Bryant, Gasol help Lakers top Spurs in mismatch

Kobe Bryant sat back and enjoyed the final minutes of the Los Angeles Lakers' latest laugher from the bench.

Bryant scored 22 points before sitting out the fourth quarter, Pau Gasol added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, and the Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 99-85 in a meeting of the Western Conference's best teams that turned out to be a mismatch.

"We had a couple of lapses that turned right into points and gave them a lead that we couldn't get back from," Spurs forward Tim Duncan said.

The Lakers expect a lot more lopsided victories with backup point guard Jordan Farmar — yes, really — back in the mix.

Farmar returned after missing 18 games because of an injured left knee and scored 14 points as the Lakers won their fourth straight and 14th in 17 games.

"We missed him a lot. He makes our second unit go, he's the motor," Bryant said of Farmar, who shot 5-of-7 including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. "Now that he's back, everybody falls into their natural positions and we are back clicking on all cylinders."

In other NBA games Sunday, it was: Boston 124, Dallas 100; Phoenix 104, Atlanta 99; Toronto 113, Sacramento 97; Houston 108, Detroit 105; Minnesota 109, Chicago 108 in overtime; Indiana 98, Charlotte 93; Denver 117, Utah 97; and Golden State 107, the Los Angeles Clippers 92.

In Los Angeles, the Lakers improved to 35-8. The defending champion Boston Celtics (37-9) lead them by a half-game in the overall standings.

Farmar wasn't expected to play until Tuesday night against Charlotte or during the Lakers' upcoming five-game road trip that begins Friday night in Minnesota.

"I've been feeling better for about a week now," he said. "I still had to go through a process to make sure I was OK. No pain, no swelling — it felt normal.

Trevor Ariza scored 17 points to match his season high and Andrew Bynum had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers. Gasol was the only Los Angeles starter to play in the final period.

Tony Parker had 19 points and six assists and Duncan added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs (29-14), who lost for just the fourth time in 18 games. Neither played in the fourth quarter.

Celtics 124, Mavericks 100

At Boston, Ray Allen scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half when the Celtics opened a 27-point lead, and Eddie House added seven 3-pointers to help Boston win its eighth straight.

House scored 23 points — making 7-of-11 from 3-point range — Kevin Garnett had 23, and Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 14 assists for Boston. After a 2-7 slump, the Celtics have won eight in a row by an average of 16 points.

Jason Terry scored 27 for the Mavericks, who have lost six of their last nine.

Suns 104, Hawks 99

At Atlanta, Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points and Shaquille O'Neal had 19 points and 11 rebounds to help Phoenix snap a three-game losing streak.

The Hawks had won three straight, but made just one field goal after Solomon Jones gave Atlanta its last lead, 95-94, at the 6:06 mark.

Raptors 113, Kings 97

At Toronto, Chris Bosh scored 31 points, Andrea Bargnani added 24 and the Raptors handed the Kings their fifth straight loss.

Jose Calderon had 16 points and eight assists as Toronto won its second straight following a season-high seven-game losing streak.

John Salmons scored 21 points for the Kings, who are 0-18 against the Eastern Conference.

Rockets 108, Pistons 105

At Auburn Hills, Mich., Ron Artest scored three of his 24 points at the line in the final 14 seconds, helping Houston hold on.

Artest and Tracy McGrady returned to the lineup for the Rockets, who were without Yao Ming because of a knee injury.

Richard Hamilton scored 27 points for Detroit.

Timberwolves 109, Bulls 108, OT

At Minneapolis, Al Jefferson scored a season-high 39 points to lead the Wolves to their ninth win in 11 games.

Ben Gordon scored 23 points for Chicago, which lost its fifth straight.

Pacers 98, Bobcats 93

At Indianapolis, Danny Granger had 27 points to lead the Pacers to their season-high fifth straight win at home.

Raja Bell and Boris Diaw had 18 points apiece for Charlotte, which had won five of six.

Nuggets 117, Jazz 97

At Denver, Nene made all 12 of his shots and tied his career high with 28 points, and J.R. Smith scored 13 of his 22 points in the first quarter for the Nuggets.

Ronnie Brewer scored 16 points for the Jazz.

Warriors 107, Clippers 92

At Oakland, Calif., Corey Maggette scored 20 points against his former team as the Warriors ended a two-game slide.

Eric Gordon scored 21 points for the Clippers, who lost their seventh straight on the road and 15th in 17 overall.

James' buzzer-beater lifts Cavs

OAKLAND, Calif. – LeBron James tossed up a rare airball from the top of the 3-point arc that showed he's human. Then he quickly returned to his typical self.

James stepped back under pressure from Ronny Turiaf and knocked down a 19-footer to barely beat the final buzzer, lifting the Cleveland Cavaliers to a wild 106-105 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.

"It's a great feeling, especially when you get it like that and then you hear the horn and the shot goes in and there's no way they can try to make a comeback at us," James said. "I wish everyone could get that type of feeling. It's unbelievable."

James finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocked shots, but also missed three second-half free throws and went 10-for-16 from the line. His teammates jumped up and down in delight when the ball went through, then the officials gathered to review the play before ruling his shot beat the buzzer.

Stephen Jackson hit a go-ahead 22-foot jumper over James with 6.4 seconds left and finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Golden State. The Warriors also lost at the buzzer Wednesday night against Oklahoma City.

Golden State's Monta Ellis scored 20 points in his season debut and return from an ankle injury. He did his best to upstage LeBron, but to no avail.

"That's not the first time he's hit a buzzer-beater to hurt people at their own place," Jackson said. "That's what he does. That's why he's one of the best in the league."

The game featured 27 lead changes and 15 ties — 10 lead changes alone in the fourth quarter.

Ellis made a powerful one-handed dunk with 6:54 left put Golden State ahead and showed he indeed is healthy after a left ankle injury had sidelined him so far. Ellis' basket with 1:51 to go made it 97-96, then Daniel Gibson hit a 3-pointer on the other end. Ellis then converted a pair of free throws at 1:17 to tie it at 99.

James followed by missing a layup and Jackson made two free throws at 1:04. Mo Williams hit a baseline 3 with 51.2 seconds left, only to see Jackson answer.

"That guy there, No. 23, LeBron ... it is what it is," Williams said. "He's a great player and he makes great plays."

Corey Maggette had 23 points, eight rebounds and made all 11 of his free throws, and Anthony Morrow added 19 points for Golden State, which isn't expected to see former star Baron Davis make his Bay Area comeback with the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday because of a bruised tailbone.

Ellis hurt his ankle five months ago in a motorized scooter accident. The explosive guard, who received a six-year, $66 million contract extension earlier in July, was suspended by the Warriors for 30 games without pay.

He received a warm welcome from the sellout crowd of 19,596 before the game, then the fans roared when he hit a 12-foot fadeaway and was fouled with 7:10 left in the first quarter and again on his driving layin at the 4:22 mark.

He hit a 27-foot 3-pointer as the third-quarter buzzer sounded, pulling Golden State within 84-81 heading into the final 12 minutes.

"It felt great. It went down to the end and great players make great shots at the end of the game," Ellis said. "I didn't expect anything. ... Being out so long part of my game's still rusty."

Ellis wasn't interested in setting the record straight about his summer escapade.

"That's behind me," he said. "I don't even remember."

The 23-year-old Ellis, selected out of high school in the second round of the 2005 NBA draft, averaged career bests of 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.53 steals in 37.9 minutes and 81 games last season. He was named the NBA's Most Improved Player after the 2006-07 campaign.

Coach Don Nelson referred to Ellis as the "Messiah" earlier in the day.

"We're playing a really good team. We're going to throw him back into the mix, we're not working him back into the mix," Nelson said.

Golden State missed leading scorer Jamal Crawford, who bruised his right hamstring in Wednesday's 122-121 loss to the Thunder. Starting center Andris Biedrins, meanwhile, was back after sitting out against the Thunder with a sprained left wrist and grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked four shots.

Williams missed his first seven shots before finally hitting at the 8:33 mark of the third quarter for Cleveland in its sixth win in eight games. At 33-8, the Cavs took over the Eastern Conference lead, percentage points ahead of Boston (36-9).

Cleveland was late arriving to the East Bay from San Francisco because of slow Friday commuter traffic in the rain. That didn't seem to affect James, who already had seven points, three rebounds and two assists just four minutes into the game.

James, who scored 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting in the teams' first matchup back on Nov. 28, won 112-97 at home by the Cavs, missed three straight free throws during one sequence in the third quarter.

Notes:@ The Cavs got 40 points from their bench, nine or more by four different players. ... Cleveland is 7-2 on the road against the Western Conference. ... Warriors starting F Anthony Randolph sat out the game with the flu. ... Golden State is still without F Brandan Wright (partially dislocated left shoulder) and G Marco Belinelli (sprained and bruised right ankle). Wright is still 2-to-4 weeks away, while Belinelli likely is a week or two from returning. ... The Warriors sold out for the fifth time this season. ... Ellis has scored in double digits in 49 straight games dating to last season.

Foye's late basket lifts Timberwolves past Suns

PHOENIX – Randy Foye's 20-foot jump shot with 1:58 remaining gave Minnesota the lead for good and the Timberwolves edged the Phoenix Suns 105-103 Friday night.

Foye's shot came with just one second left on the shot clock. Kevin Love added a free throw and Rodney Carney scored on a fast-break layup in the final 94 seconds for the Timberwolves, who won for the sixth time in seven games.

Sebastian Telfair gave the Suns an opening when he missed a 28-foot 3-pointer with 6.9 seconds left. But Jason Richardson missed a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer and Phoenix lots its second straight.

Cavs get statement win over Boston; Orlando looms

While the Cavaliers were beating Boston in a matchup of East powers, the Orlando Magic were busy showing that the conference could well be a three-team race to the top.

LeBron James scored 38 points, harassed Paul Pierce all over the floor and strengthened his case to be the league's MVP front-runner as the Cavaliers improved to 19-0 at home by beating the staggering Celtics 98-83 on Friday night.

Boston (29-9), which started the season a league-record 27-2, is just 2-7 since.

James scored 23 in the second half. He added seven rebounds, six assists, four steals, three blocks and made Pierce's life miserable for 35 minutes.

"We want to continue to protect our home court and we want to continue to get better. Tonight I think we got better," James said. "We don't want to take a step back because we got a big picture and a big goal. You don't want to waste a game."

In other NBA games, it was the Lakers 121, Indiana 119; Detroit 93, Denver 90; Miami 119, Sacramento 115 in overtime; Phoenix 128, Dallas 100; Milwaukee 104, New Jersey 102; Toronto 103, Memphis 82; Philadelphia 93, Charlotte 87; Chicago 98, Washington 86; Houston 98, Oklahoma City 96; New Orleans 107, the Clippers 80.

After the Cavs (29-6) had built their lead to a comfortable 20 points over Boston in the second half, Cleveland fans began chanting "M-V-P!"

There was no debate this night on who was the best player — or which was the better team.

Despite Boston's current form, the defending NBA champs and Cavaliers appear on a collision course in the Eastern Conference. But Orlando asserted itself with a rout of Atlanta.

The Magic put on a devastating offensive show, making 24 of 39 shots, including 10 of their 13 3-pointers in a 121-87 win that was essentially over at halftime.

Orlando led by 38 points on the way to its 11th straight home game and put on their best offensive performance of the year to overtake Boston for second-best record in the East.

"I don't think anybody is too concerned with our record, we're just trying to play healthy basketball," Jameer Nelson said. "We have a good team, but we know we have to get better. We aren't the best team we could be. We can still get better."

Lakers 121, Pacers 119

In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant made a tiebreaking jumper with 3 seconds left and scored the Lakers' last 11 points, helping them improve to 19-2 at home.

Bryant finished with 36 points and 13 assists. After his turnaround jumper, the Pacers took a timeout but were unable to get off a shot.

The Pacers' Danny Granger scored 28 points before fouling out with 47 seconds remaining. Troy Murphy had 24 and Mike Dunleavy, whose 3-pointer with 27 seconds left drew the Pacers even at 119, finished with 22.

Pistons 93, Nuggets 90

Tayshaun Prince hit a running jumper with 20 seconds left, Aaron Afflalo hit six straight free throws and Detroit overcame 30 points by Chauncey Billups to get the win in Allen Iverson's return to the Mile High city.

Iverson, in his first appearance in Denver since being traded to Detroit for Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb, led the Pistons with 23 points.

Heat 119, Kings 115, OT

In Sacramento, Calif., Dwyane Wade scored 10 of his 41 points in overtime for Miami.

Wade scored the final five points in overtime, made 11 of 26 shots and 18 of 24 free throws. He also had five rebounds and seven assists.

Kevin Martin and John Salmons each scored 29 points for the Kings, who had a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter but have now lost five straight and 11 of 12.

Suns 128, Mavericks 100

In Phoenix, Shaquille O'Neal had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help Phoenix bury Dallas.

Jason Richardson added 21 points and Leandro Barbosa had 20 in the Suns' highest-scoring game of the season. Phoenix outscored the Mavs 40-19 in the third quarter.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 for Dallas, and Josh Howard had 16 before departing with a sprained left wrist in the third quarter. X-rays were negative.

Bucks 104, Nets 102

In Milwaukee, Luke Ridnour's 5-foot floater with 0.5 seconds left lifted the Bucks to a victory over New Jersey in the first meeting between the teams since a draft day trade sent Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.

Simmons, who had 15 points, made a 3-pointer with 9 seconds left that tied it at 102.

Yi scored 16 points but left late in the third quarter after hurting his right hand.

Raptors 103, Grizzlies 82

In Toronto, Chris Bosh had 32 points and Andrea Bargnani added 21 points for the Raptors.

Bosh was 11-of-13 from the field and 10-of-12 from the line to help Toronto extend its home winning streak to a season-high three games. Bargnani is averaging 21.7 points as a starter in the past six games in place of the injured Jermaine O'Neal.

Rudy Gay scored 22 points for Memphis, which has lost 11 of 13.

76ers 93, Bobcats 87

At Philadelphia, Andre Miller scored 22 points, Thaddeus Young had 15 and the 76ers won their third straight game to escape last place in the Atlantic Division.

They beat the Rockets, won at Milwaukee, then used a 14-2 run in the third quarter Friday night to pull away from the Bobcats.

Emeka Okafor had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats.

Bulls 98, Wizards 86

At Chicago, Ben Gordon scored 22 points and Chicago hung on after watching a 21-point lead dwindle to seven in the fourth quarter.

The Bulls led 78-57 early in the fourth before Washington made its move. The Wizards were within 89-82 after Antawn Jamison's layup with just under 3 minutes left, but Gordon answered with one of his own and the Bulls hung on.

The Wizards lost despite getting a career-high 28 points from Nick Young.

Rockets 98, Thunder 96

At Oklahoma City, Tracy McGrady scored 26 points and made two critical free throws with 8.2 seconds left to help Houston win its second straight road game.

McGrady, who had missed two of the Rockets' previous three games with a left knee injury, helped extend Houston's winning streak over the Thunder franchise to 10 straight games.

The Rockets overcame a quiet night from Yao Ming, who scored 14 points.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 27 points.

Hornets 107, Clippers 80

In New Orleans, Rasual Butler scored a season-high 27 points to help hand the Clippers their 10th straight loss.

Butler hit six 3s, also a season high, as the Hornets made 11 total and had seven players score in double figures.

Eric Gordon and Mardy Collins each scored 15 points for the Clippers, who have lost their last eight meetings with New Orleans. Marcus Camby had 13 points and 17 rebounds.

LeBron gets triple-double as Cavs clobber Bulls

CLEVELAND – One big loss was enough for the Cleveland Cavaliers, still perfect at home. Anderson Varejao scored a career-high 26 points, LeBron James had a triple-double and the Cavaliers stayed unbeaten on their floor with a 117-92 win Friday night over the Chicago Bulls after learning center Zydrunas Ilgauskas will miss a month with a fractured bone in his left ankle.

James finished with 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers improved to 17-0 at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cavs also got a season-high 13 points from Ben Wallace, 13 from rookie J.J. Hickson and a season-high 13 from reserve Sasha Pavlovic. Delonte West added 14 points and Mo Williams had 11 as Cleveland's five starters all finished in double figures.

James scored 41 points in each of Cleveland's first two wins over Chicago this season, but the superstar was content to defer to others for most of the night. He didn't make his second field goal — a 3-pointer — until there was just 5:58 left. He grabbed rebound seconds later, brought them ball up the floor and drilled his second 3-pointer in a 16-second span to make it 104-80.

It was James' first triple-double this season and the 18th of his career.

He could get a few more in the coming weeks while Ilgauskas recovers.

Ben Gordon scored 22 points and Lindsey Hunter 13 for the Bulls, who shot just 37 percent and have lost five of six.

Ilgauskas first rolled his ankle trying to block a shot during a Dec. 10 game at Philadelphia. He missed just three games and medical tests taken at the time showed nothing more than a sprain. However, the 7-foot-3 Lithuanian whose left foot was surgically rebuilt eight years ago, continued to have soreness and swelling.

A second round of X-rays and an MRI revealed he fractured a bone in the back of his ankle.

He'll be in a walking boot for a week.

"One thing we don't want to do is rush it," Ilgauskas said. "We'll take it weekly and see how it goes — we really don't know."

The Cavs lost their offensive rhythm while Ilgauskas was out, but they were sharp moving the ball and destroyed the Bulls, who were again without injured forwards Drew Gooden and Luol Deng.

James was able to draw double teams and find Varejao and Cleveland's other big men underneath for easy layups. Varejao, Wallace and Hickson combined for 52 points and 23 rebounds, more than making up for the 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds missing with Ilgauskas watching from the bench in street clothes.

And as has become the norm this season, James made a spectacular defensive play as impressive as any of his dunks. Early in the third quarter, James cut across the lane and perfectly timed his jump to slap a layup by rookie Derek Rose off the backboard glass.

Cleveland's big men picked up the slack for Ilgauskas from the outset.

Wallace scored eight of the Cavs' first 21 points and finished the first quarter with five rebounds. Hickson added six points and Varejao five as the trio combined for 19 points and 10 rebounds in the period as Cleveland opened a 15-point lead it pushed to 25 in the third quarter.

Notes:@ Gooden remained back in Chicago for treatment on an ankle injury that has sidelined him for seven games. Coach Vinny Del Negro said Gooden could return for Saturday's home game against Minnesota. ... Hickson split his lip in the first quarter and needed one stitch to close the cut. ... Cavs F Wally Szczerbiak played six minutes after missing two games with a sore knee.

Thunder top Warriors for 4th victory of the season

OKLAHOMA CITY – Scott Brooks figured his Oklahoma City Thunder team had been in enough close games in the fourth quarter to eventually win one. Their time came Wednesday night.

The Thunder pulled away in the third quarter and held on for a 107-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors. It was only the fourth win of the season for Oklahoma City, which snapped a five-game losing streak.

"We've had a lot of fourth-quarter games. When you're put in that situation constantly, you get better," Brooks said. "You find a rhythm. You find a little bit of anger inside your soul and say you're going to keep fighting, we're going to break through. And we've done that."

Jeff Green scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half. Oklahoma City turned 20 Golden State turnovers into 24 points, many coming off of steals. Green pointed to the team's intensity in the second half as the difference in the game.

"We came out with a lot of energy," Green said. "We had a lot of second-chance points and we scrapped hard inside. It feels good to close one out, get over the hump and get the win."

Kevin Durant posted his fifth double-double of the season with 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and reserve Chris Wilcox had 23 points and nine boards.

"It's all about hustle. When we play with that kind of energy on both ends of the court, we're fun to coach," Brooks said. "We have active hands, defensive hands, defensive thoughts and that's what we need to continue to build on.

"It's obviously a big win for all of us, fans included. They're sticking with us, which is incredible. I've been around 17, 18 years in the league and you don't see that. Players feel good about that and we all appreciate that."

Golden State has now lost 17 of its league-high 21 road games and will be on the road for three of the next four contests, but coach Don Nelson wasn't blaming the schedule for his team's effort against the Thunder.

"I am not crying about the schedule and I don't talk that much about it," Nelson said. "There are probably reasons why players don't have the pop some nights and have it other nights. Bottom line is, we had too many guys that didn't have the pop tonight."

Kelenna Azubuike had all of his season-high 24 points in the second half to lead the Warriors. Stephen Jackson had 17 points on 5-of-16 shooting and the Warriors were beaten on the boards 45-35.

Notes:@ Newly signed Nenad Krstic was on the bench in street clothes for the Thunder. The former New Jersey Nets center, who most recently played in Russia, is not expected to be eligible for competition until next week. Krstic is currently waiting on his green card Ron Adams joined the Thunder as an assistant coach Wednesday night after serving this season as a scout for the Chicago Bulls. Adams fills the spot vacated by the dismissal of Paul Westhead, who was fired along with former head coach P.J. Carlesimo. ... Thunder F Nick Collison did not dress after aggravating a broken left thumb in Monday's loss to Phoenix. Joe Smith was also inactive for the second straight game due to a knee problem.