The Los Angeles Lakers (8-8) blew a 27-point lead but recovered just in time to beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night (Thursday, Manila time).
Lakers reserve Nick Young finished with a season-high 26 pointsas he led the league's most productive bench. Pau Gasol scored 21 points and is now second place on the NBA's career list for points by a European player.
Inaugurating their new black "Hollywood Nights" uniforms and hearing pro-Laker chants from the crowd, the Lakers were able to go ahead 48-21 early in the second quarter. The injury-plagued Nets fought all the way back and whittled the deficit to a 92-tie in the fourth quarter before Wesley Johnson scored the tiebreaker on a steal from Paul Pierce.
Despite having one of the highest payrolls in the NBA, the Nets (4-11) have yet to win consecutive games for the first time this season.