(Reuters) – Kobe Bryant moved past Shaquille O’Neal to become the NBA’s fifth highest scorer on Monday but it was a bitter-sweet moment for the Los Angeles guard as the Lakers lost 95-90 to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Bryant finished with 28 points to reach a career total of 28,601, moving past O’Neal’s 28,596. The all-time leader in points scored is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 38,387.
Philadelphia trailed 86-79 with four and a half minutes to go when Lou Williams sparked a 14-2 run to send the Wells Fargo Center crowd into a frenzy.
“He’s our closer,” team mate Spencer Hawes told reporters. “When he comes in at the end, he has the ability to make plays.”
Williams scored 10 of his team-high 24 points during the spurt, including seven straight, to give the Atlantic Division-leading 76ers (18-7) their sixth win in seven games.
Los Angeles (14-11) lost their second in a row as they reached the halfway point of a six-game road trip. The Lakers are just 3-9 away from home this season.
Lakers’ Andrew Bynum had 20 points and 20 rebounds.
Bryant roared out to a fast start by netting 24 first-half points, but Philadelphia quickly began double-teaming the All Star to derail his night. Bryant would make just 2 of his final 14 shots and was unable to stop the Los Angeles slide in the fourth.
“They came after him. To Kobe’s credit, what he tried to do was get everybody involved,” said Lakers assistant coach John Kuester, who filled in as head coach in the absence of the suspended Mike Brown.
Brown was serving a one-game ban for making contact with an official while arguing a call in the Lakers’ loss to Utah on Saturday.
Philadelphia were without forward Elton Brand who missed a second straight game with a sprained thumb but they managed to stay close to Los Angeles.
The 76ers trailed by four at halftime before pulling ahead 70-69 after three quarters.
Jrue Holiday added 13 points and Andre Iguodala had 12 for the home team.
