Kobe Bryant scored 28 points, while Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat Dallas 110-82 in a spirited contest that saw four players ejected for rough play.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Lakers’ Matt Barnes and the Mavericks’ Jason Terry and Brendan Haywood were thrown out following an shoving match under the basket.
Los Angeles’ Shannon Brown was later ejected in a separate pushing incident. No punches were thrown and no one was injured, but the matter will now go in front of the league’s disciplinary committee.
Photo: EPA
Bryant thought the rough stuff wasn’t anything to get too excited about.
“This was a throwback type of game,” Bryant said. “If this was 1980s I am not sure we would not have had that many type of ejections … just take the ball out and keep playing.”
“This is a team we could see in post-season so it was important to come out and send a message,” he added.
The late skirmishes didn’t take away from the Lakers’ 16th win in 17 games since the all-star break. Los Angeles also pulled to within two-and-a-half games of slumping San Antonio for the NBA’s top overall record.
Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas, who saw their five-game winning streak halted.
Los Angeles led throughout the second half, moving in front 65-55 four minutes into the third.
The Lakers’ Lamar Odom was especially hot from three-point range late in the game, which helped seal the win. He nailed a three late in the third to make it 82-70, then hit two more to open the fourth quarter.
CELTICS 107, SPURS 97
In San Antonio, Texas, the Boston Celtics burst past the Spurs at the end of the third quarter on their way to victory, consigning San Antonio to their longest losing streak in 14 years.
With the game tied at 49-49 at halftime, Boston took command with a 14-3 run during the final 5 minutes, 7 seconds of the third quarter to grab a seven-point lead and send the slumping Spurs to their fifth defeat in a row.
The Spurs’ losing streak is their longest since April 1997 when they lost the final six games of the season.
“They’re the best team in the league and they can treat you like you’re the worst team in the league,” Boston’s Kevin Garnett said. “It just tells us that when we prepare and put our minds to it as a unit, we’re pretty hard to beat.”
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said Thursday’s loss was the most painful of the woeful run.
“Today was the worst of the five,” he said. “They just beat us fair and square. They beat us in every part of the game. They made every shot. Their defense was better. That’s how they got the lead.”
Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with 22 points and 14 assists, while Paul Pierce scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds. Garnett, who had early foul trouble, added 20 points.
Tony Parker scored 23 points to lead San Antonio (57-18), while Tim Duncan scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who despite their recent slump still have the best record in the NBA.
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