Miami Heat forward LeBron James dunks against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. (AP-Yonhap News)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Kobe Bryant engineered a second-half comeback, helping the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 100-94 on Tuesday and extend the Lakers’ winning streak to five games while lifting them to .500.
Bryant scored 34 points in his NBA-record 15th Christmas Day game and Metta World Peace added 20 points and seven rebounds while defending Carmelo Anthony, whose 34 points led the Knicks. Bryant, the league’s leading scorer, has topped 30 or more points in nine straight games.
The Lakers improved to 14-14 ― 9-9 under new coach Mike D’Antoni ― and upped their holiday record to 21-18, including 13-9 at home.
The Knicks controlled most of the game behind Anthony and J.R. Smith, who had 24 points. But they struggled offensively in the fourth, when Anthony was limited to seven points and Smith had five.
Smith’s 3-pointer pulled New York to 96-94. After Pau Gasol made one of two free throws, Smith missed another 3 that would have tied the game at 97 with 32 seconds left.
Gasol dunked with 12 seconds to go, punctuating a win that sent Lakers fans, frustrated by the team’s struggles and coaching change, home happy. The Lakers avenged a 116-107 loss in New York on Dec. 13.
Rondo leads Celtics NEW YORK (AP) ― When Boston last met Brooklyn, Rajon Rondo lost his cool, and any chance at history, in the second quarter.
This time, the second period featured some of the best basketball the Celtics have played this season.
Rondo scored 19 points in his first full game against the Nets this season, and the Celtics won 93-76 on Tuesday in another game with some heated moments between the division rivals.
Rondo, sidelined in the first meeting and thrown out of the second after shoving Nets forward Kris Humphries into the courtside seats, outplayed counterpart Deron Williams and helped the Celtics take control early.
“We moved the ball; we rebounded the ball,” Rondo said. “They beat us pretty bad on the glass, so tonight we did an exceptional job on the glass, taking care of the defensive rebounds, and we got stops.”
A month after the teams scuffled in Boston, there was another skirmish in the fourth quarter that resulted in four technical fouls. But that was the most fight the Nets put up in a disappointing performance on the national stage of the Christmas opener. They were never in the game after the first 20 minutes, and their fans headed to the exits with under 2 minutes left as a “Let’s go Celtics!” chant broke out.
Heat hang on late
MIAMI (AP) ― LeBron James finished with 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 21, and the Miami Heat survived a frantic finish to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-97 in an NBA Finals rematch on Tuesday.
Mario Chalmers scored a season-high 20 for the Heat, who matched the franchise’s best 25-game start at 19-6.
Chris Bosh added 16 for Miami, which has beaten the Thunder five straight times going back to last June’s title series.
Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook added 21 for Oklahoma City, but both Thunder stars missed potentially game-tying 3-point attempts in the final seconds.
Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin each added 15 for the Thunder, who have dropped two straight for the first time this season.
The Heat went 19 for 19 from the foul line, the second-best effort in franchise history. They were 30 for 30 at Boston on March 24, 1993.
Houston 120, Chicago 97
LA Clippers 112, Denver 100
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