Bryant gets Lakers home

Kobe Bryant came on strong in the closing stages to inspire the Los Angeles Lakers to a 115-105 over the Knicks in New York.

Bryant provided 13 points in the final quarter en route to his 27-strong haul as the Lakers notched up a big win.

Andrew Bogut was again impressive with 22 points and six rebounds but it wasn’t enough to get the Milwaukee Bucks over the Toronto Raptors 101-96 while the Philadelphia 76ers were 92-81 winners at home to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Boston Celtics needed an over-time three-pointer from Ray Allen to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 98-95.

After LaMarcus Aldridge's missed shot at the other end in reply, Tony Allen added a slam dunk on the break to make sure of the win.

The Atlanta Hawks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 103-89 with Jamal Crawford scoring 24.

The Grizzlies edged a close encounter to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 86-84 in Memphis while the Sacramento Kings' problems continued to mount with a 100-84 defeat to the Magic in Orlando.

The Washington Wizards were outclassed by the Miami Heat on their own turf, losing 112-88.

Other action saw the New Orleans Hornets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 96-94 and the Indiana Pacers were 105-93 winners away to the Detroit Pistons.

Houston Rockets won 116-109 at the San Antonio Spurs in a Texan 'derby', the Golden State Warriors subjected the New Jersey Nets to a 111-79 hammering.