The Los Angeles Lakers have become an even more dangerous team with Pau Gasol. Just ask Kobe Bryant.
“Adding Pau to the mix,” Bryant said, “we have something that has to be dealt with.”
The Charlotte Bobcats were the latest to find that out as Bryant scored 31 points and Gasol 26 in the Lakers’ 106-97 victory Monday night.
It wasn’t an entirely pretty performance for the Lakers, who improved to 6-2 on their nine-game trip – and 4-1 since acquiring Gasol. They allowed the Bobcats to cut a 13-point deficit to 89-86 midway through the fourth quarter.
Then Bryant went to work. His jumper with 4:30 left made it 96-90. His no-look pass to Lamar Odom for a dunk made it 100-93, and Bryant put the Lakers ahead by 11 with two free throws with 1:07 left.
Bryant had his third straight game of 30 or more points, and Gasol had his second-highest scoring game since joining Los Angeles, hitting nine of 11 shots and eight of 12 free throws despite a cold that had Gasol coughing in the locker room after the game.
ay. “Today was the mark of a good player to come back and double your effort and have a good game. He’s not feeling the greatest now either, so that’s a good game for him.”
In other NBA games Monday night, it was: Cleveland 118, Orlando 111; Golden State 120, Washington 117; Philadelphia 84, Dallas 76; San Antonio 93, Toronto 88; the Los Angeles Clippers 96, Milwaukee 89; and Houston 95, Portland 83.
Raymond Felton scored 29 points and Nazr Mohammed added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats, whose seven-game losing streak matches the longest of their disappointing season.
“I thought the guys from the beginning of the game played hard,” said Charlotte coach Sam Vincent, who has questioned his team’s effort twice in the past month. “Mistakes were made, but I thought the intensity was there.”
Bryant hit his first five shots, three of them 3-pointers, and Gasol was 6-for-6 including two dunks as the Lakers looked early like the versatile inside-out team with Gasol.
When Bryant finally missed – a desperation 3 with the shot clock winding down – Gasol grabbed the rebound, was fouled and hit both free throws to give the Lakers a 49-40 lead.
“I was a little more aggressive and a little more determined when I got the ball early in the game,” Gasol said.
Cavaliers 118, Magic 111
and.
Hedo Turkoglu had 25 points for Orlando, leading all five starters in double figures, while Dwight Howard had 16 points and nine rebounds. Howard scored 10 in the first quarter, but struggled the rest of the way as Cleveland collapsed inside with double- and triple-teams.
Orlando lost its second straight, and third of a five-game home stretch before the All-Star break.
Warriors 120, Wizards 117
Stephen Jackson scored a season-high 41 points, hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer and getting 10 of Golden State’s 12 straight points in the final minutes of a stunning home victory.
Jackson’s 3-pointer with 55.6 seconds to play gave Golden State its first lead since the opening minute of their 11th victory in 15 games. Monta Ellis added 22 points and Al Harrington had 21 for the Warriors, who fell behind by 23 points in the first half but gradually chipped away at the lead, eventually holding Washington scoreless for 2:50 while rallying to win.
Roger Mason scored a career-high 32 points and Antawn Jamison added 25 for the Wizards, who lost their eighth straight.
76ers 84, Mavericks 76
Andre Miller scored 21 points to lead Philadelphia to its fourth straight win. The 76ers have won the first four games of a five-game homestand and moved a half-game behind idle New Jersey for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
Josh Howard led the short-handed Mavericks with 17 points before leaving in the fourth with a back injury, and Dirk Nowitzki added 15.
Spurs 93, Raptors 88
Manu Ginobili scored 34 points and added a career-high 15 rebounds for visiting San Antonio.
Tim Duncan added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who led from wire to wire and won for the fifth time in six games.
Toronto’s Jose Calderon scored a career-high 27 as the Raptors dropped their third straight at home.
Clippers 96, Bucks 89
Al Thornton scored 25 points and Sam Cassell added 21 points and eight assists for visiting Los Angeles, which finished 3-4 on its road trip.
Mo Williams, who missed Saturday’s game against New York because of a flu, led Milwaukee with 31 points.
Rockets 95, Trail Blazers 83
Yao Ming had 25 points and seven rebounds as host Houston won its seventh straight, the Rockets’ longest winning streak since they won the last seven games of the 2004-05 season.
Former Texas star LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 to lead the Trail Blazers, who’ve lost four of their last five.
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