Bryant stars as Lakers down Dallas

Kobe Bryant scores 52 points to outgun the Mavericks.

Bryant

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Kobe Bryant adds a bit of showtime
to his display [AFP]

Kobe Bryant scored 30 of his 52 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 108-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Bryant scored 50 points in a game for the 22nd time in his career and first time this season. He went 15-of-27 from the floor and, constantly driving and drawing fouls, was 20-of-27 from the line.

Bryant also had 11 rebounds and four assists. Pau Gasol added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who are 12-2 since he played his first game for them on February 5.

Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points for Dallas.

Rockets 103, Nuggets 89

At Houston, Tracy McGrady scored 22 points, Shane Battier added 20 and Houston beat Denver to tie a franchise record with its 15th straight win.

The winning streak is the longest in the NBA this season and matches the longest one in franchise history, reached twice, with the last one coming in their championship season of 1993-94.

It was Houston’s third straight win since losing All-star center Yao Ming for the season with a stress fracture in his foot and its 19th win in the last 20 games.

Allen Iverson had a tough night, going 7-for-22 and finishing with a 17 points after scoring 38 on Friday. Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 19 points and Kenyon Martin had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Cavaliers 95, Bulls 86

In Cleveland, LeBron James scored 37 points and took over down the stretch to lead Cleveland over Chicago. Wally Szczerbiak added 17 points for Cleveland, which ended the game on a 12-3 run. Larry Hughes led the Bulls with 23 points, shooting 8-of-20 shots from the field.

Spurs 93, Nets 83

In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Tony Parker had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and San Antonio won a season-high ninth straight game by beating New Jersey.

Tim Duncan added 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili had 17 points as the Spurs beat the Nets for the 10th straight time. New Jersey has not beaten San Antonio since November 2002.

Warriors 110, Trail Blazers 104

At Oakland, California, Stephen Jackson hit six 3-pointers while scoring 29 points, Monta Ellis added 22 points and Golden State beat Portland for its seventh win in nine games.

Baron Davis had 18 points for the Warriors, who beat Portland for the first time in three tries this season by scoring early and often.

The Blazers had held the NBA’s highest-scoring team under 100 points in both of their previous meetings, but the Warriors surged late for their fifth straight home win over Portland.

Brandon Roy scored 26 points and Travis Outlaw added 17 for the Blazers, who have lost nine of 12.

Wizards 101, Hornets 84

In Washington, Antawn Jamison had 28 points and nine rebounds, and Washington beat New Orleans for its fourth win in five games and second over the Hornets in a week.

Leading 80-79 with 6:40 to play, the Wizards blew the game apart with a 19-0 run. Jamison started it with two free throws and a 3-pointer, then his block of Peja Stojakovic’s layup led to a 3-pointer by DeShawn Stevenson that pushed the lead to nine.

The Hornets didn’t score again until a 3-pointer by Rasual Butler in the final minute. Stojakovic scored 17 points and Chris Paul had 16 to lead the Hornets.

Bobcats 110, Raptors 98

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Jason Richardson scored 30 points and Charlotte took advantage of Chris Bosh’s absence to beat Toronto.

Richardson, taking over the brunt of the scoring with Gerald Wallace out indefinitely following a severe concussion, hit 10 of 24 shots and all seven free throws.

Rookie Jared Dudley added a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte, which snapped a five-game losing streak in its second win in 14 games.

Anthony Parker scored 24 points and Bosh’s fill-in, Rasho Nesterovic, added 16 for the Raptors.

Celtics 98, Hawks 88

In Boston, Paul Pierce scored 30 points, 17 in the pivotal third quarter, and Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 16 rebounds to lead Boston to its fifth consecutive win.

Ray Allen scored 17, and Kendrick Perkins had 11 points and a season-high 12 rebounds to go with a career-high six assists. Point guard Rajon Rondo had six points and eight assists one day before the Celtics are expected to bring in backup Sam Cassell, who was waived last week by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kings 120, Heat 109

At Sacramento, California, Ron Artest scored 32 points, Kevin Martin added 29 and Sacramento overcame a 21-point deficit in the second half to beat Miami.

Dwyane Wade had 26 points and seven assists for Miami, Shawn Marion had 19 points and eight rebounds, Jason Williams added 18 points and eight assists, while Ricky Davis scored 14 points.

Pacers 128, Bucks 106

In Indianapolis, Mike Dunleavy tied his career high of 36 points for the second straight game, and Indiana beat Milwaukee for its second straight win.

Danny Granger had 27 points and nine rebounds. He returned to the starting lineup after being suspended a game for striking Chicago’s Andres Nocioni in the face on Wednesday.

Michael Redd led Milwaukee with 28 points. Desmond Mason and Mo Williams each added 15 in the Bucks’ third straight loss.

SuperSonics 111, Timberwolves 108, OT

At Minneapolis, Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Chris Wilcox added 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Seattle beat Minnesota to snap its four-game losing streak.

Earl Watson had 15 points and Nick Collison 14 for Seattle, which opened its seven-game road trip in dramatic fashion against the worst team in the Western Conference.

Al Jefferson led Minnesota with 30 points and 12 rebounds, while Rashad McCants had 18 points.

Source: News Agencies