ORLANDO, Fla. -- Dennis Rodman returned to the Los Angeles Lakers, but not even the carnival atmosphere that accompanied him could overshadow Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O'Neal.
Bryant scored 33 of his career-high 38 points in the second half and O'Neal had 31 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers overcame a 24-point deficit Sunday to beat the Orlando Magic 115-104.Rodman returned to the Lakers for the nationally televised game after being away from the team for eight days for unspecified personal reasons.
But it was Bryant, O'Neal and Derek Harper who keyed the big comeback.
Los Angeles shot a season-best 60 percent, including 15 of 18 ( 83 percent) in the fourth quarter, and with Rodman's help, held Orlando to 41 points in the second half to stop a two-game losing streak.
"People forget we went on a 10-game winning streak. We just dropped the last two," Bryant said. "We have been doing the right things for quite some time."
"They are what they are, a traveling All-Star team," Magic coach Chuck Daly said. "Shaquille O'Neal is an all-star of all-stars. Kobe Bryant, we probably saw his coming out party. We all know how good he is going to be."
Bryant made 13 of 16 shots after halftime, O'Neal made all six of his attempts from the field to finish 14 of 19 and Harper made five 3-pointers en route to a season-high 20 points.
What impressed Lakers coach Kurt Rambis, though, was a dramatic change defensively after allowing 63 points in the opening half.
"I just could not believe the turnaround ... all the adjustments we made, the intensity, the guys helping each other," the coach said. "It was beautiful to watch how they worked so well together."
The Lakers, who had lost three of four on a six-game road trip that concludes Monday night at Dallas, improved to 10-0 in games in which Rodman has played.
Daly, who coached Rodman in Detroit when the Pistons won two NBA titles, said the seven-time rebounding champion was a bigger factor in the game than the stat sheet would indicate.
"He does some things defensively that help them a great deal and is one of reasons that with him they would big a favorite (in the playoffs)," the Orlando coach said.
Rookie reserve Michael Doleac scored a career-high 25 points for Orlando. Penny Hardaway had 22 points and 13 assists, and Darrell Armstrong contributed 17 points and 11 assists off the bench.
Rodman entered the game for the first time late in the opening quarter and finished with four points and six rebounds in 23 minutes. He drew a technical early in the fourth period for throwing an elbow at Matt Harpring, even though it missed the Orlando rookie.
"I'm back ... I'm here to stay," said Rodman, insisting his absence was unrelated to gambling, drinking or marital problems.
"I had to get away. I didn't know if I wanted to play basketball. People have to understand that this is me. Just let me do what I've got to do and everything will be all right."
CLIPPERS 100, TIMBERWOLVES 85: At Minneapolis, the Los Angeles Clippers won on the road for the first time this season, getting a season-high 22 points from Darrick Martin and 47 points from their reserves.
The Clippers (2-22), the worst defensive team in the league, permitted their fewest points of the season and reached 100 for just the fourth time. The 15-point loss was the Wolves' biggest this year.
Rookie Michael Olowakandi had a career-high 16 rebounds as Los Angeles outrebounded the Wolves 51-38. Minnesota entered the game leading the NBA in offensive rebounds with nearly 17 a game, but had only 10 Sunday.
RAPTORS 85, KNICKS 81 (OT): At Toronto, Vince Carter had 23 points and grabbed a key offensive rebound in overtime -- just as Toronto had done all day -- as the Raptors won a franchise record fifth straight game.
Former Knick Charles Oakley, who did not score in regulation, made a jumper in overtime to put the Raptors up by five and added a pair of free throws with 7.6 seconds left following Carter's offensive rebound to put the game out of reach.
Oakley finished 12 boards as Toronto outrebounded New York 65-44, including 31-10 on the offensive glass. As for Toronto's three other ex-Knicks, John Thomas had 13 points, Doug Christie had 12 points and 10 rebounds and John Wallace added 12 points off the bench.
Patrick Ewing led the Knicks with 21 points and 15 rebounds, including 12 defensive boards, and five bloked shots. Allan Houston had 17 points, while Chris Childs had 12 off the bench.
CAVALIERS 88, NETS 85: At Cleveland, Shawn Kemp made a key steal in the final seconds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the New Jersey Nets.
Cleveland, coming off its worst loss of the season, 113-83 at Washington on Saturday night, could not put away the lowly Nets until the final seconds.
Stephon Marbury scored eight of New Jersey's 10 points in a 10-3 run that pulled the Nets to 86-85 with 1:16 to play.