NBA Playoffs | Road win puts Lakers in control

SAN ANTONIO — Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are one win away from returning to the NBA finals.

Bryant had 28 points and 10 rebounds and the Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 93-91 on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

It was the Spurs' first home loss this postseason, and the defending champions face elimination when Game 5 is played in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 29 points and 17 rebounds. Reserve Brent Barry had 23 points and his last-second three-point attempt could have given the Spurs the win. He claimed he was fouled on the play by Derek Fisher but there was no call.

"If I was an official I wouldn't have called that," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

The Lakers led all game after opening a 22-8 lead. The Spurs got within 81-79 in the fourth quarter, but the Lakers scored seven straight points.

Lamar Odom scored 16 points for Los Angeles — eight in the fourth quarter.

Tony Parker added 23 points for the Spurs.

With the Lakers up 93-86 and 50 seconds to play, Pau Gasol missed two free throws after being fouled by San Antonio's Fabricio Oberto.

Manu Ginobili, who had struggled all night, hit a three-pointer to bring the Spurs within four. After a miss by Bryant, Parker scored on a fast break when Odom was called for goaltending, bringing the Spurs within 93-91 with 28 seconds to play.

Fisher missed a shot for Los Angeles but the ball went out of bounds and remained in the Lakers' possession with 2 seconds on the shot clock.

Bryant missed a jumper and the Spurs had 2.1 seconds left. When Barry's three missed, Bryant pumped his fists in the air.

The Lakers last appeared in the finals in 2004 when they lost to Detroit in five games.

The Lakers were up 77-70 heading into the fourth quarter. Barry's three-pointer brought the Spurs within 77-75 and his running jumper got them to 79-77.

Odom's layup balanced on the rim before falling in, and he hit a free throw for the three-point play to start a 7-0 run. Bryant stole the ball for a slam to put the Lakers up 88-79 with 3:29 to play.

Los Angeles came out with energy and took advantage of sloppy play by the Spurs to lead by as many as 14 points in the first quarter.

The Lakers dominated the offensive glass, racking up 20 second-chance points in the first half off their 17 offensive rebounds.