After being booed off their own floor at halftime and trailing by 27 points to start the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers looked finished.

	Shaquille O'Neal, left, and Kobe Bryant brought the Lakers all the way back against Dallas.

Sure didn't turn out that way in the end. Instead, the Lakers pulled off the second-biggest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA history to stun the Dallas Mavericks 105-103 on Dec. 6. The game will be presented as an Instant Classic on Friday, Dec. 13 at 9 p.m. ET.

Instant Classic
Lakers 105, Mavericks 103
Friday, Dec. 13 at 9 p.m. ET

"We choked, just flat-out choked,'' said Dallas guard Nick Van Exel, whose team was outscored 44-15 in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers rallied from a 27-point deficit at the start of the final period led by Kobe Bryant, who scored 21 of his 27 in the final 12 minutes -- including a turnaround jumper to snap a 103-all tie with eight seconds remaining.

The Lakers shot an amazing 16-of-18 from the field and hit eight of 11 free throws in the fourth.

Bryant's heroics came after he pulled his groin in the third quarter when the Lakers trailed by 30.

	The Mavericks had trouble matching up with Shaquille O'Neal once again.

Trainer Gary Vitti was on his way to tell coach Phil Jackson when Bryant yanked him aside.

"Gary was going to rat me out," Bryant said. "I had to jerk his arm out of the socket and say, 'I'm all right, man. Don't snitch on me. Let me play.'"

Michael Finley missed a 3-pointer with one second remaining for the Mavs, who have lost 24 consecutive games to the Lakers in Los Angeles over the last 12 years.

Shaquille O'Neal added 26 points and 11 rebounds for the three-time NBA champions, whose fourth-quarter comeback was one shy of the NBA record of 28 points by the Milwaukee Bucks against Atlanta on Nov. 25, 1977.