LOS ANGELES - Kobe Bryant picked up his dribble with two hands and soared to the hoop, looking more like the cocky teenager who used to wear a No. 8 Lakers jersey than the weary veteran with five rings and perpetually gimpy ankles.
When Bryant moved the ball to his right hand and maliciously jammed it over Emeka Okafor, he electrified the Staples Center crowd and created a wave of momentum that Los Angeles rode all the way to the brink of the second round.
Bryant scored 19 points and threw down two stirring dunks on a sprained left ankle, and the Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 106-90 in Game 5 Tuesday night for a 3-2 series lead.
"He's an incredible athlete, so that injury isn't going to stop him," said Ron Artest, who scored 11 points. "He was ready to go, and that got us going."
Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Pau Gasol added 16 points as the two-time defending NBA champs roared back from a slow start with another dramatic playoff performance by Bryant, who injured his ankle in Game 4.
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"That's what he does," said Monty Williams, the Hornets' frustrated coach. "All this talk about his ankle. Did it look like his ankle was hurting? OK, then."
Game 6 will be Thursday in New Orleans.
Bryant left New Orleans on crutches two days earlier, but he refused an MRI exam and extensive treatment when he got home, with coach Phil Jackson reluctantly agreeing.
Postseason injuries are nothing new for the two-time NBA Finals MVP, who has persevered through a slew of them during 67 playoff games in the previous three years.
After a slow start, Bryant erased any worries about his fitness late in the second quarter with that poster-ready dunk over Okafor.
He added another slam with his left hand in the third quarter as Los Angeles jumped to an 11-point lead, and he headed back to the locker room early to get more treatment when he came out for good in the final minutes.
"He came back in the second (quarter) strong as ever," Jackson said, recalling Bryant's foul on a three-point continuation play awarded to Trevor Ariza right before Kobe's dunk. "After a misplay ... he was able to get it going and get the crowd going. It seemed to spark him."
Ariza scored 22 points, Marco Belinelli added 21, and Chris Paul had 20 points and 12 assists for the seventh-seeded Hornets, who have lost three of four since their stunning Game 1 victory. Ariza hit five three-pointers but managed just six points in the second half as the Lakers took control of the game.
Los Angeles also forced 19 turnovers by the Hornets, who were outscored 22-2 in second-chance points - after dominating that effort-based statistic in Game 4.
While Bryant took the emotional lead, the Lakers got another outstanding low-post game from Bynum, who moved exceptionally well on his own sore knee.
Gasol also returned to nearly normal after an awful start to the series, while Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom added 13 points apiece.
Today
• 76ers at Heat: 4 p.m. on TNT; Heat leads series 3-1
• Grizzlies at Spurs: 5:30 p.m. on NBA TV; Grizzlies lead series 3-1
• Nuggets at Thunder: 6:30 p.m. on TNT; Thunder leads series 3-1.
