Lakers put an end to their losing streak
The Lakers broke their eight-game losing streak when Kobe Bryant scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half to beat the New York Knicks, 117-107, last night in Los Angeles.
New York's Stephon Marbury had a season-high 45 points, and 6 rebounds and 10 assists, scoring 34 in the second half. He shot 9 of 13 from the floor and 10 of 11 from the foul line.
He wound up making 12 of 22 field goals and 15 of 16 free throws in falling 5 points shy of his career high.
The losing streak was the second longest for the Lakers (33-37) since they moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960. The Lakers lost their last 10 games of the 1993-94 season.
That was the last time they failed to qualify for the playoffs, something they seem destined to do this year for just the second time since 1976.
They are in 10th place in the Western Conference, and trail Denver for the eighth and final playoff berth by 5 1/2 games with 12 remaining.
Caron Butler added 26 points for Los Angeles. Devean George, playing just his third game of the season, had 18 points and Chucky Atkins scored 12 for the Lakers, who shot 53.4 percent and committed only 10 turnovers two days after committing a season-high 27.
The Lakers, who have had defensive problems all season, are 7-32 when their opponent scores 100 or more points.
Heat 103, Raptors 91 -- Shaquille O'Neal had 28 points and Dwyane Wade added 27, leading host Miami in a game marred by the fourth-quarter ejections of Toronto forward Morris Peterson and coach Sam Mitchell.
Damon Jones added 14 for Miami, which trailed by 2 with 10 minutes left before outscoring the Raptors, 24-10, down the stretch and extending its franchise-best home winning streak to 17 games.
Rafer Alston had 19 points and Chris Bosh had a 16-point, 13-rebound game for the Raptors, who also got 15 points from Peterson.
With Miami up, 89-83 late, things got ugly. Peterson was called for fouling Wade on a drive down the lane with 3:46 left, and the two got tangled up and exchanged words.
They were separated and Wade backed up toward the foul line, but Peterson kept shouting at him -- even as O'Neal tried to intervene.
Peterson was hit with a double technical and tossed his jersey into the stands behind the Raptors' bench as he left the floor. Wade also drew one technical foul.
Wade hit two free throws for a 92-83 lead, then had a steal on Toronto's next possession and found Udonis Haslem for a layup that put Miami up by 11 with 3:26 left.
Mitchell was thrown out with 1:47 remaining after arguing a foul called against Jalen Rose, who clearly tried to trip Eddie Jones under the basket after the two battled for a rebound.
Cavaliers 94, Clippers 84 -- LeBron James, playing on a sore left ankle, scored 22 points in leading Cleveland past visiting Los Angeles. James shot just 7 for 20 from the field, but he hit two key 3-pointers down the stretch.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 19 points and 15 rebounds for Cleveland, which pulled within two games of the Washington Wizards for fourth place overall in the Eastern Conference.
SuperSonics 102, Grizzlies 99 -- Seattle clinched a Western Conference playoff berth by winning in Memphis.
The SuperSonics, who were led by Ray Allen and Jerome James with 22 points each, hold a 10 1/2-game lead over Denver in the Northwest Division.
Seattle, which trailed by 14 earlier, used a fourth-quarter comeback keyed by Luke Ridnour, whose 3-pointer with 2:55 left completed the rally for a 93-92 lead.
