Los Angeles Lakers forward Carlos Boozer and Golden State Warriors guard Justin Holiday battle for a loose ballMark J. Terrill/The Associated Press
Kobe Bryant wasn't anywhere in sight when the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off one of the most stunning upsets of the NBA season so far.
Carlos Boozer scored 18 points in his new role off the bench, and the Lakers built a 24-point cushion against the league-leading Golden State Warriors and hung on for a 115-105 victory Tuesday night.
Bryant, the NBA's No. 3 career scorer, sat out for the first time this season to rest his tired legs. The decision made by coach Byron Scott, who had been hinting at it for days.
"Looking at our schedule coming up, I just thought it was a good time to give him a day of rest and let him prepare for the next game," Scott said. "Kobe told me last night, anyway, 'Coach, whatever you want me do. Just let me know.' So he's on board with it."
The 36-year-old Bryant is averaging 35.5 minutes through the first 27 games and shooting just 37.2 per cent.
"I think this is something that has to happen periodically," Scott said. "You've got to remember – this is 19 years in this league. That's an unbelievable career. I don't care how much his mind is willing. You're not going to be able to play 82 games at the level that he is accustomed to playing. So sometimes, you have to give him days off as well as games off."
Bryant, who passed Michael Jordan on the career points list Dec. 14 at Minnesota, missed 76 games last season because of a torn Achilles and a fractured left knee. Scott said Bryant would be evaluated before Thursday's nationally televised Christmas Day game at Chicago.
Wayne Ellington made his first start for the Lakers in Bryant's place and scored 12 points in 25 minutes, one of seven Lakers in double figures.
"It was a good team win. We just had a lot of energy and it was a lot of fun from the start," said Nick Young. "From the lockerroom to the court, we felt good. Some guys just played free tonight and did their thing. They had no handcuffs on them.
Stephen Curry had 22 points and six assists for the Warriors, who lost for only the fourth time in 27 games. Klay Thompson had 18 points on 6 for 15 shooting.
Curry was 10 for 14 from the field after averaging 30.3 points and 12.3 assists in his previous three games against the Lakers. Draymond Green made one of six shots in 24 minutes and finished with two points.
The Lakers made only one field goal over the final 5:56, a clutch 3-pointer by Jeremy Lin with 35 seconds to play. The Warriors cut it to 113-105 on Justin Holiday's 3-pointer with 29 seconds to go, before Ronnie Price helped put it away with a pair of free throws.
"They kicked our (butts). They were much better than we were," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "We weren't ready to play. We started turning the ball over immediately. We never had any energy, which is going to happen occasionally in the NBA with 82 games."
The Lakers were moving the ball just fine in the first half without Bryant orchestrating the offence. They had 19 assists and got 12 points each from Wesley Johnson and Ed Davis to take a 63-48 lead.
"We just decided to take it upon ourselves and play for one another without our leader," centre Jordan Hill said. "We knew it was going to be a tough fight, but we came out and played hard, played together and moved the ball around."
76ERS 91, HEAT 87
MIAMI – Michael Carter-Williams scored 20 points, Luc Mbah a Moute added 19 and the Philadelphia 76ers erased a 23-point second-half deficit to stun the Miami Heat 91-87 on Tuesday night.
K.J. McDaniels scored 13 for the 76ers, who've won two straight for the first time all season. Jerami Grant and Robert Covington each had 11 for Philadelphia.
Dwyane Wade scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half for Miami, which was outscored 49-30 after halftime and plays host to LeBron James and Cleveland on Thursday in a Christmas Day showdown.
And this was anything but the way the Heat wanted to go into that one.
Shawne Williams scored 17 and Mario Chalmers added 11 for the Heat, who missed four 3-pointers that would have given them the lead in the final minute.
Miami also turned the ball over 22 times, helping Philadelphia score 21 points.
Miami led by 13 after the opening quarter, by 15 at intermission and pushed the lead to 69-46 – a 23-point cushion – midway through the third quarter.
Someone forgot to tell the 76ers that the game was over.
From there, they went on a staggering 41-13 run over the next 16 minutes.
A team that hadn't successfully overcome any more than an 11-point deficit all season – and has been universally mocked for allowing the losses to pile up with alarming regularity – absolutely turned everything around without warning. Carter-Williams made a 3-pointer with one-tenth of a second left in the third to get Philadelphia within 78-73, and the 76ers' run didn't end there.
McDaniels followed up a miss with a one-handed dunk and rim hang for emphasis with 7:22 left, getting Philadelphia within 82-80. He wanted a dunk on the next possession after a Miami turnover, but the alley-oop pass went awry.
No matter: Philadelphia simply tied it on the next possession on a drive by Mbah a Moute, then took the lead when Grant scored while getting fouled with 5:55 left. A pair of free throws by Robert Covington not long afterward put the 76ers up 87-82, completing the run.
TRAIL BLAZERS 115, THUNDER 111, OT
OKLAHOMA CITY – Damian Lillard scored 40 points, making a tying 3-pointer with three seconds left in regulation, and Portland rallied from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Oklahoma City.
Lillard's 40-point outing was his second in Portland's last four games, following a 43-point outburst against San Antonio on Friday. He also had 11 assists.
Lillard went 8 of 12 from 3-point range, including one with 2:07 left in overtime to put Portland up 111-106. Lillard had seven points in the extra period.
Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 40 points and added 10 rebounds and six assists for Oklahoma City before fouling out with 1:39 left in overtime. Oklahoma City played for a third straight game without NBA MVP Kevin Durant, who has a sprained right ankle.
BULLS 99, WIZARDS 91
WASHINGTON – Derrick Rose scored 25 points and Pau Gasol had 18 as Chicago won its fourth straight.
After Washington scored 12 straight – 10 by John Wall – to take an 87-86 lead with 3:44 remaining, Chicago steadied and scored eight straight, six by Rose, to lead 94-87 with 1:48 to play.
Wall led the Wizards with 18 points.
The Bulls outrebounded Washington 52-41.
It was the first meeting of the teams this season. Washington defeated Chicago in the first round of last year's playoffs, 4-1.
HAWKS 107, CLIPPERS 104
ATLANTA – DeMarre Carroll scored a career-high 25 points and Atlanta rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Los Angeles for its fifth straight victory.
Al Horford had 20 points for Southeast Division-leading Atlanta, which has won 14 of 15.
Blake Griffin had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers. Chris Paul scored 19 points.
SUNS 124, MAVERICKS 115
PHOENIX – Eric Bledsoe got his second career triple-double and Phoenix won its fourth in a row in its highest-scoring game of the season.
Bledsoe had 16 points and 11 assists, then grabbed his 10th rebound away from teammate Goran Dragic with 31 seconds to play.
Dragic scored 25 and Gerald Green 22 for the Suns, coming off a 3-0 trip to the East. Alex Len added 17, two shy of his career high.
Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler scored 22 apiece for the Mavericks, losers at home to Atlanta the previous night.
Rajon Rondo had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds before fouling out with 1:37 to play in his third game since coming to Dallas from Boston.
NETS 102, NUGGETS 96
NEW YORK – Joe Johnson scored 27 points, Mason Plumlee added 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and Brooklyn rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Denver.
Jarrett Jack, who started in place of injured point guard Deron Williams, had 17 points and eight assists. Sergey Karasev added 12 points for the Nets, who won their second straight game and improved to 11-2 against sub-.500 teams.
Ty Lawson led Denver with 29 points and had nine assists. Kenneth Faried chipped in 20 points and 14 boards for the Nuggets, who lost their second straight game and have dropped nine of 12.
Nets centre Brook Lopez, who had missed his last eight games due to a lower back strain, played eight minutes and had six points and four rebounds in a reserve role.
MAGIC 100, CELTICS 95
ORLANDO – Tobias Harris scored 19 points and Orlando hung on to beat Boston.
Nik Vucevic and Kyle O'Quinn each added 18 points as Orlando ended a four-game losing streak.
Orlando looked to be in control in the second half and led by as many as 27 points. But that advantage was trimmed all the way down to three points in the closing minutes. The Magic were outscored 35-15 in the fourth quarter, but never trailed.
Tyler Zeller led the Celtics with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Avery Bradley added 20 points, and Kelly Olynyk 14.
PACERS 96, PELICANS 84
INDIANAPOLIS – George Hill scored 15 points in 21 minutes after missing the first 28 games with a left knee injury, leaving Indiana over New Orleans.
A more crisp offence, thanks in large part to Hill's control of the offence, helped Indiana finish with six players scoring in double figures.
Anthony Davis scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Pelicans. Tyreke Evans finished with 14 points and one rebound. Jrue Holiday also had 16 points.
HORNETS 108, BUCKS 101
MILWAUKEE – Kemba Walker scored 27 points and Gerald Henderson added 16 as Charlotte held off Milwaukee for its season-high fourth straight victory.
Brandon Knight had a season-high 34 points for the Bucks, who were prevented from matching last season's victory total of 15.
Knight pulled the Bucks within 103-99 on a 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining, but the Hornets held on with five free throws down the stretch as the Bucks fell to 4-12 when allowing 100 or more points.