Bryant out but Lakers beat the Blazers 99-82

Bryant sat out with a sore left ankle, ending the 12-time All-Star's run of 235 straight games.

Odom also scored 10 points as the Lakers pulled away in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 19 points, en route to ending a nine-game losing streak at the Rose Garden.

Portland was again without All-Star guard Brandon Roy, who will miss the next three games and the All-Star with a hamstring injury.

Jazz 116, Nuggets 106 In Salt Lake City, Utah made it eight straight wins to down Denver.

Andrei Kirilenko scored 22 points and Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 13 rebounds in his return to the lineup.

The Jazz pulled within two games of the Nuggets in the Northwest Division and avoided a four-game sweep by Denver.

Even without Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets were able to cut a 17-point deficit to three early in the fourth quarter before Utah put the game away.

Ty Lawson led Denver with 25 points.

Cavaliers 113, Knicks 106 In Cleveland, LeBron James scored 47 points, including 24 straight for Cleveland in the first half, as Cleveland held off New York and notched its 11th straight victory.

James set a franchise record with 35 points in the first half thanks to his remarkable streak. He finished one point shy of his season high while adding eight rebounds and eight assists.

He needed just 5:29 to score 24 straight — 16 in a row to end the first quarter and eight straight to start the second. He closed the first quarter with four 3-pointers in the final two minutes.

Nate Robinson, in his second start at point guard this season, had 26 points for New York.

Hornets 104, Bobcats 99 In Charlotte, North Carolina, Darren Collison scored a career-high 24 points filling in for Chris Paul as New Orleans downed Charlotte.

In the first regular-season meeting since the July trade that sent Emeka Okafor to New Orleans for Tyson Chandler, the Hornets rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to snap a three-game losing streak since Paul was sidelined with a knee injury. Okafor, the Bobcats' first draft pick, had 16 points and seven rebounds.

David West added 21 points for New Orleans.

Charlotte slipped to its third straight defeat despite 26 points from Stephen Jackson.

Spurs 98, Clippers 81 In Los Angeles, San Antonio breezed to victory against a Los Angeles team adjusting to life under an interim coach.

George Hill scored all of his 22 points in the first three quarters to set up the Spurs victory.

Chris Kaman had 21 points in the Clippers' first game since Mike Dunleavy resigned as coach and was replaced on an interim basis by Kim Hughes.

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