LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant scored 28 points, Trevor Ariza had a career-high 26, and the Los Angeles Lakers squandered a big lead before taking control late in a 107-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Pau Gasol added 25 for the Lakers, who are battling Cleveland for the NBA’s best record and are already the Pacific Division champs. They could meet the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.
Reserve Jason Terry led Dallas with 29 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 20 on 6-of-20 shooting.
Cavaliers 98, Knicks 93
CLEVELAND – Mo Williams scored 23 points, LeBron James added 19 and Cleveland opened a crucial stretch of home games by beating New York.
The Cavaliers didn’t put the Knicks away until the final minutes and improved the NBA’s best home record to 29-1. Cleveland, battling Boston for the best mark in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage in the postseason, will play seven of its next eight games at Quicken Loans Arena.
Magic 105, Jazz 87
ORLANDO, Fla. – Dwight Howard had 28 points and 20 rebounds, leading Orlando over weary Utah for its third straight victory.
The Magic (49-17) closed within a half-game of the Boston Celtics (50-17), who lost earlier in the day, for the No. 2 seed in the upcoming playoffs. Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz.
76ers 85, Heat 77
PHILADELPHIA – Andre Iguodala scored 21 points, seldom-used Donyell Marshall got his 10 points in the fourth quarter and Philadelphia beat Miami.
Hawks 98, Blazers 80
ATLANTA – Joe Johnson scored 35 points, Josh Smith had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Atlanta beat Portland for its fifth consecutive victory.
Grizzlies 89, Pistons 84
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Mike Conley scored 20 points and Darko Milicic added a double-double against his former team as Memphis ended a seven-game losing streak to Detroit.
Raptors 110, Pacers 87
TORONTO – Andrea Bargnani scored 27 points, Chris Bosh had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Toronto used a big second half to beat Indiana and snap a seven-game losing streak.
Wizards 106, Kings 104
WASHINGTON – With the league’s worst record on the line, Washington kept Sacramento in the cellar, dropping the Kings’ record against the Eastern Conference to 0-26.
Antawn Jamison scored 30 points to lead the Wizards.
, whose 16-51 record remains only marginally better than the Kings’ 14-52. Sacramento remained on course to become the first NBA team to go winless against the other conference – in the same season that the Wizards are closing in on becoming the first to go winless against its own division.
Andray Blatche added 16 points, and Darius Songaila 15 for the Wizards. Washington played without Caron Butler, who has a tight left hamstring and will have an MRI exam Monday.
Kevin Martin scored 24 points to lead the Kings, who were missing Bobby Jackson (broken left cheekbone) but welcomed back Beno Udrih (out six games with a sprained right foot).
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