Bryant is Fifth Player To Eclipse 30,000 Points

NEW ORLEANS — Kobe Bryant scored 29 points, making him the fifth player in NBA history to score 30,000, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a two-game skid with a 103-87 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night.

Bryant entered the game needing only 13 points to eclipse the scoring milestone and did so with a short jumper late in the first half.

KNICKS 100, BOBCATS 98: In Charlotte, N.C., J.R. Smith hit a fallaway jumper from the left wing as time expired to give New York a victory over Charlotte.

With 14 seconds left, rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist made an ill-advised pass toward the top of the key and Smith stepped in front of it to intercept it. After a timeout, Smith drove to the left side and hit an 18-footer over Kidd-Gilchrist.

CELTICS 104, TIMBERWOLVES 94: In Boston, Kevin Garnett scored 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds as Boston beat Minnesota in Rajon Rondo’s return from a twogame suspension.

KINGS 107, RAPTORS 100: In Sacramento, Calif., DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and 13 rebounds to help Sacramento beat Toronto.

PACERS 99, TRAIL BLAZERS 92: In Indianapolis, Paul George scored 22 points to help Indiana beat Portland.

WARRIORS 104, PISTONS 97: In Auburn Hills, Mich., Klay Thompson scored 19 of his 27 points in the third quarter, and Golden State beat Detroit.

BULLS 95, CAVALIERS 85: In Cleveland, Marco Belinelli scored a season-high 23 points and Chicago beat Cleveland.

CLIPPERS 112, MAVERICKS 90: In Los Angeles, Blake Griffin had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Chris Paul added 14 points and 13 assists, propelling Los Angeles over Dallas.

HAWKS 108, NUGGETS 104: In Atlanta, Josh Smith’s steal, jam and free throw with 31 seconds remaining extended Atlanta’s lead and the Hawks held on to beat Denver.

SPURS 110, BUCKS 99: In San Antonio, Tony Parker and Gary Neal each scored 22 points, and San Antonio had a season-high 53 rebounds in a victory over Milwaukee.

JAZZ 87, MAGIC 81: In Salt Lake City, Al Jefferson scored a season-high 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Utah to a victory over Orlando.