PAU Gasol had 25 points and nine rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame Kobe Bryant's absence to beat the host New Orleans Hornets 93-91 last night.

Bryant missed his second straight game with a sore left shin, but Ramon Sessions helped pick up the slack with 17 points, including a 3-pointer that put the Lakers ahead by six with 26 seconds left. Andrew Bynum added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who snapped a two-game skid.

Carl Landry had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Marco Belinelli scored 20 points for New Orleans, which led by as much as eight points in the fourth quarter, before the Lakers stormed back.

Greivis Vasquez added 18 points and 11 assists for the Hornets, hitting a career-high five 3-pointers on six attempts. Chris Kaman had 16 points and five blocked shots.

GRIZZLIES 94, CLIPPERS 85

At Memphis, Marc Gasol scored 18 points and Rudy Gay had 16 as 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

At 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

At 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

At Charlotte, 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

At Orlando, Jason Richardson hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points as 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

At Minneapolis, Shannon Brown had 17 points and seven rebounds as 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

At 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

At Salt Lake City, Devin Harris scored 25 points, including 11 straight in the fourth quarter, as 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

At Portland, Goran Dragic scored 22 points as Houston beat Portland to complete an unbeaten 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 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.