Lakers 108, Heat 107

Somehow, some way, the Lakers pulled out a victory tonight over the Miami Heat at Staples Center. Kobe Bryant’s 3-pointer off the glass at the buzzer lifted the Lakers to their eighth consecutive victory, their longest winning streak since February 2008. Bryant scored 33 points, and the last three were memorable for all sorts of reasons. First and foremost, it won the game for the Lakers. Second, it went in off the glass. Third, he took it off his left foot. The right one is the right one for a right-handed shooter like Bryant. Fourth, it was all set up when Miami’s Dwyane Wade missed one of two free throws at the other end.

“When I released the ball, I thought, ‘No effing way,'” Bryant said. “I didn’t think the ball was going in. It felt good, but I didn’t think I was going to make that shot. … I liked my chances if I had squared up. I wanted to, but I slipped, I was doubled and all I could do what shoot a runner. Like I said, it felt good. I just couldn’t believe that this ball might go in on that b.s. shot.”