WASHINGTON — Kobe Bryant’s first field-goal attempt, officially, came about 5 minutes into Friday night’s game.

Finding his path blocked on a drive into the lane, Bryant “shot” the ball off the glass right back to himself, then threw a perfect pass to Pau Gasol for a wide-open jumper. Bryant drew louder “oohs” and “aahs” later with a double-pump, two-handed reverse jam off a behind-the-back feed from Trevor Ariza.

Bryant entertained enough to draw “M-V-P!” chants again on the road, but he and his teammates on the best-in-the-West Lakers also nearly found a way to blow a 20-point lead against the worst-in-the-East Wizards before pulling out a 106-104 victory.

“We got a little complacent,” acknowledged Bryant, who finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson’s assessment?

“Poor coaching,” he said. “That’s what it was tonight. Putting too much trust and faith in a younger group — a second unit. They just can’t hold it on the road. They can’t withstand the fury or the intensity of the fourth quarter. I’m going to have to change it up a little bit.”

With Bryant sitting on the sideline to start the final period, Los Angeles allowed Washington to make a game of it. It was quite similar to what happened in a last-second loss to the Indiana Pacers earlier in the week.

But this time, Los Angeles was able to win, improving to 16-2. The Wizards fell to 3-14 for the first time since the 1966-67 season, when they were known as the Baltimore Bullets.

“We could be playing much better,” Bryant said. “Games like this don’t sit right with you.”

After banking in a running 12-foot jumper over Caron Butler with 25 seconds left, Bryant missed the second of two foul shots 10 seconds later, giving the Wizards a chance for the upset. Butler said he tried to get in Bryant’s head before the free throws.

“I was messing with him,” said Butler, Bryant’s teammate for one season in Los Angeles. “I went and walked up to him and said, ‘Man, give me one.’”

Up to then, Bryant was 13-for-13 at the line, but he obliged. Butler dribbled out most of what was left on the clock before launching a 3-point attempt over Ariza shortly before the buzzer.

“It felt real good,” said Butler, who scored 26 points. “I had no intention of driving it. I was going for the win.”

Said Wizards interim coach Ed Tapscott: “I’m not going to say I was praying, but I was praying. And the shot looked good.”

It hit off the front of the rim. The ball bounced toward Washington’s Andray Blatche, whose quick tip-in try missed as time expired.

Tapscott was happy to have All-Star forward and co-captain Butler take the final shot. Tapscott, though, wished Butler had taken it a bit sooner, leaving a little more time on the clock for a putback.

“We shot it 2 seconds too late. ... If he squeezes it off 2 seconds earlier, we might still be playing,” Tapscott said.

Cavaliers 97, Pacers 73

CLEVELAND — Anderson Varejao, with thousands of fans wearing curly, red-headed hair pieces in his honor, didn’t miss a shot and scored 17 points in the first half in Cleveland’s seventh straight victory.

LeBron James had a seven-low 11 points. Unbeaten after 11 home games, Cleveland has won 15 of 16 since starting this season 1-2.

Troy Murphy led Indiana with 15 points.

Magic 98, Thunder 89

ORLANDO, Fla. — Dwight Howard had 21 points and 23 rebounds, and Jameer Nelson added 15 points for Southeast Division-leading Orlando.

Russell Westbrook had 19 points for Oklahoma City, and Kevin Durant had 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder are 2-18.

Jazz 114, Raptors 87

SALT LAKE CITY — Mehmet Okur had 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting in Utah’s victory over Toronto in Jay Triano’s first games as the Raptors’ interim coach.

Paul Millsap added 17 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high seven assists for Utah. Chris Bosh had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Toronto, playing its first game since coach Sam Mitchell was fired Wednesday, a day after a 132-93 loss at Denver.

76ers 96, Pistons 91

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Donyell Marshall’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds left lifted short-handed Philadelphia past Detroit.

Philadelphia was missing scoring leader Elton Brand, who strained his hamstring Wednesday night in a loss to the Lakers. Andre Miller led the 76ers with 18 points, and Marshall finished with eight. Richard Hamilton had 19 for Detroit.

Nets 113,   Timberwolves 84

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Vince Carter scored 18 points, and Yi Jianlian and Devin Harris each added had 16 for New Jersey.

The Nets rebounded from a home loss to Washington on Tuesday night to win for the fourth time in five games. Randy Foye led Minnesota with 20 points.

Grizzlies 93, Clippers 81

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Rudy Gay scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half, and O.J. Mayo had 20 points to help Memphis snap a seven-game losing streak.

Baron Davis led the Clippers with 23 points and eight assists. Los Angeles has lost seven of its last eight games.

Hawks 98, Knicks 95

ATLANTA — Marvin Williams scored 18 points, and Atlanta avoided overtime when New York’s Al Harrington missed a last-second 3-pointer.

Joe Johnson added 17 points for Atlanta, and Josh Smith had 16. Harrington led New York with 27 points.

Rockets 131, Warriors 112

HOUSTON — Yao Ming scored 19 of his season-high 33 points in the fourth quarter and had 14 rebounds and five assists for Houston.

Ron Artest added 28 points. Stephen Jackson scored 26 points for Golden State.

Bucks 101, Bobcats 96

MILWAUKEE — Michael Redd scored 25 points, and Richard Jefferson added 22 for Milwaukee, including two free throws with 9 seconds left.

Jason Richardson scored 20 points for Charlotte.