Kobe Bryant went from having a slow night because of a sore back to nailing the go-ahead jumper with 28 seconds left, lifting the Los Angeles Lakers to a 100-95 win over the Mavericks last night in Dallas in a matchup of the top two teams in the Western Conference.
Bryant had only 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting, but Andrew Bynum had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Lamar Odom had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Ron Artest had 16 points and 11 rebounds to help the Lakers end a three-game road losing streak.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points for the Mavericks to become the 34th player in NBA history with 20,000. Jason Kidd added 11 points and 11 assists.
Rockets 120, Timberwolves 114 - Aaron Brooks scored 43 points, while Trevor Ariza added 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead host Houston past Minnesota in three overtimes.
Al Jefferson [stats] had 26 points and 26 rebounds in a losing cause, while Ryan Gomes came off the bench to post 18 points and eight rebounds.
Minnesota’s Corey Brewer hit a 50-foot shot at the regulation buzzer to force overtime, then both teams went scoreless for the final 1:24 of the first OT to lead to the second one. Wayne Ellington forced the third OT with a 3-pointer with eight seconds left.
Hawks 94, Wizards 82 - Joe Johnson scored 24 points, Jamal Crawford added 22 and host Atlanta won its third straight by beating Washington.
Despite 25 points from Antawn Jamison, the Wizards lost their third straight and seventh of nine.
Pacers 122, Suns 114 - Danny Granger scored 33 points, Mike Dunleavy added a season-high 30 and Indiana overcame a 24-point deficit to beat Phoenix in Indianapolis.
Earl Watson added 14 points and nine assists for the Pacers, who won their fourth straight home game. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 21 points. Steve Nash had 20 points and nine assists, despite missing more than a quarter with a busted lip that required seven stitches.
Hornets 108, Clippers 94 - Chris Paul had 15 points and 15 assists as host New Orleans won for the seventh time in eight games by beating Los Angeles.
The bigger loss for the Clippers came off the court as the club announced top draft pick Blake Griffin, who had yet to play in the regular season, now needs season-ending surgery on his broken left kneecap.
Spurs 109, Thunder 108 - Rookie DeJuan Blair set new career highs with 28 points and 21 rebounds while filling in for Tim Duncan, and Richard Jefferson hit the game-winning jumper in overtime to lift San Antonio over host Oklahoma City.
Knicks 93, 76ers 92 - David Lee scored 24 points and hit the game-winning layup with 13.3 seconds remaining, one day after the death of his grandfather, and New York salvaged the finale of a three-game trip with a win at Philadelphia.
Nuggets 115, Magic 97 - Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points and Chauncey Billups added 24 to lead host Denver over Orlando.
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