The Los Angeles Lakers took sole possession of the National Basketball Association’s Western Conference lead on Sunday.
Player of the year candidate Kobe Bryant had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Lakers routed the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 106-85 for their seventh win in eight games.
The Lakers (56-25), who clinched their first Pacific Division championship in four years and at least the No. 3 seed in the West on Friday night, are a half-game ahead of New Orleans after beginning the day tied with the Hornets for the top spot in the conference.
PHOTO: AP
Lamar Odom, the only Los Angeles starter to play in the final period, added 17 points and 14 rebounds before coming out for good with 4:26 remaining.
Pau Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Derek Fisher also scored 14, Jordan Farmar added 11 and Ronny Turiaf scored 10 for the Lakers, who outscored the Spurs 53-32 in the second half.
Tony Parker had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead San Antonio.
Nuggets 111, Rockets 94
At Denver, Allen Iverson scored 33 points, J.R. Smith scored 23 points and Denver moved a win away from earning a playoff spot.
All the Nuggets have to do now to reach the playoffs for the fifth straight time is beat lowly Memphis tomorrow night at home. Denver (49-32) moved a half-game ahead of Golden State for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Warriors needed to win at Phoenix last night and beat Seattle tomorrow to have a chance.
But even that won’t matter if the Nuggets handle their business against the lottery-bound Grizzlies.
The Rockets fell one-and-a-half games behind the Los Angeles Lakers atop the crazy conference.
Luther Head lead Houston with 19 points and Tracy McGrady scored 16, but he was in foul trouble from the closing minutes of the first half, and even by then the game was out of hand.
SuperSonics 99, Mavericks 95
At Seattle, rookie Kevin Durant scored twice in the final 45 seconds, and the Sonics beat Dallas in what could be the team’s last in Seattle.
The team might be playing in Oklahoma City next season and is putting the finishing touches on the worst record in franchise history.
The Sonics outhustled and outplayed the playoff-bound Mavericks giving their fans something to be proud of. Earl Watson led Seattle with 21 points and 10 assists, while Nick Collison had 18 points and 11 rebounds as Seattle scored the final 10 points and handed Dallas a second straight loss.
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 32 points and Seattle native Jason Terry added 25.
Magic 104, Bulls 84
At Chicago, Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 points, and Orlando beat Chicago to reach the 50-win mark for the first time in 12 years.
Dwight Howard added 19 points even though he sat out the fourth quarter, and Rashard Lewis added 18.
Orlando got a much-needed win after dropping six of 10 and losing to lottery-bound New York and Minnesota in that span. In between, the Magic captured their most lopsided win of the season when they beat Chicago 115-83 at home tomorrow.
Andres Nocioni led Chicago with 22 points and Luol Deng added 19, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Magic from reaching 50 wins for the first time since 1995-96.
Cavaliers 84, Heat 76
In Cleveland, Daniel Gibson made a 3-pointer and three straight free throws early in the fourth quarter to give Cleveland some cushion while LeBron James rested, and the Cavaliers moved closer to the East’s No. 4 seed.
Delonte West scored 18 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 and 14 rebounds and James finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Cavaliers, who didn’t play well again but had enough to hold off the pathetic Heat.
Ricky Davis scored 17 points and Daequan Cook and Earl Barron had 13 apiece for Miami (14-66).
Pistons 91, Raptors 84
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Rodney Stuckey scored 18 points, Jason Maxiell had 14 as Detroit won without playing its starters in the fourth quarter.
The loss drops Toronto (40-40) into a tie with Philadelphia for the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed with two games left, although the Raptors have the tiebreaker. The sixth seed will play Orlando in the first round, while the seventh seed faces Detroit.
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