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Lakers beat Knicks to get to .500

The pieces of the puzzle that have been the Lakers’ confounding season so far are starting to fall into place.

Kobe Bryant engineered a second-half comeback, the defense stepped up, and Los Angeles beat the New York Knicks 100-94 on Tuesday, extending its winning streak to five games.

”We’re .500,” a smiling Dwight Howard said. ”We did it on Christmas, too. I knew this day would come.”

Bryant scored 34 points in his NBA-record 15th Christmas Day game and Metta World Peace added 20 points and seven rebounds while defending Carmelo Anthony, whose 34 points led the Knicks. Anthony said he hyperextended his left knee, but expects to play on Wednesday in Phoenix.

Bryant, the league’s leading scorer, has topped 30 or more points in nine straight games…

The Lakers improved to 14-14 – 9-9 under new coach Mike D’Antoni – and upped their holiday record to 21-18, including 13-9 at home. They returned to .500 for the first time since they were 8-8 on Nov. 30…

The Knicks controlled most of the game behind Anthony and J.R. Smith, who had 24 points. But they struggled offensively in the fourth, when Anthony was limited to seven points and Smith had five as the Lakers’ defense clamped down. World Peace fouled out with 1:58 to play and the Lakers ahead by four…

Nash had 16 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in his second game in nearly two months. He missed 24 straight games while recovering from a small fracture in his lower left leg. Howard had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Gasol had 13 points and eight rebounds…

World Peace scored 16 points in the second quarter, including eight in a row, when the Lakers played catch-up most of the way. His 3-pointer gave the Lakers their first lead of the period with 1:10 remaining. Smith tied it up with a free throw before Nash’s jumper sent the Lakers into halftime leading 51-49.

— Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

Celtics easily handle Nets in Brooklyn

Rajon Rondo lost his cool, and any chance at history, in the second quarter when Boston last met Brooklyn.

This time, the second period featured some of the best basketball the Celtics have played this season.

Rondo scored 19 points in his first full game against the Nets this season, and the Celtics won 93-76 on Tuesday in another game with some heated moments between the division rivals.

Rondo, sidelined in the first meeting and thrown out of the second after shoving Nets forward Kris Humphries into the courtside seats, outplayed counterpart Deron Williams and helped the Celtics take control early…

Rookie Jared Sullinger tied a career high with 16 points and Jeff Green had 15 for the Celtics (14-13), who avoided falling under .500 with just their second victory in six games.

The Celtics took control with a 23-5 run in the second quarter of the opener of their four-game road trip. They had 11 assists on 13 baskets and outscored the Nets 34-18 in the period after dropping the previous two meetings…

Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez each scored 15 for the Nets, who have lost four of five. Struggling to find anything that worked, they played Lopez and fellow center Andray Blatche together with three guards at one point, but Brooklyn shot just 41 percent and committed 20 turnovers that led to 25 points.

Williams had only 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting and Joe Johnson, his partner in a high-priced backcourt, shot 4 of 14 for his 12 points.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Clippers beat Suns to run win streak to 13 games

The Los Angeles Clippers are starting to make easy victories look routine.

Blake Griffin scored 23 points, Chris Paul had 17 points and 13 assists and the Clippers extended a franchise record with their 13th consecutive victory, 103-77 over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

Reserve Jamal Crawford added 22 points for the Clippers, who won in Phoenix for the first time since April 17, 2007. Los Angeles’ overall win streak is an NBA season best and its six straight road victories are also a franchise best.

”We’re just taking care of business right now,” Griffin said. ”To be honest, we’re not really concerned with ‘You haven’t won here since then’ or ‘You haven’t won this many games in a row.’ ”We hear it all but we’re about just getting these wins and if they come within a streak or when we haven’t won somewhere, that’s fine.”

The Clippers have won by an average of 13 points and boast four victories of 20 or more points during their streak…

Jared Dudley scored 19 points, Luis Scola had 11 and Markieff Morris added 10 for the Suns, who have dropped two straight after winning four in a row…

Paul either scored or assisted on all but one basket over the final five minutes of the first quarter. … The Clippers matched a franchise record by holding their eighth straight opponent below 43 percent shooting.

— Reported by Jonathan Dalton of the Associated Press

Melo shines in 4th quarter, helps Knicks beat Timberwolves

Carmelo Anthony scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, rallying the New York Knicks to a 94-91 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.

New York trailed from the opening minutes until Anthony scored eight straight points down the stretch. He had scored just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting in the first half, but had the final 12 for the Knicks to give them a 4-2 finish on their six-game homestand.

J.R. Smith added 19 points and Tyson Chandler had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who will fly to Los Angeles later Sunday for their Christmas Day game against the Lakers.

Nikola Pekovic had 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who played without star forward Kevin Love because of an eye injury. Alexey Shved added 18 points for Minnesota.

Love was poked in the eye late in the Wolves’ 99-93 victory over Oklahoma City on Thursday and didn’t travel with the team to New York. They nearly pulled it out without him, leading almost the entire night before falling for the third time in four games…

Even with Love out and Ricky Rubio still on a minutes restriction in his return from major knee surgery, Minnesota led 29-22 after one and never gave up the lead in the half, even when the Knicks seemed to be putting together some momentum…

Knicks coach Mike Woodson seemed to rule Amare Stoudemire out of the road trip, saying he thought it would be best to have the forward practice against his teammates when they get back before he plays. But Marcus Camby, who has been sidelined by a sore left foot and has barely played this season, said he will be ready to play Tuesday.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Joe Johnson scores 22 points, Nets beat 76ers

Nets coach Avery Johnson used the previous three days to give his team some rest after Brooklyn dropped nine of its last ten games.

The Nets got in some practice time and Johnson’s staff looked over recent game film, adding some new plays to an offense that has struggled this season.

It paid off Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Joe Johnson scored 22 points, including 10 in the third quarter, Gerald Wallace had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists and the Nets held on to beat the 76ers 95-92.

Avery Johnson came away pleased with the performance after the Nets had coughed up leads in the second half during their recent stretch of loses…

The Sixers rallied from eight points down in the final 40.5 seconds left, but Brooklyn didn’t fold.

”We definitely needed it. We just needed to get back in the winning track, especially in our building. It was good for us tonight,” said Deron Williams, who added 16 points to help the Nets end a six-game losing streak at home against Philadelphia…

Jrue Holiday led Philadelphia with 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds, Thadeus Young added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Evan Turner had 15 points and seven rebounds. The 76ers, opening an eight-game trip, have dropped six of their last seven games…

Nets F Kris Humphries was projected to be in the starting lineup but was replaced by F Keith Bogans. Wallace slid over to the power forward spot as Avery Johnson preferred to go with a smaller lineup, something he had been working on over the stretch of days the team had off.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Nuggets send Bobcats to 15th straight loss

The Denver Nuggets’ inside game was at its best on Saturday night.

Kosta Koufos scored a season-high 16 points, and Kenneth Faried and Andre Iguodala added 15 points apiece as the Nuggets beat Charlotte 110-88 and sent the Bobcats to their 15th consecutive loss.

JaVale McGee added 14 points, and Danilo Gallinari had 12 for Denver, which won its sixth in a row at home behind a fast-paced offense fueled by 36 assists and 78 points in the paint, both season highs…

Koufos (8 of 10), McGee (7 of 8), Faried (6 of 10), and Iguodala (6 of 9) were a combined 27 of 37 from the floor. They took feeds from teammates, finished fastbreaks, and put up high-percentage shots primarily from up close…

Charlotte, playing the second of a back-to-back set on the road, was without injured guards Gerald Henderson and Ben Gordon. Henderson sustained a bruised shin during the second half of a 115-100 loss at Golden State on Friday. Gordon missed a second consecutive game because of soreness in his right knee.

Ramon Sessions had 23 points to lead Charlotte. Byron Mullens added 16 before he went down with a left ankle sprain in the final moments after getting his feet tangled in traffic near the basket…

The Nuggets, who missed an NBA-record 22 3-point attempts in Thursday night’s 101-93 loss at Portland, missed their first six against the Bobcats. Jordan Hamilton finally found the range to give the Nuggets a 40-31 lead with 8:02 left in the second quarter.

— Reported by George Georgatos of the Associated Press

James Harden leads Rockets over Grizzlies

Houston coach Kevin McHale figured the best way to beat the Memphis Grizzlies was to get down the court before they could get their dominant defense set.

His plan worked perfectly.

James Harden scored 31 points with eight assists, and the Rockets earned their third straight win, 121-96 over the Grizzlies on Saturday night.

Memphis entered the game allowing an NBA-low 89.2 points a game. But the Grizzlies had no answer for Harden. He did all his scoring in the first three quarters and reached at least 20 points for an eighth straight game…

Mike Conley had 16 points for the Grizzlies on a night when leading scorer Rudy Gay finished with a season-low six points…

”I think tonight we showed how explosive we can be offensively because we put 120 points on a team that hasn’t allowed over 100 since the first game of the season,” Lin said. ”This is just a testament to people moving and passing the ball.” …

Lin added 15 points and a season-high tying 11 assists, and Marcus Morris scored 16 points…

Randolph finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his 21st double-double this season, which leads the league.

Houston’s 32 assists were a season-high.

— Reported by Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press

Melo, 3 others ejected as Bulls beat Knicks

Bottled up by the Bulls and baffled by the officials, Carmelo Anthony expected to spend the final minutes of the Knicks’ loss alone in the locker room.

Turns out the early exodus of Knicks was just beginning.

Coach Mike Woodson and center Tyson Chandler were also ejected from the foul-filled game, and Chicago beat New York for the second time this season, 110-106 on Friday night.

Chandler and Bulls counterpart Joakim Noah were tossed after a fourth-quarter altercation, shortly after Woodson had been ejected following his second technical. He drew a loud ovation during his walk to the back from Knicks fans who angrily booed the officiating for much of the second half…

Luol Deng had season highs of 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls despite briefly leaving the game with an injured left shoulder. Marco Belinelli added 22 points as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games.

Anthony finished with 29 points on 10-of-25 shooting, ending his streak of four straight 30-point games. The Knicks lost for the second time in three home games after winning their first 10.

Noah finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in completely outplaying Chandler, who took only one shot and was limited to five points and eight boards…

Kirk Hinrich had 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Bulls, who were totally shutting the Knicks down until allowing 45 mostly meaningless points in the fourth quarter after Chicago had led by 25 in the third…

[J.R.] Smith had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who fell to 19-7. Their 19 wins through 25 games was bettered only twice in franchise history, when they were 23-2 in 1969-70 and 20-5 in 1972-73. They won the NBA title both times.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Nuggets hit 0-of-22 three-pointers in loss to Trail Blazers

J.J. Hickson had 18 points and 18 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 101-93 on Thursday night.

Nicolas Batum had 22 points to give the Blazers their first four-game winning streak of the season despite missing forward LaMarcus Aldridge because of a sprained left ankle.

The Nuggets were 0 for 22 from 3-point range, breaking the NBA record of 20 misses set by the Trail Blazers in a game against Toronto last week. Seventy-four of Denver’s point came in the paint.

The Blazers led by as many as 18 in the first half and while the Nuggets were able to close the gap, they were never able to pull even…

Portland saw the return of Matthews, who missed two games with a sore hip, then tried to return against the Hornets but played only about four minutes. The injury had put Matthews on the bench in street clothes for the first time in his four-year NBA career. He had played in 250 straight games, second-most among active players behind Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook…

Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer had 13 points each for the Nuggets.

— Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press

LeBron scores 24, Heat beat Mavericks 110-95

LeBron James scored 24 points with some early baskets on nifty passes from Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat rolled to a 110-95 victory over the injury plagued Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.

James has scored at least 20 points in all 23 games, the longest streak to start an NBA season since Karl Malone’s 24 in a row opening the 1989-90 season.

Dallas, still waiting for the season debut of 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki after right knee surgery, was also without starting point guard Derek Fisher (right knee).

The Heat never trailed after James drove for a short floater 3 minutes into the game to make it 6-4.

— Reported by Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com notes: With Dirk Nowitzki still out for Dallas, Jae Crowder came off the bench to lead the Mavs in scoring with 15 points. Dahntay Jones and Bernard James each scored 12. Darren Collison scored 11. The Mavs as a team shot just 38.5 percent, and hit just 3-of-22 from three-point range.