Lakers avoid 27-point collapse to drop Nets

Nick Young and the Lakers' 3-point shooters couldn't miss early. Paul Pierce couldn't believe he missed at the end.

Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the league's most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead.

Wesley Johnson made the tiebreaking basket when he stole Pierce's pass and dunked with 1:35 left, and the Lakers used their sizzling start to bounce back from a loss in Washington a night earlier and win for the fourth time in five games.

Pau Gasol added 21 points for the Lakers, moving into second place on the NBA's career list for points by a European player.