Bryant scores 33 to lead Lakers over Rockets

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant sank a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left and scored 33 points, and the Lakers beat the short-handed Houston Rockets 105-100 on Tuesday night. Bryant had 13 points in the fourth quarter, finally getting the better of Wafer, who scored a career-high 23 points in place of the injured Tracy McGrady… Carl Landry had a season-high 21 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who also played without Ron Artest. Artest has missed five of the last six games with a sprained right ankle. An MRI exam also showed a bone bruise that the Rockets say will keep him out 7-10 more days… Yao had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Rockets, who lost for just the second time in their last 11 home games.

LeBron triple-double carries Cavs in Memphis

The AP reports: LeBron James had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double of the season, leading the Cavaliers to a 102-87 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. With Zydrunas Ilgauskas sidelined by a fractured left ankle and Ben Wallace out with the flu, Cleveland was missing 40 percent of its starting lineup… Delonte West added 19 points and Mo Williams 16 for the Cavs. Anderson Varejao was held to seven points and four rebounds after averaging 16 points and eight boards the past four games in place of Ilgauskas… Kyle Lowry led the Grizzlies with a career-high 25 points, including 15 from the free throw line, and reserve Hakim Warrick had 16 points and seven rebounds. Rookie guard O.J. Mayo was limited to six points, a season-low. The Grizzlies also got 13 points in 13 minutes from Darius Miles, who signed a 10-day contract Saturday and is one game away from reaching the 10 appearances that would put the remaining $18 million of his salary back on Portland’s payroll.

Wade outduels Foye, Heat beat Wolves

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade had 31 points and eight assists in a wildly entertaining duel with Randy Foye, and Shawn Marion hit the go-ahead free throws with 22 seconds left to lift the Miami Heat to a 99-96 victory over the Timberwolves. “He does so much for us and we don’t take it for granted,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Wade, who also had three blocks and three steals… Shawn Marion finished with 16 points and 11 boards. Udonis Haslem had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Wolves star forward Al Jefferson had nine points and was just 4-of-14 from the floor. He had to get seven stitches at halftime to close a cut over his right eye and played only sparingly in the final period… The Heat made 30 of 38 free throws while Minnesota was just 9-for-13.

Felton’s last-second jumper beats Pistons 80-78

The AP reports: A month after rallying from 29 down to nearly beat the Pistons in North Carolina, Charlotte overcame a 78-71 deficit in the final three minutes to win 80-78 on the road… Raymond Felton scored seven points in the final 9-0 run, including a game-winning jumper with 0.7 seconds left… “This was about stepping up and being a leader,” said Felton, who led the Bobcats with 23 points… Gerald Wallace added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats to help Larry Brown beat the Pistons for just the second time in seven tries since leaving Detroit after the 2004-05 season… Rodney Stuckey scored 22 points. All five Detroit starters reached double figures, but the bench had just six points in 64 minutes.

Defenses focusing on Derrick Rose

The Arlington Heights Daily Herald (Mike McGraw) reports: Defense aside, Derrick Rose’s offensive performance has also slid recently. He’s averaged 13.0 points and shot 40.7 percent so far in January, compared to 18.9 points and 49.6 percent in November. His assists are up slightly, from 6.1 in November to 6.7 in January. The most obvious answer for Rose’s struggles is defenses have ganged up on him, trying everything possible to prevent him from driving all the way to the basket and daring the other Bulls to beat them. The Bulls are 16-22 heading into tonight’s game at Toronto, so the schemes have been successful more often than not. “I notice teams are playing a little bit different, trying to get the basketball out of his hands, like they did (Monday) night,” Del Negro said. “You could see the difference of his improvement compared to when we played (the Blazers) early in the season when they were pressing us to how he handled it (Monday).”

Monta Ellis practices

The Contra Costa Times (Marcus Thompson II) reports: Dribbling at the top of the key, Warriors guard Monta Ellis split a double team with a quick spin move, freeing himself for a pull-up jumper at the free-throw line. No, this didn’t go down on the video game NBA Live ’09. This was the real deal. Ellis got over another major hurdle Tuesday — he participated in a full practice for the first time since undergoing left ankle surgery in August. “Monta actually did the whole practice today, which probably I wasn’t supposed to (allow),” coach Don Nelson said. “It kind of ended up that way.” What does this mean? Ellis has only one obstacle remaining: game action.

Etan Thomas tears MCL in left knee

Tests performed today on Washington Wizards Center Etan Thomas revealed that Thomas has a torn MCL in his left knee.  The injury occurred in the first quarter of last night’s game versus Milwaukee.  Thomas will be listed as out indefinitely, and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

Thomas this season has played just 11.8 minutes per game, averaging 3.1 points and 2.5 rebounds.

With seven wins and 30 losses, the Wizards have been one of the league’s worst teams in 2008-09.

Ron Artest out 7-10 days

A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test conducted on Houston Rockets forward Ron Artest on Sunday at the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute revealed no stress fractures in his right ankle.  The test confirmed that Artest has a moderate to severe bone bruise in the ankle.  Artest will continue his current rehabilitation treatment schedule for the next seven to 10 days and will be re-evaluated at that time.

This season Artest in 35.6 minutes per game is averaging 16.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.84 steals, shooting just 37.8% from the field – though he’s hitting 41.1% of his three-pointers.

Miami Heat sues seat holders who don’t pay up

The Miami Herald (Patrick Danner) reports:  The Miami Heat is putting a full-court press on premium-seat holders and sponsors it claims haven’t paid up. The Heat or affiliate Basketball Properties, which operates the AmericanAirlines Arena, have filed 16 lawsuits in the past year against companies and people they claim owe about $1.6 million — if not more. At least a few of the cases have been resolved. The Heat has taken the most litigious approach among South Florida sports franchises to force customers and clients to honor agreements. By comparison, the Florida Panthers and affiliate Arena Operating Co., which operates Sunrise’s BankAtlantic Center, filed three suits in 2008 to collect about $100,000.