The Los Angeles Lakers routed the Utah Jazz in the fourth quarter to seal a 101-77 win on Wednesday, their 10th successive victory.
The Lakers held a slim two-point lead going into the final quarter, but dominated the remainder of the contest 28-6 to seal the win. Kobe Bryant had 27 points and eight assists and Pau Gasol put up 19 with 12 rebounds.
The Lakers, last season’s NBA champions, turned up the defensive heat to force three shot-clock violations in the final quarter, where Utah made just two field goals and the Lakers rolled off 19 consecutive points.
The Lakers flourished down the stretch with flashy, crowd-pleasing fast breaks and improved their league-best record to 17-3.
“That [fourth] was an amazing quarter,” Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson told reporters. “We were able to get some pressure on the ball and get things happening and it became like an avalanche.”
Deron Williams had 17 points and eight assists for the Jazz (12-9), who led for most of the second and third quarters before being overwhelmed at the end.
“Our energy level was really high and we rode the momentum,” said Lakers reserve Jordan Farmar, who chipped in 11 points. “Our talent level is extremely high and when we play hard on the defensive end it’s going to be hard to beat us.”
Utah, who have not beaten the Lakers in Los Angeles since 2006, got 14 points apiece from Mehmet Okur and C.J. Miles.
Ron Artest put up 16 points and Andrew Bynum had 14 for the Lakers, who will play the Minnesota Timberwolves today to complete an early stretch that has included 17 of their first 21 games at home. The Lakers will then hit the road for 19 of their next 28 games.
PISTONS 90, 76ERS 86
At Philadelphia, Rodney Stuckey scored 27 points and hit the winner with 8.7 seconds left to lead Detroit to victory over Philadelphia, the 76ers’ 11th straight loss.
Allen Iverson scored 11 points in his second game with the Sixers. He hit the tying jumper with 1:06 left that made it 86-86.
Stuckey had the ball stripped by Andre Iguodala, but he grabbed the loose ball and tossed it in for the go-ahead basket with one second left on the shot clock.
Iguodala went for the win, but his three-point attempt was no good. He scored 18 points.
HAWKS 118, BULLS 83
At Atlanta, Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 29 points as Atlanta opened the second half with a 20-4 run.
The Bulls, who have lost four straight and nine of 10, remained close only in the first period. Atlanta pushed its lead to double digits for good on a jam by Josh Smith with 5:17 remaining in the first half.
Smith had 18 points, including an alley-oop jam.
Derrick Rose led Chicago with 19 points. James Johnson had 17 — all in the final period — and John Salmons added 16.
WARRIORS 105, NETS 89
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Monta Ellis scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half as Golden State snapped a four-game losing streak. Reserve C.J. Watson also scored 18 and former Nets center Mikki Moore had 16 on a series of dunks for the Warriors.
Brook Lopez had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who were bidding for wins on consecutive nights after winning just once in their first 20 games.
Also on Wednesday, it was:
• Trail Blazers 102, Pacers 91
• Bucks 117, Raptors 95
• Hornets 97, Timberwolves 96
• Rockets 95, Cavaliers 85
• Spurs 118, Kings 106
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