Kobe Bryant missed his second straight game, but the Los Angeles Lakers shrugged off the absence of their superstar to edge New Orleans 93-91 Monday in a National Basketball Association contest. Spain's Pau Gasol scored 25 points with nine rebounds for the Lakers. Ramon Sessions, acquired in a mid-season trade last month, added 17 points for Los Angeles, including a three-pointer that put the Lakers up 92-86 with 26 seconds to play. Metta World Peace — the player formerly known as Ron Artest — finished with eight points, including a three-pointer with a minute and a half remaining that broke an 86-86 tie. Los Angeles, with Bryant sidelined again by a sore left shin, had trailed by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter. Andrew Bynum added 18 points with 11 rebounds for Los Angeles, who had lost their previous two games. Thunder 109, Bucks 89: The Oklahoma City Thunder regained the top spot in the Western Conference in some style Monday after blasting the Milwaukee Bucks. The Thunder had sat atop the West for most of the season but an 11-game winning streak from surging San Antonio put the Spurs percentage points in front heading into the night. The teams flipped positions after Oklahoma City took care of their business in Milwaukee and the Spurs later lost at Utah Jazz after deciding to rest key veterans Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Oklahoma City (42-15) cruised behind 26 points from Russell Westbrook and 19 from Kevin Durant as they raced out to a 35-18 first-quarter lead which they never looked like relinquishing. The game featured some tense moments including a first-half confrontation between Mike Dunleavy and the Thunder's Serge Ibaka, who grabbed Dunleavy's arm as the two went face-to-face and were both assessed technicals. Grizzlies 94, Clippers 85: Marc Gasol scored 18 points, Rudy Gay had 16 and the Grizzlies held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers. Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo added 13 each for Memphis, which won for the eighth time in 10 games and moved one-half game behind the Clippers for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Marreese Speights finished had 12 points and Zach Randolph added 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Grizzlies finished with a 48-36 rebounding edge, but committed 20 turnovers. Chris Paul led Los Angeles with 21 points and six assists, while Blake Griffin had 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe and Randy Foye scored 11 points each. Pacers 103, Raptors 98: Danny Granger and George Hill scored 18 points each as Indiana took an early lead and held off Toronto. Wizards 113, Bobcats 85: Jordan Crawford scored 20 points and Washington got 67 points from its reserves in a matchup of the NBA's two worst teams. Magic 119, Pistons 89: Jason Richardson hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points, J.J. Redick had 20 points and Orlando cruised past Detroit. Suns 114, Timberwolves 90: Shannon Brown had 17 points and seven rebounds and Phoenix's reserves outscored Minnesota's 66-27. In other games it was: Nuggets 123, Warriors 84; Jazz 91, Spurs 84; Rockets 94, Trail Blazers 89.
