Sixty games through an often difficult season, Kobe Bryant had displayed the occasional heroics, but had yet to hit a game-winning basket.

On the sixty-first game, he delivered.

Bryant?s shot from the top of the key with 0.9 seconds left capped a 21-point fourth quarter explosion, and gave the Lakers a stunning, 117-116 come-from-behind victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

The win gave the Lakers consecutive road victories for the first time all season, after Thursday?s 100-95 win at Dallas. And it kept the Lakers (32-29) tied for the eighth spot in the West with the red-hot Denver Nuggets, winners of eight straight.

But back to Kobe.

All season long, he?s labored under the pressure of expectations. The Lakers had become his team, but too often, they played like no one?s idea of a team. The expected fourth quarter Kobe theatrics- so taken for granted during the Shaq years ? had become unusually sparse recently. Time after time, Bryant would pile up the points for the first three quarters, then be a non-factor in the fourth.

Tonight, he reversed that trend. For three quarters, Bryant had been held in check, hitting only 4 of 12 shots for 11 points. The expansion Bobcats, enjoying their second sellout crowd of the season, led 100-90 halfway through the fourth. Rookie standout Emeka Okafor was on his way to a career high 30 points. The crowd was rocking. Then came the eruption: six straight Bryant baskets, three of them three-pointers ? to lead a Lakers charge that brought them within 110-108.

They were within 116-113 when Bryant drove the lane, found it blocked by a double-team, and kicked it out to Tierre Brown for a corner jumper. Brown shot an airball, which fortunately landed in the arms of Jumaine Jones, whose putback brought the Lakers to within 1. A Charlotte miss gave the Lakers the ball back with 6.8 seconds remaining.

Bobcats guard Keith Bogans had the unenviable task of trying to stop Bryant, who took the ball at midcourt, drove right at Bogans, then pump faked twice. Bogans didn?t foul ? but he didn?t stay on his feet, either. Bryant waited till Bogans landed, then calmly soared above him and sank a 20-footer. A last-second Bobcats shot wasn?t close.

After admonishing reporters earlier in the week for assuming the Lakers would fold on this current six-game road trip, Bryant had to be feeling good. He finished with 32 points, hitting 8 of 12 in the fourth. Four other Lakers scored in double figures, with Chucky Atkins (26 points) providing a potent 1-2 punch with Bryant

After falling out of the playoff race Tuesday night, the Lakers cleared the air with a heart-to-heart meeting on Wednesday, and some magic words must?ve been said. The trip turns tough next week, with back-to-back games at Washington and Philadelphia, and the Kobe-Shaq rematch in Miami on St. Patrick?s Day. Hopefully, Bryant will have saved some fourth quarter magic.