They say one measure of a great team is the ability to win games it shouldn't.  If that's indeed true, the 117-105 win L.A. picked up Tuesday night in Sacramento makes them, because anyone who watched the first 40+ minutes would agree the Lakers looked pretty ugly.  The defense in particular was awful, giving the Kings so many free and easy trips to the basket it seemed like they had a police escort.  But while the Lakers still had some issues from the perimeter and the bench wasn't providing much, L.A. still managed to stick around and stay within striking distance about halfway through the fourth.  Good thing, too, since that's when the fun started.  Kobe related fun, really.  17 of his 34 came in the final quarter- the final 6:42 of the final quarter-  as the purple and gold quickly erased an eight point Sacramento's lead.  On the other end, the Lakers tightened up the D, getting key stops over a four minute stretch and allowing the comeback to gain some traction. 

The performance was enough to get L.A. the W, and for Kobe to hear "MVP" chants from a heretofore hostile Sacramento crowd (or, if you prefer, a Sacramento crowd that used to sell tix so fast, Lakers fans couldn't get in the building- either way, it was certainly unexpected).  Of course, a quick check of the box shows Kobe wasn't alone.  31/10/4 for Pau Gasol, 19/12/3 from L.O., and 17 points from D. Fish- including a very welcome 4-7 from downtown- also made a difference.