‘Melo’ dumps 50 on shorthanded Heat

(The Sports Xchange) – The Los Angeles Lakers found their rhythm in a 101-81 victory over the Dallas Mavericks that draws them even with the Jazz.

Four of the seven Lakers who played reached double figures in scoring, Kobe Bryant notching 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and Dwight Howard anchoring the middle with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Dirk Nowitzki struggled to reach 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting while Chris Kaman had 14 points and six rebounds.

The Mavericks are now 2.5 games behind the Jazz and Lakers with eight games remaining, including Wednesday’s road game against the Denver Nuggets.

Led by Carmelo `Melo’ Anthony’s career-high-tying 50 points, the New York Knicks defeated Miami, 102-90 on Tuesday.
The Heat were without injured starters LeBron James (right hamstring), Dwyane Wade (right ankle/knee) and Mario Chalmers (right ankle) who all sat out with minor injuries for the second game in a row.

Chris Bosh had 23 points, and Mike Miller added 18 points to lead the Heat. But Miller was held scoreless in the second half.

The Knicks extended their winning streak to nine games, the longest active string in the NBA. The Knicks also tied the Indiana Pacers in the battle for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

John Wall had 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and Emeka Okafor scored the go-ahead dunk with 45.9 seconds remaining as the Washington Wizards rallied in the second half for a 90-86 win over the Chicago Bulls. A.J. Price scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter for the Wizards (28-46), who won their eighth straight home game.

With the Bulls trailing 83-82 with 3:59 remaining, the referees called center Nazr Mohammed for basket interference on Kirk Hinrich’s attempt at a running bank shot hung on the rim. Hinrich balked at the call, resulting in consecutive technical fouls and an ejection.

After Mohammed’s jump hook tied the game at 86-86 with 56 seconds remaining, the Wizards took the lead for good as a driving Nene fed Okafor inside.

Bulls forward Taj Gibson left the game in the first half with a left knee injury and did not return.