Bryant heats up late as Lakers swat Hornets in OT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his game-high 39 points in overtime to propel the Los Angeles Lakers to a 115-111 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Friday.

Lakers veteran guard Derek Fisher forced the extra session when he nailed a game-tying 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining after a furious fourth quarter comeback by the visitors.

Rasual Butler led the way with 31 points for New Orleans, which outscored Los Angeles 32-19 in the final period before the game was taken to OT by Fisher''s three.

Bryant, the NBA''s reigning MVP, shook off 10-for-27 regulation shooting by making all three of his shots in overtime as the NBA-best Lakers (45-10) won their third straight game.

"I wanted to attack, I was missing a lot of easy ones," Bryant told reporters. "It was important for me to take my time and gather myself for shots.

"We did OK tonight, but we still have a lot of room for improvement."

Spaniard Pau Gasol scored 20 points and 12 rebounds while Lamar Odom finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds for Los Angeles.

Hornets All-Star point guard Chris Paul had 21 points and added 16 assists before fouling out with 1:31 left in overtime.

Paul sparked a New Orleans fightback after Los Angeles had led 79-64 late in the third quarter.

The Hornets began the fourth with a 16-6 run and were up 98-95 when forward James Posey made a 3-pointer with just over a minute remaining in the game.

Posey later missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in overtime.

The inconsistent Hornets (32-21) have now lost seven of their last 11 games.

The team is still without the services of center Tyson Chandler (ankle), who rejoined the team on Thursday after a trade that would have sent the 7-footer to the Oklahoma City Thunder was rescinded due to a failed physical.

The Lakers have gone 8-1 since starting center Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury that sidelined him for the last three months of last year''s regular season and playoffs.

"I can''t say that I''m surprised. Last year we played a big chunk of games without him so we''re used to playing without him," Bryant said.

"With that being said we can''t wait to get him back -- we miss his defensive presence in the interior."

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Alastair Himmer)