Kobe Bryant, welcomed by a thunderous roar when he was introduced, played in a game Thursday night for the first time since being charged in July with sexual assault.

Bryant played 32 minutes as he joined Shaquille O'Neal and new Los Angeles Lakers teammates Karl Malone and Gary Payton in a 107-101 exhibition loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Working his way back from knee surgery, Bryant, who started the game and was in and out of the lineup, finished with 15 points.

O'Neal scored 18, Payton 17 and Malone 15 as the Lakers' "Dream Team" featured a well-balanced offense in its first time together. The fifth starter, Devean George, had 14 points.

With O'Neal the only Lakers' regular in the game for much of the fourth quarter, the Clippers, who were led by Corey Maggette's 21 points, pulled out the win at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

There were sporadic chants of "KOBE! KOBE!" when he was on the court. When a close-up of him was shown on the big screen in the second quarter, there were a few scattered boos as well, perhaps by Clippers fans.

With the crowd chanting his name when he got the ball for the second time in the game, Bryant pulled up and made a jumper 1 1/2 minutes after the opening tipoff.

The first time he handled the ball, he tried to drive into the lane and was whistled for a charging foul.

Bryant has been ordered to stand trial in Eagle, Colo., on charges of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old worker at the resort where he was staying. He has said the sex was consensual.

During pregame introductions, Malone and Payton both received loud applause when they trotted out into the spotlight in darkened arena.

Then Bryant came out and the cheering reached a crescendo.

Many fans wore jerseys with Bryant's No. 8 on them.

Although he was very active when he was on the floor, Bryant looked rusty, including one 3-point try that ticked off the front of the rim. But Bryant got the ball back and lobbed a no-look pass to O'Neal, who dunked as the fans cheered loudly.

Bryant looked relaxed, at one point hugging and joking with Quentin Richardson of the Clippers, and also sharing a laugh with Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy near the sideline while a teammate was shooting free throws.

Bryant said before the game that he wasn't nervous.

"No, not at all," he said. "I'm excited to finally get out on the floor and play with those guys. There'll be some kinks that will get worked out.

"It's the same old, same old."

Bryant is coming back from having knee surgery in Colorado, the reason he was in Eagle.

He hadn't played since the three-time defending NBA champion Lakers were eliminated by San Antonio last May.

Bryant lives in Orange County, so the game at the Pond seemed like a home game. His wife, Vanessa, attended.

"I feel comfortable playing here. It's about five minutes from my house," Bryant said.

Coach Phil Jackson, talking to reporters before the game, said of the media attention surrounding Bryant, "We're prepared for a barrage. It think it will be an emotional, energetic game for him."

Jackson added, "We're just touching the tip of the iceberg. We don't know what's under the water."

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