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Final Score: LA Lakers 93 - San Antonio 91

San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant carried the Lakers on his back once again, scoring 28 points with 10 rebounds to place Los Angeles within one victory of the NBA Finals after a 93-91 victory over defending NBA-champion San Antonio in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals at the AT&T Center.

Los Angeles leads the best-of-seven series, 3-1, with Game 5 set for Thursday night at the Staples Center. Lamar Odom posted 16 points and nine rebounds and fellow frontcourt mate Pau Gasol added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"It's a big step for us," Bryant said. "Game 3 was an opportunity for us to learn in terms of how hard we need to play, speed we need to play with. Tonight we came out and did a much better job to win in this building."

The Spurs have a giant task ahead of them on Thursday. The Lakers are 7-0 as the host in the postseason and have a 13-game homecourt winning streak, last losing at the Staples Center March 28 to Memphis.

"It's very important that we play a similar type of game that we played tonight with the kind of energy that we had," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of the upcoming Game 5.

The Lakers took a commanding series lead and snapped San Antonio's 13-game playoff home winning streak in the process. Vladimir Radmanovic contributed 11 points in victory.

Tim Duncan collected another playoff double-double with 29 points and 17 rebounds and Tony Parker and Brent Barry added 23 points apiece. Manu Ginobili, one game after going off for a game-best 30 points, scored just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting.

San Antonio showed its mettle early in the fourth stanza, scoring the first five points of the period to draw within 77-75. Bryant returned to the floor and made an immediate impact with a step-back three.

Again, the Spurs whittled the deficit to two points at 81-79 and missed several chances for the tie. A fatigued group looked the part over the next several minutes, as the Lakers took control with a 7-0 stretch.

Barry buried a three out of a timeout, but veteran Derek Fisher's high floater with the shot clock winding down posted the Lakers to a 90-82 lead. Duncan converted from in close on the other end, but Odom attacked the basket and was fouled with 1:51 on the clock.

The southpaw made 1-of-2, but Barry's errant pass for Parker off the miss gave the ball back to Los Angeles. Parker cut the deficit to 91-86 with a running layup, and his club played tough defense on the other end. Bryant missed a hanging runner going left, but Odom grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He made both for a 93-86 advantage with 56.5 seconds to go.

After Gasol missed a pair of free throws, Ginobili made a straight-legged three from the top of the circle with 42.1 ticks left. Bryant raced to the other end, but missed the layup and wasn't fouled. The Spurs rushed back and Odom goaltended Parker's layup attempt with 28.1 seconds remaining.

Fisher's airball was kicked off Robert Horry's leg with two seconds on the shot clock and 5.6 seconds on the game clock. Bryant missed a desperation heave, and the Spurs called timeout.

Barry, after he was possibly bumped near the top of the circle, misfired on a three-pointer as time expired.

"If I was the official I wouldn't have called that a foul," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Fisher making contact with Barry.

The Lakers came out sizzling in the early stages of the first quarter. Bryant's first points -- a mid-range jumper from the wing -- gave the Lakers a 10-4 edge, and Radmanovic triggered an 8-0 stretch with a jumper. Bryant's bucket capped the stretch for a 22-8 lead.

San Antonio clawed its way back into the game over the remainder of the period. Duncan's jumper nearing the end of the quarter cut the deficit to 28-23.

The Lakers again built up a double-digit advantage at 41-31 on Jordan Farmar's jumper, but a 12-2 burst capped by Parker's three-point play tied the game at 43-43.

Los Angeles held a 53-47 lead after 24 minutes of action.

The Spurs kept coming in the third, drawing within 71-70 on a pair of Ginobili free throws. Bryant's dunk and Sasha Vujacic's four-point play capped the quarter for a 77-70 edge, once again giving the Lakers a little breathing room.