Dallas Mavericks' forward Elton Brand looks to pass the ball as he's surrounded by New York Knicks' forward Ronnie Brewer (L), Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd at Madison Square Garden in New York Friday. — Reuters LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, Pau Gasol added 14 points and 16 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers responded to coach Mike Brown's firing earlier Friday with a 101-77 victory over the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers had just a few hours to absorb Brown's dismissal after just 18 months on the job. Following a bumpy first half under interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff, they pulled away in the third quarter with a 25-9 run led by Bryant, who also had nine rebounds and seven assists. Stephen Curry scored 18 points for the Warriors, who have lost five straight to the Lakers overall. The comfortable victory doubled the Lakers' victory total for the season and capped one of the most tumultuous days in recent history for a franchise that's never short on drama. General manager Mitch Kupchak and owner Jim Buss abruptly dismissed Brown, informing the players during their morning shootaround. Phil Jackson, the 11-time NBA champion coach who won five rings in two previous stints running the Lakers, is near the top of Kupchak's list again, the GM acknowledged. Heat 95, Hawks 89: LeBron James scored 21 points, including the clinching jumper with 13.6 seconds remaining, and the Heat picked up their fourth straight win. Jeff Teague hit consecutive 3-pointers as the Hawks rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter. But Josh Smith, on an awful night, missed two free throws with just over a minute remaining, and James finished off Atlanta after the teams traded turnovers. Chris Bosh led Miami with 24 points. James just missed a triple-double, adding 11 rebounds and nine assists. Knicks 104, Mavericks 94: Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points and the Knicks improved their best start in nearly two decades to 4-0. Reserve JR Smith added 22 points for the Knicks, the only unbeaten team in the NBA. They hadn't been perfect after four games since the 1993-94 team started 7-0 en route to the NBA Finals. The Knicks averaged 104.7 points and allowed just 85.3 per game, while routing Miami and sweeping a home-and-home series from Philadelphia to start the season, but didn't seize control of this one for good until nearly the midpoint of the fourth quarter. O.J. Mayo scored 23 points for the Mavericks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and lost to the Knicks for just the fourth time in the last 22 meetings. Hornets 107, Bobcats 99: Anthony Davis had 23 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in his first game back after a concussion, and the Hornets handed the Bobcats their third straight loss. Ryan Anderson hit five 3-pointers and finished with 25 points for New Orleans, which has won three of its first five games despite being without injured star guard Eric Gordon. Suns 107, Cavaliers 105: Shannon Brown scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and helped key a late 14-4 run as Phoenix rallied from a 26-point deficit to get the win. P.J. Tucker hit a 20-foot jumper from the left corner to give the Suns a 103-102 lead with 1:32 to go. After the teams traded misses, Marcin Gortat blocked Daniel Gibson's shot and Goran Dragic found Brown streaking down the right side for a fast-break dunk and a 105-102 lead with 37.4 seconds remaining. Dragic made one of two free throws but Gibson connected on a 3-pointer with 13.1 seconds to play to get the Cavaliers within one. Sebastian Telfair dribbled the clock down to 5.1 seconds and made one of two free throws to make it 107-105. In other games it was; Timberwolves 96, Pacers 94; 76ers 106, Celtics 100; Nets 107, Magic 68; Spurs 97, Kings 86; Thunder 105, Pistons 94; Grizzlies 93, Rockets 85; Nuggets 104, Jazz 84; Bucks 101, Wizards 91. — Agencies
