SACRAMENTO 113 LOS ANGELES 97
Marcus Thornton scored 23 points, Tyreke Evans had 18 and the Sacramento Kings snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the lethargic Los Angeles Lakers 113-97 on Wednesday night.
Jason Thompson added 13 points and 10 rebounds to help the Kings take a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter and cement the latest Lakers setback. Los Angeles had won three straight and seemed to be turning things around under new coach Mike D'Antoni.
Instead, the Lakers looked lost and listless against the Western Conference's worst team, showing all the same problems that got Mike Brown fired.
Kobe Bryant scored 38 points on 11-of-20 shooting and Jodie Meeks had 15 points off the bench as D'Antoni lost for the first time on the Lakers bench. A night after beating Brooklyn in Los Angeles, the Lakers might've been bad enough to give D'Antoni a headache to go with the pain from his surgically replaced knee.
Bryant tried to will his tired team back late.
After the Lakers went down by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, he converted a three-point play over DeMarcus Cousins that sliced Sacramento's lead to 96-92 with 3: 06 remaining. Thornton thwarted the rally in a hurry, swishing a three-pointer from the top of the key on the next possession.
Officials whistled Pau Gasol for a flagrant foul when he swatted Thompson in the face going for a rebound. Thompson made one of two free throws, Cousins added a pair of driving layups and a free throw to put Kings ahead 105-93, with the home fans chanting "Beat L-A! Beat L-A!"
Though point guards Steve Nash and Steve Blake are expected to be out with injuries for at least another two games, the limited Lakers talent was hardly an excuse in this matchup.
Sacramento surged ahead 26-21 behind an 11-0 run to start the second quarter that Thornton capped with a three-pointer and running layup.
HORNETS 98, RAPTORS 97
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - Ramon Sessions hit a 16-footer with 28 seconds left and the Charlotte Bobcats made a late defensive stand to beat the Toronto Raptors 98-97 for their fifth win in six games.
The Bobcats led by as many as 10 in the fourth quarter, but the Raptors took the lead after a late run. Sessions made a jumper from just beyond the foul line that hit the rim twice before falling through to give the Bobcats the lead. Toronto had four shots to win it, but two resulted in blocks and Andrea Bargnani's baseline jumper fell short as time expired.
Bargnani had 25 points.
