Kobe-less Lakers handle Hornets

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — Pau Gasol figured the onus was on him to score even more than usual with Kobe Bryant out of the Lakers’ lineup.

Despite the efforts of New Orleans 7-footers Chris Kaman and Jason Smith, Gasol poured in 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Los Angeles to a 93-91 victory over the Hornets on Monday night.

“I’m one of the anchors — when (Bryant) is not there, even more — so I get a lot more involved in the offense,” Gasol said. “I’m not trying to be the main guy here. We have a great team and some great weapons. … I just picked up a little bit the role of scoring and being aggressive offensively just because, obviously, the absence of the top scorer in the league.”

Bryant missed his second straight game with a sore left shin, but point guard Ramon Sessions helped pick up the slack with 17 points and six assists. His best highlight might have been his sudden burst to the hoop for a soaring dunk over Kaman, but his ability to hit in the clutch was most evident on a 3-pointer that put the Lakers ahead by six with 26 seconds left.

“We were down Kobe, and any time you’re missing a guy like that, everybody’s got to step up,” Sessions said. “I just tried to fill the void, taking what they give me, attacking the basket, trying to get guys shots.”

Andrew Bynum added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who used a 15-2 run inside the last half of the fourth quarter to wipe out a seven-point hole and surge in front for good.

“Our composure was there,” Lakers coach Mike Brown said. “We had big play after big play.”

Carl Landry had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Marco Belinelli scored 20 points for New Orleans. Greivis Vasquez added 18 points and 11 assists for the Hornets, hitting a career-high five 3-pointers on six attempts.

Kaman had 16 points and five blocked shots, but committed his fifth foul with 6:04 left and had to sit for nearly four crucial minutes as New Orleans lost to the Lakers by six or fewer points for the third time in three meetings.

“Chris was about as efficient as he can be,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “He just got in some foul trouble.”

New Orleans also was without shooting guard Eric Gordon because of back soreness that has lingered since last Saturday’s victory over Minnesota.

Williams said the Hornets simply lacked “that closer down the stretch.”

Gasol and Bynum helped the Lakers control the paint, as Los Angeles outscored New Orleans 42-28 inside and outrebounded the Hornets 46-35.

New Orleans stayed close thanks in part to 9 of 15 shooting from deep, with Belinelli hitting four 3s.

After trailing by as much as nine points in the second quarter, the Hornets surged ahead by nine in the third period after a 12-4 run that included a 3 by Vasquez and a three-point play by Al-Farouq Aminu.

The lead was still at nine after Smith’s floater late in the third quarter, but the Lakers quickly cut it to 72-68 on Sessions’ driving layup shortly before the end of the period and Metta World Peace’s 3 to open the fourth.

The Hornets did not wilt right away as they often have this season, thanks to Belinelli, who scored seven straight Hornets points on a bail-out jumper at the shot clock buzzer, a double-pump jumper and a 29-foot 3 late in the shot clock to make it 79-71.

Soon after, a rare sellout crowd was chanting: “Beat L.A!”

That was right about the time the Hornets started missing shots and the Lakers stormed back.

“We came alive when we needed to down the stretch,” Gasol said. “We were covering for each other. We limited them to one shot for the most part and then we attacked on the other end and played smart. … It was good to see.”

Steve Blake drained a 3 from the corner and sank an off-balance floater off the glass. Bynum added a pair of inside baskets and blocked a shot by Landry. World Peace’s 3 put Los Angeles back in front 89-86 with 1:31 left, then Sessions added a 3 to make it 92-86. New Orleans could not quite recover, despite World Peace nearly turning the ball over with a long inbound pass to the Lakers’ back court with 1.2 seconds left. Smith got his hand on the bouncing pass but could not corral it.

Gasol had 15 points in the first half, when the Lakers led by as much as nine on Troy Murphy’s jumper that made it 40-31. Vasquez then hit the first of his 3-pointers and Kaman followed with a jumper, igniting a 12-2 run that included a second 3 by Vasquez and Kaman’s jumper, The surge briefly put the Hornets in the lead before Gasol’s jumper, which beat the halftime horn, put the Lakers back in front 44-43.

GRIZZLIES 94, CLIPPERS 85

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Marc Gasol scored 18 points, Rudy Gay had 16 and the Grizzlies held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.

Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo added 13 each for Memphis, which won for the eighth time in 10 games and moved one-half game behind the Clippers for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Marreese Speights finished had 12 points and Zach Randolph added 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Grizzlies finished with a 48-36 rebounding edge, but committed 20 turnovers.

Chris Paul led Los Angeles with 21 points and six assists, while Blake Griffin had 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe and Randy Foye scored 11 points each.

PACERS 103, RAPTORS 98

INDIANAPOLIS — Danny Granger and George Hill scored 18 points each as Indiana took an early lead and held off Toronto.

Paul George had 15 points and Leandro Barbosa added 14 to help the Pacers — third in the Eastern Conference — win for the fourth time in their last five games.

Hill also had seven rebounds and four assists while making his first start of the season in place of the Darren Collison, who sat out with a groin injury sustained in Indiana’s loss to Boston on Saturday.

Linas Kleiza scored 18 points — all in the fourth quarter — as the Raptors tried to rally from a 15-point deficit at the start of the period. Alan Anderson had 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter and Amir Johnson finished with 16 for Toronto. Ed Davis added 11 points and 10 rebounds and Jose Calderon had 14 assists.

THUNDER 109, BUCKS 89

MILWAUKEE — Russell Westbrook scored 26 points and Oklahoma City won its second straight, beating Milwaukee in a game that featured seven technical fouls and an ejection of Bucks backup forward Larry Sanders.

Sanders was ejected after earning a pair of technicals in the second half, while Mike Dunleavy, Brandon Jennings and coach Scott Skiles also were assessed technicals for Milwaukee. Oklahoma City’s Nazr Mohammed and Serge Ibaka also were called for technicals.

Kevin Durant added 19 for the Thunder, who broke a three-game losing streak with a victory over Toronto on Sunday. Oklahoma City came into Monday’s game trailing San Antonio by percentage points for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Ersan Ilyasova scored 18 for the Bucks.

WIZARDS 113, BOBCATS 85

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jordan Crawford scored 20 points and Washington got 67 points from its reserves in a matchup of the NBA’s two worst teams.

James Singleton had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Cartier Martin chipped in with 19 points as the Wizards (13-44) swept the three-game season series from the Bobcats. John Wall scored just two points but had 12 assists.

Corey Maggette scored 23 points for the Bobcats (7-48), who lost their 12th straight.

MAGIC 119, PISTONS 89

ORLANDO, Fla. — Jason Richardson hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points, J.J. Redick had 20 points and Orlando cruised past Detroit.

Glen Davis added 16 points and 16 rebounds starting in place of center Dwight Howard, who missed his third game in two weeks with back spasms.

All five Orlando starters reached double figures in the Magic’s first win over the Pistons this season.

The Magic also were playing without backup point guard Chris Duhon, who was suspended for the game for conduct detrimental to the team.

Tayshaun Prince led Detroit with 21 points and eight rebounds.

SUNS 114, TIMBERWOLVES 90

MINNEAPOLIS — Shannon Brown had 17 points and seven rebounds and Phoenix’s reserves outscored Minnesota’s 66-27.

Markieff Morris led the backups with 21 points and Steve Nash had 14 points and five assists for the Suns, who have won five of their last six games and 11 of 16 to surge back into the playoff picture. They started the day one game behind Denver for eighth in the West.

Kevin Love had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost six in a row. They have lost 22 straight games in April dating back to 2009.

J.J. Barea had 16 points, but the Wolves’ massive defensive problems continued with the Suns shooting 57 percent.

NUGGETS 123, WARRIORS 84

DENVER — Rookie Kenneth Faried had season highs of 27 points and 17 rebounds, and the Denver never trailed en route to its most lopsided win of the season.

The 39-point margin exceeded Denver’s previous high of 29 points against Sacramento on Jan. 25, and coincided with the return of Danilo Gallinari. He helped pick up the offense by scoring 15 points in his first game since breaking his left thumb against Dallas on March 19.

Arron Afflalo also had 15 points, and JaVale McGee and Corey Brewer each added 13 for Denver. Golden State was led by Klay Thompson and Nate Robinson with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

JAZZ 91, SPURS 84

SALT LAKE CITY — Devin Harris scored 25 points, including 11 straight in the fourth quarter, and Utah halted San Antonio’s 11-game winning streak and boosted its own playoff hopes.

Paul Millsap added 18 points for the Jazz, who avenged a 114-104 road loss Sunday to the Spurs.

Utah (30-28) is injury riddled but the Spurs (40-15) were short-handed in a different way, choosing not to bring stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili for the rematch of the home-and-home set. Coach Gregg Popovich wanted the trio, averaging 46.8 points, to rest.

Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter scored 14 points apiece, and DeJuan Blair added 13 in San Antonio’s first loss since March 17.

ROCKETS 94, TRAIL BLAZERS 89

PORTLAND, Ore. — Goran Dragic scored 22 points and Houston beat Portland to complete a perfect four-game road trip.

Chase Budinger added 15 points off the bench for the Rockets, who beat the Bulls, Lakers and Kings before visiting Portland.

Houston, jockeying for playoff position in the Western Conference, has won six of its last eight games overall.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and six rebounds for the Portland, which trailed by as many as 14 points. The Trail Blazers, who are seeing their playoff hopes dwindle, have gone 7-8 since firing coach Nate McMillan.