(Best E Casino) - The San Antonio Spurs try to bounce back against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at the Staples Center in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

In the opener, superstar Kobe Bryant exploded for 25 of his 27 points in the second half, and the top-seeded Lakers erased a 20-point third-quarter deficit to stun the defending world champion and third-seeded Spurs, 89-85, in Los Angeles.

The MVP strapped the Lakers to his back with his 14-point fourth quarter, and his pull-up jumper with 23.9 seconds left broke an 85-85 tie. Manu Ginobili missed a three at the other end, and Sasha Vujacic's free throws with 7.3 seconds left sealed the win for the Lakers.

Pau Gasol scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Lakers, who have won nine of 11 in the postseason.

Tim Duncan scored 30 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Spurs, who led 65-45 with less than six minutes left in the third quarter. Tony Parker had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who were outscored 24-13 in the fourth quarter.

Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, who is an incredible 188-79 in the postseason, is a perfect 40-0 when his teams win the first game of a playoff series.

The Lakers have won two straight and four of their last five Game 2s in the playoffs, while San Antonio is 4-3 in its last seven Game 2s.

Game 3 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Sunday at the AT&T Center.

This is the 11th time these teams have met in the postseason. San Antonio is 3-7 versus the Lakers in the playoffs. The Spurs defeated LA in the 1995, 1999 and 2003 semifinals.

The Lakers knocked off San Antonio in the first round of the 1986 and 1988 postseason, 1982, 1983, 2002, 2004 semis and the 2001 West finals.

The Spurs, who swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year's NBA Finals, have captured four world championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007) in the last nine years. They are 4-5 in conference finals since joining the NBA in the 1976-77 campaign.

San Antonio is 6-0 at home and 2-5 on the road in this year's playoffs. The Spurs defeated the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns in five contests in round one and survived a seven-game series with No. 2 New Orleans in the semis.

The Lakers, who captured the Pacific Division crown during the regular season, had no problem winning the opening round of the playoffs. They swept Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and the eighth-seeded Nuggets, 4-0. In the semis, Los Angeles needed six games to eliminate Carlos Boozer and the fourth-seeded Utah Jazz.

The Lakers have returned to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2004. They defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in six games, 4-2, that year. LA has won this round four straight times.

The last time the Lakers lost in the conference finals was in 1998, as they were swept, 4-0, by the Jazz.

LA is 6-0 at home and 3-2 on the road in the 2008 playoffs.