Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kobe Bryant scored 21 of his 32 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings 98-95 on Tuesday night. Bryant is 31 points away from passing Michael Jordan for third place on the NBAs all-time scoring list. His final two points of the night came after he sunk a pair of free throws with 15.6 seconds left for a 98-95 advantage, and the Kings never got a good look from beyond the arc. They settled for a Nik Stauskas step-through 3- pointer from the top of the arc, which clanked off the front of the rim. Carlos Boozer posted 15 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who had dropped seven of their last nine games coming in. Darren Collison had 26 points and six assists, while Rudy Gay added 23 points for Sacramento, which has lost six of its last eight contests. The Lakers trailed 88-81 with 8:42 left before Wesley Johnson knocked down a left wing triple to cap a 6-0 spurt to get them within 88-87 with 4:34 to go. Bryants trey with 2:16 on the clock tied it at 92-92. A possession later, Bryant threaded the needle with a one-handed pass from the top of the arc which found Jordan Hill inside, and his layup put the Lakers in front, 94-93, with 1:39 to go. Collison drove in from the right wing with a nifty left-handed reverse with 42.9 ticks remaining, but two Bryant free throws with 34.4 to play staked LA to a 96-95 edge. Earlier, the Kings led 29-24 after a quarter of play and headed into the locker room with a 55-46 cushion at the break. Collison nailed a jumper in the waning seconds of the third and Sacramento headed into the fourth with an 81-78 advantage. Game Notes Bryant came in averaging an NBA-best 25.2 points per game despite shooting a career-worst 38.9 percent from the field ... Los Angeles improved to 3-9 at Staples Center this season ... LA netted 21 points off 16 Sacramento turnovers and committed just five giveaways. Hjalte Froholdt Jersey . 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Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees.MINSK, Belarus -- In winning its group at the world hockey championship, Team Canada beat goaltenders Jan Laco, Jakub Kovar, Patrick Galbraith, Daniel Bellissimo, Anders Nilsson and Steffen Soberg. None of them are Finlands Pekka Rinne, who stands as Canadas biggest challenge in Thursdays quarter-final round. Even while a young Finnish team has struggled with penalties, turnovers and a lack of offensive depth, Rinne has been a rock with a 1.65 goals-against average, .929 save percentage and two shutouts. "Pekka is our most important player -- absolutely," coach Erkka Westerlund said Wednesday. "We built our whole system so that goalkeeping is No. 1, and then we try to build the strength (of) defence in front of him. Thats how it is, (how) hockey works." Westerlund said he was not yet satisfied with his teams defensive play but expects improvement. Even if that doesnt happen, Finland has a good chance in Canada if for no other reason than Rinne. Fortunately for the Finns, Rinne is not experiencing any injury problems after missing four months of the Nashville Predators season with a hip infection. Naturally, it took a while for him to get back to feeling right. "Its a process, and I think even when I came here (to Minsk) I thought that hopefully I can improve all the time and I didnt maybe feel 100 per cent," Rinne said. "But now I do, and Im really happy and I feel like my game has been getting better and (Im) just feeling more comfortable." Rinne is playing with confidence and instilling it in his teammates, only six of whom are back from the Sochi Olympics, where Finland won a bronze medal. Tuukka Rask and Kari Lehtonen were the goalies then, but as former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov pointed out, the best thing about his country is knowing there will always be great goaltending. Still, this isnt the Olympics. "Its a different roster, its a different tournament," said Komarov, who repeated his desire to return to the NHL last season. "Its a new day, a new life." But the same, old, reeliable Rinne.dddddddddddd Canadian defenceman Ryan Ellis knows all about that from parts of three seasons as a Predators teammate of Rinnes. Unlike a lot of other goaltenders, Ellis said Rinne doesnt let game action detract from his practices. "Every day, every practice its like a game," Ellis said. "He tries so hard in net in practice. I remember by first couple years there, I dont think I scored him in the first 10 or 15 practices. And then every time I did, I was pretty impressed with myself, pretty happy." Ellis said Canada was less concerned with how they were going to score on Rinne and more worried about his puck-handling thwarting attack time. "Hes active back there with the puck, so I think the biggest thing that were focused on is keeping the pucks away from him on dumps and stuff," Ellis said. "He gets out to play them a lot. Getting them in the glass and try to get them out of his reach." Thats especially important to a Canadian team that tries to play a hard, North American style on the bigger, international ice surface. Canada has succeeded at holding on to the puck to create chances and through seven games has averaged 34 shots a game. The strategy against Rinne is the same as many other elite goaltenders. "Were going to have to get pucks and traffic to the net," Ellis said. "Its tough for goalies when they get that kind of presence in front of him. Weve got some big guys, so hopefully we can get those guys going." Whether that happens or Rinne keeps rolling will go a long way to determining whether Canada has a date with the United States or Czech Republic in Saturdays semifinals. Westerlund said the Finns "dont have pressure (because) we are underdogs." Thats true. But Rinne still displays big-game confidence. "Im feeling good and Ive been enjoying hockey," Rinne said. "I think thats the biggest thing, when youre just having fun and just letting it go. Just dont think about anything, just play, and I feel like Ive been doing that."