LOS ANGELES — With superstar Kobe Bryant doing his utmost to get his teammates involved, the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a four-game NBA losing streak with a 102-84 victory over the Utah Jazz. Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace scored 17 points apiece while Bryant, the NBA's second-leading scorer, handed out 14 assists to go with 14 points and nine rebounds in the much-needed win. Pau Gasol and Steve Nash scored 15 points each while Howard also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for a Lakers team that had endured a rocky three-game road trip this week. Last Sunday, Howard was ejected from a loss to the Raptors in Toronto after receiving two technical fouls. Howard then complained he wasn't involved enough on the offensive end after a disappointing eight-point outing in a Monday loss at Chicago. A team meeting Wednesday morning aimed at clearing the air was reportedly tense, and was followed by defeat to the Grizzlies in Memphis. Head coach Mike D'Antoni was delighted to see his star-studded roster playing like a team against the Jazz in the Friday fixture. Spurs 113, Mavs 107: Tony Parker returned from a cut above the same eye he injured in a nightclub incident last summer and scored 23 points to lead San Antonio over Dallas. Parker missed about a quarter in the first half when he took three stitches above his left eye after a collision with Elton Brand on a drive. He nearly lost the eye in June when shards of glass embedded in his cornea after he got caught in a bottle-throwing melee in New York. Tim Duncan stayed home with a sore right knee, but DeJuan Blair made up for his absence by scoring a season-high 22 points. Rodrigue Beaubois led the Mavericks with a season-high 19 points. Heat 110, Pistons 88: Dwyane Wade scored 29 points and sparked a pivotal run to help Miami earn its fourth victory in a row by beating Detroit. The Heat got even for a loss at Detroit on Dec. 28. They improved to 18-3 at home, while the Pistons fell to 4-16 on the road. After falling behind by nine points, the Heat outscored Detroit 26-4 during a seven-minute stretch in the second quarter to take a 60-47 lead. Wade scored 15 points during the spurt. LeBron James had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who shot 56 percent. Over the past two seasons, they're 34-2 when shooting at least 50 percent. Thunder 105, Kings 95: Kevin Durant had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Kevin Martin scored 24 points and Oklahoma City overcame a slow start to overwhelm Sacramento. Russell Westbrook added 18 points and a season-high 14 assists to anchor a 28-10 run to start the third quarter. The spurt helped Oklahoma City go ahead by 25 points and improve to 3-2 on its season-long six-game road trip, which ends Sunday at the Los Angeles Lakers. The Thunder have won eight of 10 to climb to the top of the NBA standings. Cavaliers 113, Bucks 108: Kyrie Irving scored 35 points and Cleveland rallied from a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat Milwaukee. Irving, voted an Eastern Conference reserve for next month's All-Star Game in Houston Thursday, scored 16 points in the third quarter to help Cleveland get back in the game. He added eight points down the stretch as the Cavaliers posted back-to-back wins for only the second time this season. Wizards 114, Timberwolves 101: John Wall had 14 points and five assists in his first start of the season, and no-longer-last Washington finally hit double digits in wins. Bulls 103, Warriors 87: Kirk Hinrich scored a season-high 25 points, hitting six of seven three-pointers in Chicago's victory over Golden State. Grizzlies 101, Nets 77: Marc Gasol had 20 points and nine rebounds and Memphis built a 30-point lead in the second half en route to a victory over Brooklyn. Rockets 100, Hornets 82: James Harden had 30 points and Houston broke out of its worst slump of the season by beating New Orleans. Hawks 123, Celtics 111: Kyle Korver scored 27 points and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 27-point deficit in the first half to beat Boston in double overtime, handing the Celtics their sixth straight loss. — Agencies
