DPA/Los Angeles

 

They didn’t have starters Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace, and lost Spaniard Pau Gasol down the stretch but the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers had grit when it mattered most.

Kobe Bryant had 21 points with eight rebounds, and the visiting Lakers closed on a 10-0 run to beat the Brooklyn Nets 92-83 on Tuesday night.

“It feels good to pull out a win like this, it’s a good confidence boost for our guys who stepped in and gave us contributions,” said Bryant, nursing a sore elbow. “But reality sets in and if Pau and Dwight can’t go, we’ll have to figure out a couple of things.”

The Lakers won their 10th straight game over the Nets, even though All-Star centre Howard missed his third straight game with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. World Peace was serving a one-game league suspension for grabbing Pistons’ Brandon Knight around the neck and hitting him in the jaw in Sunday’s 98-97 Lakers’ win.

The Purple and Gold also lost Gasol, who finished with 15 points, but left with three minutes 52 seconds remaining after suffering plantar fasciitis strain in his right foot while trying to defend Brook Lopez under the basket moments earlier.

“I tweaked my fascia in the first half and when I tried to block the shot I felt a pop in the bottom of my foot like I never felt before,” said Gasol, who hobbled out of the locker room on crutches and wearing a walking boot.

Gasol will undergo an MRI yesterday in Boston to determine the severity of the injury.

“I’m worried about it right now,” he said. “It’s really sore but hopefully it will get better and we’ll find out more tomorrow what to do next and where we go from there. The degree of tear will determine it.”

Indiana Pacers 114, Atlanta Hawks 103

Paul George scored 29 points and the Pacers took over sole possession of the Central Division after clipping the Hawks for their 15th consecutive home court victory.

Jeff Teague had 24 points and eight assists for the Hawks, who have lost three of their last four.

Houston Rockets 140, Golden State Warriors 109

 Jeremy Lin scored 28 points, including a career-high five of Houston’s NBA-record-tying 23 triples, and the Rockets shot past the visiting Warriors.

 James Harden (18 points), and Chandler Parsons (16 points) drained four threes apiece in the shooting display as Houston matched the league mark for most triples in a game set by Orlando in a 139-107 win over Sacramento on January 13, 2009.

Phoenix Suns 96, Memphis Grizzlies 90

Polish-native Macin  Gortat scored 20 points, while Slovenian Goran Dragic dropped in 15 of his 17 in the fourth quarter and the visiting Suns shaded the Grizzlies to end a two-game slide.

Denver Nuggets 112,
Milwaukee Bucks 104

Italy’s Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson scored 22 points apiece and the Nuggets rallied from 17 down at halftime to beat visiting Bucks for their season-high seventh straight victory despite a career-high 35-point, 12-rebound performance by Samuel Dalembert in just 27 minutes off the bench.