LOS ANGELES — Dwight Howard enjoyed a winning return to Los Angeles Wednesday as he and the Houston Rockets dealt the floundering Lakers a resounding 134-108 NBA defeat. Howard spent last season with the Lakers, a campaign shadowed by injury and squabbles with teammates, including Los Angeles superstar Kobe Bryant. As a free agent he bolted for Houston, where he earned All-Star honors as part of a Rockets team now third in the Western Conference. The teams had met twice before this season, both times in Houston. On Wednesday, Howard was defiant in the face of jeers from the Lakers faithful, scoring 20 points with 13 rebounds and three blocks — and earning a technical less than two minutes into the contest. “He came out and wanted to make a statement,” Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said of Howard. “He's good. He played well.” James Harden contributed 29 points and 11 assists as the Rockets stretched their winning streak to eight. Chandler Parsons added 18 points, Donatas Motiejunas scored 12, and Terrence Jones and Francisco Garcia chipped in 11 points apiece. The Rockets notched their eighth straight win against a Lakers team in free fall. Los Angeles dropped their fourth straight game overall and extended their club-record home losing streak to eight. Wesley Johnson led the injury depleted Lakers — still making do without Bryant, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash among others — with 24 points. Kendall Marshall scored 20 points and handed out 16 assists for the Lakers, who launched their long-term rebuilding efforts shortly before the game started with a trade of veteran Steve Blake to Golden State. The Lakers received young shooting guards Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks in return for Blake. Timberwolves 104, Pacers 91 Minnesota forward Kevin Love won a scorers' duel against fellow All Star Paul George as the Timberwolves earned a surprise win against the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers. Love scored 42 and grabbed 16 rebounds to overshadow George's 35 and 11 in the victory. Wolves starting point guard Ricky Rubio added a career-high 17 assists, and four Minnesota players in addition to Love scored in double figures. Indiana have lost three of five games to loosen their lead over the Miami Heat in the East. Knicks 98, Pelicans 91 Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 42 points, including 13 consecutive points in the final 7:10, to power the New York Knicks to a victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Anthony's performance helped the Knicks (21-33) snap a three-game losing streak. The Pelicans (23-30) were led by guard Eric Gordon's 28 points, but Gordon did not score in the final quarter on just two shot attempts. Wizards 114, Hawks 97 The Washington Wizards got 21 points and 12 assists from guard John Wall to defeat the Atlanta Hawks. The Wizards also got 19 points and nine rebounds from forward Trevor Ariza and 19 points and six assists from guard Bradley Beal. Washington (26-28) broke a three-game losing streak with the victory, their first in Atlanta since Jan. 11, 2008, and moved into fifth place in the NBA East. Atlanta (25-28) lost for the seventh straight game. Cavaliers 101, Magic 93 Kyrie Irving scored a team-high 22 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers' victory over the Orlando Magic. It was the Cavaliers' (22-33) sixth consecutive victory, their longest streak since March 2010. Orlando (16-40) never led in the game. The Magic were led by guard Arron Afflalo's game-high 23 points. Bobcats 116, Pistons 98 Al Jefferson scored 29 points and guard Kemba Walker added 24 points and a career-high 16 assists as the Charlotte Bobcats completed an important two-night sweep over the Detroit Pistons. The victory followed a 108-96 win in Detroit on Tuesday night, and enabled the Bobcats (25-30) to push their lead over the Pistons (22-32) to 2 1/2 games in the fight for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff spot. — Agencies
