KOBE Bryant scored 41 points while becoming the youngest player to reach 24,000 to lead the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers to a 114-98 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies yesterday.

Ron Artest had 19 points and seven assists in the fourth straight win for the defending NBA champions, who played without injured big men Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

Lamar Odom managed just three points before fouling out on his 30th birthday, but Bryant carried the Lakers while reaching his latest scoring milestone 38 days before Wilt Chamberlain did. With a second-half surge, he even overtook Grizzlies guard Allen Iverson for 16th place on the NBA's career scoring list.

Cavaliers 100, Knicks 91

At New York, LeBron James scored 33 points in his only visit to Madison Square Garden this season, leading Cleveland over New York.

James added nine assists and eight rebounds, but fell just short of passing Kobe Bryant as the active scoring leader at the Garden. James improved his average to 30.4 points, with Bryant averaging 30.5 in 11 visits, according to STATS LLC

James had scored 50 or more in two of his last three visits, joining Michael Jordan as the only visiting players with multiple 50-point games at the current building.

Trail Blazers 96, Spurs 84

At Portland, Oregon, Brandon Roy had 24 points and five rebounds, and Steve Blake added 15 points as Portland got a lift from its new-look lineup.

Richard Jefferson had 19 points, Manu Ginobili had 17, and Tim Duncan added 14 points and eight rebounds, but San Antonio lost Tony Parker to a sprained ankle and couldn't overcome a lethargic first half, playing one night after a loss at Utah.

Clippers 118, Warriors 90

At Oakland, California, Chris Kaman had 22 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes as the Los Angeles Clippers ended a seven-game losing streak in the Oakland Arena.

Baron Davis scored 16 of his 25 points in the third quarter. Eric Gordon added 25 points for Los Angeles and DeAndre Jordan scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter. Sebastian Telfair also scored 13 points for the Clippers.

Anthony Morrow had 18 points and Stephen Jackson added 17 for the Warriors. Anthony Randolph had 13 points and 14 rebounds for Golden State, while Monta Ellis added 14 points and Kelenna Azubuike 13.

Suns 110, Celtics 103

At Boston, Jason Richardson bounced back from his worst game of the season to score 34 points with 10 rebounds as Phoenix rebounded from its only defeat.

Kevin Garnett had a season-high 26 points for Boston - the most he's scored since missing the end of the 2008-09 season and the playoffs with strained ligaments in his right knee.

Steve Nash had 16 points with 12 assists for Phoenix. Amare Stoudemire added 22 points, while Richardson finished 6 for 7 from 3-point range.

Magic 110, Pistons 103

At Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help Orlando hold off Charlie Villanueva and Detroit.

Villanueva scored 22 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to get past the defending Eastern Conference champs, who led by 19 early and never trailed at all.

Matt Barnes had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Magic and Jameer Nelson also scored 18, with eight assists.

Bucks 87, Timberwolves 72

At Minneapolis, Andrew Bogut bested Al Jefferson inside with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Luke Ridnour had 16 points off the bench as Milwaukee used a second-half surge to top Minnesota.

Rookie Brandon Jennings had his first clunker for the Bucks, putting up nine points on 4 for 16 shooting, but his backup Ridnour helped counter a career-high 20 points by Timberwolves rookie Jonny Flynn.

Heat 96, Nuggets 88

At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 22 points and Jermaine O'Neal added 18 as Miami dealt Denver its first loss of the season.

Mario Chalmers scored 16 points, Quentin Richardson added 13 and Udonis Haslem finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who are 5-1 for only the third time in their 22 seasons and beat Denver for the first time since Dec. 17, 2004.

Denver got 30 points from Carmelo Anthony, and little from anyone else: Reserve Arron Afflalo scored 18 for the Nuggets.

Pacers 102, Wizards 86

At Indianapolis, Tyler Hansbrough scored 13 points in his pro debut as Indiana downed Washington.

The first-round draft pick from North Carolina missed the preseason and the first four regular-season games with a right shin injury.

Danny Granger scored 22 points and T.J. Ford added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers.

Caron Butler led the Wizards with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Brendan Haywood had nine points and 19 rebounds.

76ers 97, Nets 94

At Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala scored 16 points, including a late 3-pointer, to give Philadelphia the lead over New Jersey.

Lou Williams scored 18 points and Jason Kapono had 14 for Philadelphia, which rebounded from a 31-point loss to Boston three days earlier.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 22 points and 11 rebounds while Trenton Hassell had 17 points and 12 rebounds. New Jersey fell to 0-6, the worst start in franchise history.

Raptors 107, Hornets 90

At New Orleans, Chris Bosh scored 27 points as Toronto used a 27-4 run in the third quarter to take control.

Hedo Turkoglu and Jose Calderon both had 16 points for Toronto, while Andrea Bargnani added 14.

Chris Paul led New Orleans with 21 points and a season-high 18 assists, while Bobby Brown added 16 points.

Bobcats 103, Hawks 83

At Charlotte, Nort Carolina, Raja Bell scored 24 points as Charlotte downed a road-weary Atlanta.

Bell hit 9 of 12 shots, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range, Flip Murray added 15 points in his Charlotte debut, and Gerald Wallace offset a poor shooting night with 18 rebounds in the Bobcats' second straight win.

Rockets 105, Thunder 94

At Houston, Trevor Ariza and Carl Landry scored 21 points each as Houston downed Oklahoma City.

Luis Scola added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets.

Russell Westbrook scored 33 points and Kevin Durant added 27 for the Thunder.