Lakers storm back to sting Hornets

Reuters/New Orleans

Cleveland Cavaliers Daniel Gibson (left) has the ball knocked away by Portland Trail Blazers Patrick Mills (right) during the first quarter of their NBA basketball game in Cleveland, on Saturday. (Reuters

All-Stars Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol combined to score 66 points and lead the twice defending NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-95 win against the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday.
The Lakers squandered a 14-point lead in the third quarter but fought back in the last four minutes of the game, outscoring the Hornets 9-3 in that span to secure the road victory.
"We shot the ball well and you always have to have that kind of a game to win, especially on the road,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "The other thing we did was control the pace.”
The Hornets trailed from the opening basket until Chris Paul drained a three-point shot as time expired in the third quarter to put the home team ahead 82-81.
Spanish center Gasol scored a season-high 34 points and Bryant added 32, including a key three-pointer with 3:20 remaining to give the Lakers the lead for good.
Paul led the Hornets with 21 points, Delonte West added 16 and the Hornets bench scored 39 points including 14 by Marcus Thornton.
The Lakers enjoyed a huge advantage at the foul line, converting 23 of 27 opportunities while the Hornets had just four free throws.
"For a game to be that physical and we only get four free throws, I just don’t understand,” said Hornets coach Monty Williams. "Guys are just competing their butts off and I thought we deserved a little bit more whatever you want to call it. We should have gotten to the line more tonight.”
Elsewhere, the Cavaliers lost their 24th straight NBA contest on Saturday, falling 111-105 to the Portland Trail Blazers to break the league record for a single-season losing streak.
The 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies and the 1997-98 Denver Nuggets both posted 23-game losing streaks in a single season—a dubious record the Cavs had matched on Friday when they lost at Memphis.
With their 24th straight defeat, the Cavaliers also equalled their own NBA record for overall defeats in a row—which they set in a period spanning the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons.
"It feels like a bad dream,” said Cleveland guard Daniel Gibson.
The Cavaliers, who have been reeling since the departure of NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James as a free agent last July, gave themselves a chance to overcome a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, but once again they couldn’t make the plays they needed.
Antawn Jamison scored 17 to lead the Cavs, who haven’t won a game since they beat New York in over-time on December 18. Their next chance comes on Monday in Dallas.
Wesley Matthews scored 31 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 for Portland.
Portland guard Andre Miller, a former Cavalier, admitted the Trail Blazers didn’t want to be the team on which Cleveland turned the tables.
"There’s pressure playing against every team, but, of course, there’s added pressure with them struggling the way they are,” Miller said.
"You don’t want to be the top headline: ‘Streak ends to Portland Trail Blazers.’ Guys took a little pride in that.”
The Cavaliers have had precious little to find pride in during a season in which they have fallen to 8-42.