LOS ANGELES — The Denver Nuggets dropped the stumbling Los Angeles Lakers further into the doldrums Sunday with a 112-105 win despite some fourth-quarter fireworks from Kobe Bryant. Ty Lawson scored 21 points and 10 assists and Danilo Gallinari hit five of his 20 in the final seconds to kill the Lakers' rally and send them to a third successive defeat. The Lakers (15-18) left with more than their pride bruised, Pau Gasol exiting the contest in the fourth quarter after having his nose bloodied by an elbow from JaVale McGee. Center Dwight Howard also aggravated a right shoulder injury and will undergo scans. “It's a great win for us but I'm not going to inflate it,” Nuggets coach George Karl told reporters. “I told the team before the game I don't remember the last time we won in here in the regular season.” Bryant did his best to rescue Los Angeles again by scoring 18 of his 29 points in the final quarter but the Lakers fell just short in front of a frustrated home crowd. Los Angeles trailed by 10 midway through the fourth, although they fought back as Bryant twice made three-pointers to pull them within three in the final minute. Gallinari drained a three of his own to halt the comeback with 13 seconds remaining and Denver (20-16) made four straight free throws to ice the game for their third win in four. The Nuggets scored 60 points in the paint to punish Los Angeles inside. Howard put in a solid shift, recording 14 points and 26 rebounds in the loss but his injury will cause concern. The Lakers have now lost four of five and are tumbling down the standings under new coach Mike D'Antoni and his star-studded roster. Bobcats 108, Pistons 101 (OT): Kemba Walker had 20 points and seven assists, Ben Gordon scored 18 points and the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Detroit Pistons 108-101 in overtime Sunday night for just their second win in 21 games. Ramon Sessions added 15 points, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 11 and Bismack Biyombo had 10 points and 17 rebounds for the Bobcats. Tayshaun Prince scored 21 points to lead Detroit, which snapped a four-game winning streak. Greg Monroe had 18 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and Rodney Stuckey also scored 18 points. Walker's driving layup with 7.8 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 96-all, sending the game to overtime. Then, he and Tyrus Thomas had four points each for Charlotte in the extra period. Grizzlies 92, Suns 81: Zach Randolph scored 21 points and Rudy Gay added 20 to lead Memphis. Tony Allen scored 11 and Marc Gasol had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have won three of their last five games. P.J. Tucker scored a career-high 17 points and Marcin Gortat added 12 points and rebounds for the Suns. Guards Goran Dragic and Sebastian Telfair combined for just 12 points and seven assists. Phoenix has lost eight of nine and 15 of 20 dating to November 28. Despite shooting in the mid-30 percent range for the bulk of the game, Phoenix trailed 71-65 when Markieff Morris converted a three-point play 31 seconds into the fourth quarter. But Gasol scored four points, including a fallaway 17-footer, and Gay added a 21-foot jumper to key a 10-3 run that put the Grizzlies ahead 81-68. Thunder 104, Raptors 92: Russell Westbrook scored 23 points, Kevin Durant had 22 and Oklahoma City won for the 17th time in its last 20 games. Serge Ibaka had 19 points and eight rebounds and Kevin Martin scored 16 as the Thunder enjoyed a winning start to a stretch that sees them play 11 of 13 on the road. Oklahoma City came in having played an NBA-low 12 road games this season and improved to 9-4 as visitors. Nick Collison had 10 points and eight rebounds to help the Thunder win for the fifth time in eight games since their season-high 12-game winning streak. Alan Anderson scored 17 of his career-high 27 points in the second quarter and Amir Johnson had 19 for the Raptors, who lost their second straight after winning eight of nine. Prince's jump hook with 2:02 left had given the Pistons a 96-94 lead. Heat 99, Wizards 71: LeBron James scored 24 points, Miami had an edge in rebounding and closed with a 21-0 run over the final 7:07 to beat Washington. The Heat, beaten on the boards by a total of 38 rebounds over the previous three games, this time enjoyed a 50-39 advantage. Udonis Haslem led them with 12 rebounds. James extended his streaks of scoring at least 20 points to 32 consecutive games this season, and 53 in a row including last year's playoff run. The Wizards, last in the NBA in points and shooting, hit 36 percent. They lost their fifth game in a row and fell to 0-13 on the road against Eastern Conference teams. — Agencies
