Kobe, Gasol stop Mavs win streak
DALLAS – Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and Pau Gasol added 27 points and nine rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers stopped the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks’ four-game winning streak with a 109-93 victory on Wednesday night.
Ramon Sessions contributed 17 points and nine assists in his fourth game for the Lakers since he was acquired in a trade with Cleveland on March 15.
Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Jason Terry scored 23 points for the Mavericks, who fell to 0-3 against the Lakers this season.
At Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant had 32 points and nine rebounds and Russell Westbrook added 19 points as the Thunder shut down Blake Griffin to beat the Clippers, 114-91.
Playing in his hometown, Griffin was held to a career-low seven points in the rematch of a Clippers victory perhaps best remembered for his emphatic dunk over Kendrick Perkins.
Griffin didn’t have any dunks in this one, settling mostly for long jumpers and hook shots, and went just 3 for 11 from the field.
Randy Foye started in place of Caron Butler and scored 23 points to lead Los Angeles, which hit 37 percent on a miserable shooting night from inside the 3-point line.
At Toronto, John Lucas scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter and Luol Deng had 17 points and 10 rebounds as Chicago rallied to beat Toronto, 94-82.
Kyle Korver also came up big in the final quarter, scoring all 10 of his points in the fourth as the Bulls came back after trailing by 12 early in the second half.
C.J. Watson scored 15 points and Ronnie Brewer had 12 for the Bulls, who won their third straight. The Bulls also won for the fourth time in five games without leading scorer Derrick Rose, who is still sidelined with a sore right groin.
Demar Derozan scored 23 points and James Johnson had 16 for the Raptors. At San Antonio, Tim Duncan had 21 points and 15 rebounds as San Antonio beat Minnesota, 116-100, despite playing most of the game without All-star guard Tony Parker.
Stephen Jackson and Gary Neal each added 16 points for the Spurs, who won their fourth straight and fifth in their last six.
Parker left with tightness in his left hamstring with 8:03 remaining in the first half. He spoke briefly with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich before heading to the locker room with two points and six assists.
At Philadelphia, Amare Stoudemire had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead New York to its fifth straight victory, beating Philadelphia, 82-79.
Jeremy Lin scored 18 points and Carmelo Anthony had 10 to help the Knicks pull within three games of the Atlantic Division leaders.
Elton Brand had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers. Jrue Holiday scored 16.
The Sixers shook off a miserable start and a double-digit hole to make a run in the fourth, with Lou Williams nailing a 3-pointer to tie it at 63.
At Orlando, Ryan Anderson hit seven 3-pointers and scored 29 points, and Dwight Howard added 28 points and 16 rebounds to help Orlando hold off Phoenix, 103-93.
Orlando led by as many as 22 before the Suns rallied with under 5 minutes to play. But the Magic, who were 11 for 23 from beyond the arc, were able to string together enough baskets down the stretch to hold on.
The Magic snapped a two-game losing streak and won for the sixth time in seven matchups with the Suns in Orlando.
Jared Dudley had 17 points and Robin Lopez added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Suns.
At Atlanta, Joe Johnson hit a tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation and knocked down a baseline jumper with 10 seconds left in overtime, giving Atlanta a 103-102 win over Cleveland.
The Hawks rallied from a six-point deficit in OT, pulling even on Johnson’s third trey of the night and a three-point play by Josh Smith, who led Atlanta with 32 points and 17 rebounds.
Cleveland had two shots at the end. Irving missed and Gee botched the follow.