Kobe Bryant scored 24 of his 65 points in the fourth quarter and added nine more in overtime for Los Angeles, which snapped a seven-game losing streak by defeating the Portland Trailblazers 116-111 on Friday night.
It was Bryant's second-highest scoring game and his third with 60 or more points -- including an 81-point outing against Toronto on Jan. 22 last year at Staples Center. He also had 62 against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005, at Los Angeles. The All-Star MVP has 15 games with 50 or more points, including four this season. The Lakers are 11-4 when he cracks the 50-point plateau.
Bryant shot 23-for-39 from the field and was 11-for-12 from the free throw line. He averaged 35 points in his previous six games against Portland, including a 50-point effort on April 14 last year.
PHOTO: AP
Bryant's point total was the highest ever against the Trail Blazers, one more than Rick Barry's previous record. He got the Lakers going in overtime with a pair of free throws and a 14-foot running jumper. His 3-point shot broke a 108-all tie with 44 seconds to go, and he capped the fourth-highest scoring game ever by a Laker with a pair of free throws with 17.1 seconds to go.
Miami 103, Kings 97
At Miami, Shaquille O'Neal scored 23 points, Eddie Jones and Jason Williams had 19 apiece and Miami extended the NBA's longest current winning streak to nine games with a 103-97 victory over Sacramento.
James Posey added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the defending champion Heat, who have won 14 straight at home and pulled into a virtual tie with Washington for the Southeast Division lead. Miami (36-29) is two percentage points behind the Wizards (35-28), who were idle on Friday and hosted New Orleans yesterday.
Jones went 5-for-6 and Williams 5-for-9 from 3-point range for Miami, which connected on 13 of 21 -- a season-best 62 percent -- from beyond the arc.
Ron Artest had his first double-double in more than a month, 32 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento, which dropped its fifth straight. Mike Bibby scored 21 points and Shareef Abdur-Rahin added 18 for the Kings.
Hornets 92, Knicks 90
At New York, David West made the go-ahead jumper with 55 seconds remaining and New Orleans snapped a six-game losing streak with a victory over New York.
West finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who erased an 18-point deficit. Chris Paul, playing with a stress reaction in his left foot, had 20 points and eight assists and Rasual Butler scored 17 points.
Steve Francis had 21 points and 10 assists, but missed a potential winning 3-pointer for the Knicks.
76ers 89, Jazz 88
At Philadelphia, Kyle Korver made the winning basket with 5.1 seconds left and Andre Iguodala scored 23 points as Philadelphia handed Utah its third straight loss.
Samuel Dalembert had 17 points and Andre Miller 16 for the Sixers, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Deron Williams finished with 18 points and 16 assists for Utah, which lost its third straight. Mehmet Okur added 15 points and Carlos Boozer 14.
Clippers 102, Bobcats 93
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Tim Thomas came off the bench to score 24 points and Los Angeles rallied to beat Charlotte.
Elton Brand added 19 points and 10 rebounds and four other players scored in double figures for the Clippers, who snapped a five-game losing streak.
Raymond Felton had 18 points for the Bobcats, who played without four injured starters: forward Sean May (sore right knee), forward Emeka Okafor (strained calf), center Primoz Brezec (sprained left ankle), and guard Brevin Knight (strained groin).
Rockets 114, Raptors 100
At Toronto, Rafer Alston scored 23 points, Yao Ming added 23 points and 12 rebounds and Houston never trailed in beating Toronto for its fifth win in six games.
Alston, who played parts of two seasons with Toronto, also had nine assists and eight rebounds before fouling out with 3:26 to play. Tracy McGrady, who also played for Toronto, added 24 points and seven assists.
T.J. Ford had 18 points and eight assists for the Raptors, who lost for the first time in five games. Chris Bosh added 16 points and 19 rebounds, while Juan Dixon scored 17 and Andrea Bargnani had 16.
Mavericks 106, Celtics 101
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points, 19 in the final quarter, and Josh Howard matched a career high with 30 points to help Dallas bounce back from consecutive defeats by rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Boston.
Paul Pierce scored 29 points for the Celtics, who had won six of their previous nine.
Gerald Green added a career-high 25, and Al Jefferson had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Pistons 105, Suns 83
At Phoenix, Ronald Murray scored a season-high 25 points and Detroit completed its first 5-0 road sweep through the West in 15 years and snapped Phoenix's six-game winning streak.
Murray, playing most of the night in place of injured Chauncey Billups, made 12 of 16 shots and had a season-best six steals.
Billups left the game with a strained left groin midway through the second quarter.
Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points, including 4-of-6 3-pointers, and Chris Webber added 17 for Detroit.
Amare Stoudemire had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Suns and Steve Nash added 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting.
Warriors 106, Timberwolves 86
At Oakland, California, Jason Richardson had 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists and Golden State maintained its hold on the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a win over Minnesota.
Monta Ellis added 24 points and six assists off the bench, while Andris Biedrins had nine points and 12 rebounds for Golden State, which continued its resurgence with a healthy Baron Davis in the lineup.
Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which lost to the Warriors for only the fourth time in the teams' past 11 meetings.
At 31-36, Golden State remains just percentage points ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers (30-35) for the eighth playoff spot in the West.
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