The Mavericks (43-11), with the best record in the Western Conference, haven't lost at home since Dec. 30 against Golden State and have won 17 of 18 overall.
Howard sprained his right ankle in the first quarter.
Pistons 88, Pacers 83
At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Rasheed Wallace scored 11 of his game-high 28 points in a key fourth-quarter surge to lift Detroit over Indiana.
With Detroit leading 70-64 early in the fourth, Wallace hit four straight shots -- three from 3-point range -- in 97 seconds to put the game away.
The win was Detroit's first at home against Indiana since April 4, 2004. Indiana won both meetings at the Palace last year -- the first ended early by the infamous brawl and the second delayed by a bomb threat aimed at the Pacers locker room.
Stephen Jackson led the Pacers with 15 points and Peja Stojakovic added 14.
Lakers 106, Kings 85
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and added a season-high 10 assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over Sacramento for their third win in four games.
Lamar Odom had 19 points, six rebounds and nine assists, and Devean George had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers (28-26), who snapped a three-game losing streak to the Kings.
Mike Bibby scored 25 points, Brad Miller added 16 and Ron Artest had 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (25-30), who fell 3 games behind the Lakers in the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Oklahoma State basketball coach Eddie Sutton underwent successful surgery on Thursday that his doctor said should help address the coach's chronic hip and back problems.
Surgeon James Rodgers said earlier this week that he would perform a lumbar spinal decompression on Sutton, which would create more room for the nerves in the 69-year-old coach's back.
Rodgers said the surgery went as planned. Sutton is "recovering comfortably" from the procedure and should be discharged from the hospital in the next two days to continue his recovery at home, Rodgers said in a statement released by the university.
Rodgers said Sutton should be able to begin physical therapy in 10 to 12 days.
"Then we will monitor his progress to determine when it would be appropriate for him to enter a treatment center" for his alcoholism, Rodgers said.
Sutton was hospitalized after suffering injuries in an automobile accident on Feb. 10 and took a medical leave of absence two days later. On Feb. 15, Sutton -- who underwent treatment for alcoholism in 1987, when he was the coach at Kentucky -- acknowledged drinking alcohol before the accident and said he would be entering a treatment center.
Last Friday, he was charged with misdemeanor aggravated drunk driving, speeding and driving left of center. A court affidavit showed Sutton's blood-alcohol level tested at .22, or nearly three times the legal limit in Oklahoma.
Sutton cracked bones in his lower back when he was bumped and fell on an airport escalator in Los Angeles in July 2004. Two months later, he cracked his tailbone in five places when he jumped into a ditch to avoid being hit by a vehicle.
Rodgers said Sutton has been treated with medicine and lumbar epidural steroid injections.
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