Winning ugly

The Lakers worked overtime to defeat the New Orleans Hornets, 115-111. They didn't play all that well in winning their third straight after the All-Star break. Kobe Bryant scored 39 points, but shot only 13-for-30. Pau Gasol had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Derek Fisher had 14 points, including the 3-pointer that sent the game to OT tied at 98-all.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson opened his postgame remarks by saying, "We made it a lot harder for ourselves, but you have to give Orlando credit." A reporter interrupted Jackson, saying, "Uh, you mean, New Orleans." Jackson then said, "Uh, yeah, the Hornets."

Jackson then was asked if he would classify this as a good win. Jackson paused a moment before answering, "It gives us confidence that we can make mistakes and still come out of it with a win. I hope we learned some things that will help us along the way."

Jackson had this to say about Bryant's confidence despite his poor shooting: "Keep going to the wall and eventually that (stuff) will stick. And it did."