NBA Wrap:Kobe Breaks Garden Scoring Mark

Kobe Bryant broke the current Madison Square Garden record with 61 points, and the Lakers looked plenty potent without Andrew Bynum.

Bryant teased and pleased a sold-out crowd that took turns booing him and saluting him with "MVP!" chants during an electrifying performance. He passed Michael Jordan's opponent record of 55 points at the present building, known as "Garden IV," when he hit three free throws with 3:56 remaining, then bettered Bernard King's mark of 60, set on Christmas Day 1984, with two more foul shots with 2:33 to play.

Pau Gasol added 31 points and 14 rebounds in the Lakers' first game since losing Bynum, their starting center, for eight to 12 weeks with a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

Al Harrington scored 24 points, David Lee had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and reserve Wilson Chandler added 20 points for the Knicks, who had won three straight and six of seven.

Trail Blazers 97, Hornets 89
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points, and Portland overcame a 17-point deficit — after Hornets guard Chris Paul was injured — for its fifth straight victory.

Paul left the game late in the third quarter with a strained right groin, the first action he has missed all season. He had 12 points and 13 assists.

The Hornets led 72-55 when Paul left the game. Portland then outscored New Orleans 26-7 during the next seven minutes, with Jerryd Bayless scoring 13 of his 19 points during the decisive surge.

David West scored 25 points for the Hornets and Peja Stojakovic 18, but after Paul left the game, the Hornets were 5-of-21 from the field (24 percent) with only two assists and five turnovers.

Mavericks 105, Magic 95
Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and six rebounds, Jason Terry had 23 points and Dallas won its third straight.

Josh Howard and Jason Kidd added 13 apiece for the Mavericks, who held Orlando to 3-for-20 shooting from 3-point range.

Dwight Howard had 35 points and 11 rebounds, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 18 as the Magic ended their three-game winning streak. But that wasn't the worst news of the night for Orlando.

All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson left the game in the third quarter with a dislocated right shoulder. He was scheduled to have an MRI on Tuesday.

Grizzlies 113, Wizards 97
Rookie O.J. Mayo matched his career high with 33 points to lead the Grizzlies to their first win in nearly a month.

Rudy Gay scored 23 and Marc Gasol added 22 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, which ended a 12-game losing streak — the team's longest since dropping 13 in a row to start the 2002-03 season. The Grizzlies had not won since beating Dallas 102-82 Jan. 4.

Antawn Jamison had 29 points and 13 rebounds and Caron Butler scored 21 for Washington, which failed to record its second two-game winning streak of the season.

Heat 119, Clippers 95
Dwyane Wade had 32 points and nine assists, Michael Beasley added 18 points and the Miami Heat snapped a two-game losing skid.

Mario Chalmers scored 15 points, Udonis Haslem added 13 and Shawn Marion — in his first game back after missing five straight with a strained left groin — finished with 11 points and seven rebounds for the Heat, who improved to 15-3 when scoring more than 100 points this season.

Zach Randolph, back after missing 19 games with a sore left knee, scored 21 points for the Clippers, who've lost six straight and 20 of 22. Marcus Camby and Eric Gordon each added 12 for the Clippers, who had beaten Miami by a single point in each of their last two meetings.

Suns 129, Kings 81
Jason Richardson scored 16 of his 24 points in the first quarter, Amare Stoudemire finished with 25 points and eight rebounds and the rejuvenated Suns ended a three-game home losing skid with their most lopsided victory of the season.

Grant Hill added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Suns, Leandro Barbosa scored 11 points, Shaquille O'Neal had 10 points and nine rebounds, and Steve Nash had nine points and nine assists.

John Salmons led the Kings with 19 points, Kevin Martin scored 13, Jason Thompson 12 and Francisco Garcia 10.

Jazz 105, Bobcats 86
Ronnie Brewer scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half and the injury-riddled Jazz rallied from a sluggish start to beat Charlotte.

Mehmet Okur scored 22 despite being in foul trouble most of the night. Paul Millsap scored 14 and Ronnie Price added 12 points in place of Deron Williams, the latest Utah player to be sidelined with an injury. Williams was out with a contusion above his right knee, joining forwards Andrei Kirilenko (ankle) and Carlos Boozer (knee) on the inactive list.

Raymond Felton had 16 points and nine assists to lead the Bobcats, who lost their third straight and went 1-4 on a five-game road trip. They also had 24 turnovers, leading to 32 points for the Jazz.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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