for Arenas, even as the Lakers came back from 12 points down in the last threeminutes of regulation. The end of the fourth quarter, though, could not have gone much worse for Arenas.

Brian Cook sidestepped him to bury a 3-pointer as the Lakers tied the score at 126-126 with 5.7 seconds remaining. The Wizards had a shot to win in regulation but Arenas couldn't connect on a turnaround over Bryant.

Arenas missed 3 of 6 free throws early in overtime, when every point counted for Washington. But he didn't hesitate in pulling up for a quick 3-pointer that took the Wizards from a point behind to ahead 132-130.

``It's funny, he doesn't really seem to have much of a conscience,'' Bryant said. ``I really don't think he does. Some of the shots that he took tonight, if you miss those, they're just terrible shots. If you make them, then they're unbelievable shots.''

The Lakers went in front 135-134 on Sasha Vujacic's 3-pointer with 2:14 left, but Arenas answered with a layup. After Luke Walton missed at the other end, Arenas executed the perfect back-door cut to beat Bryant, taking a pass from Caron Butler and scoring. He was fouled and converted a three-point play to put the Wizards ahead for good 139-135. Arenas went on to make another 3-pointer and make his final twofree throws of the night to reach 60.

Arenas' 16 points in overtime were the most in NBA history, eclipsing Denver guard Earl Boykins' old record of 15. The only player ever to score more points in a game at Staples Center is Bryant, who had games of 81 and 62 last season.

``You just tip your hat,'' Bryant said, ``and say, `See you next time.'''

Bryant played the last four minutes of overtime with his fifth foul.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson decided ``it was the best matchup out there so I let him have his way. We thought that nobody else had really stepped in and found a way to defend him at all.''

The Wizards turned Bryant into a passer by committing two and three defenders to stopping him late.

The Lakers took a franchise-record 443-pointers and made 19. Bryant still made 15 of 24 shots, 7 of 11 3-pointers and had 10 assists and eight rebounds.

As is his trademark, Arenas gave his jersey away to a fan after the game. This time, it was a former high school teammate. His father, Gilbert Sr., also was in attendance and had no doubt which play was the most memorable.

It happened with 4:15 left in the fourth quarter. Brendan Haywood got caught in the air and threw a bail-out pass to Arenas curling around a screen. Without hesitating, Arenas caught the ball and drilled a 20-footer, drawing a foul from Bryant for a three-point play. The Wizards went up 114-104 and Arenas Sr. had a flashback.

``I thought that was the big shot,'' Arenas Sr. said. ``It was on one of his idols. He and Kobe played pick-up ball one time at Venice Beach and Kobe kind of laid the wood to him when Gilbert was in high school.''

Arenas' previous career-high was 47points against Miami on Dec. 30, 2005.

``Truthfully, it was bound to happen,'' Arenas said. ``I'm a scorer, I was going to have one of those games where I was clicking.''

Associated Press contributed

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Kobe Bryant gets past Washington's DeShawn Stevenson, left, and Brendan Haywood. Bryant was overshadowed by Gilbert Arenas, who had 60 points.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer