Bryant shines as Lakers roll over Raptors
LOS ANGELES: Kobe Bryant had 34 points and seven assists as the Los Angeles Lakers rolled over the Toronto Raptors 117-108 Tuesday at the Staples Center arena.
Bryant also finished with seven rebounds and four steals while Lamar Odom added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers.
It was a nice rebound performance for Bryant - who scored 26 points on Sunday, but just one in the fourth quarter in a home loss to the Sacramento Kings.
Getting the victory was key for the Lakers, who will face four playoff-contending squads over the next week-and-a-half.
Beginning on Friday, the team travels to play New Orleans, Houston, Dallas and Utah.
Los Angeles (45-19) owns the best record in the NBA's Western Conference after picking up a half-game lead on the idle San Antonio Spurs.
Pau Gasol, who had been relatively quiet for much of the game, put the Lakers ahead, 110-102, after Rasho Nesterovic had trimmed the lead to six following back-to-back baskets with 1:35 remaining.
The game was sealed when Derek Fisher hit a 3-pointer from the corner with less than a minute left to push the lead back to double figures.
The Raptors played their sixth straight game without All Star forward Chris Bosh, their leading scorer and rebounder, because of a sore right knee.
In Chicago, the Chicago Bulls scored a 108-96 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz to maintain their push for an unlikely Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Despite a 26-38 record, the inconsistent Bulls have pulled to just one-half game behind Atlanta for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.
"As bad as it's been, we're lucky to be in the position that we're in," Chicago's Luol Deng told reporters.
"We just have to try to make a run, even though our longest (winning) streak has been two games. We just got to get going from here and put a streak of wins together."
The Northwest Division-leading Jazz saw a five-game winning streak come to an end. Their record on the road dropped to 14-20.
The Bulls' Drew Gooden, who was picked up in a major trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, tied his season high with 24 points. He also had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Mehmet Okur scored 22 points and had 18 rebounds for the Jazz, while Deron Williams added 20 points and 10 assists.
"They pretty much just manhandled us from the beginning of this game," said Utah coach Jerry Sloan. "Give them the credit."
In Minneapolis, Brandon Roy had 27 points and nine assists, playing biggest during a game-deciding 12-2 run in the fourth quarter to lift Portland past Minnesota 103-96.
Al Jefferson scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth and Rashad McCants had 18 off the bench for Minnesota, which hovered around 55 percent shooting for most of the game but couldn't come up with the big shot down the stretch.
In Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in 30 minutes, and Phoenix beat Memphis 132-111 for the eighth time in a row.
Raja Bell added 20 points, including 18 in the third quarter, for the Suns, who shot 60 percent, led by as many as 32 in the first half and 39 in the second and won consecutive games for the first time since Shaquille O'Neal joined the lineup 11 games ago.
Agencies
(China Daily 03/13/2008 page23)
