BOSTON — Kobe Bryant returned from his one-game suspension and
had 43 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to help the Los
Angeles Lakers beat Boston 111-98 on Wednesday night and send the
Celtics to a franchise-record-tying 13th consecutive loss.

Bryant hit a pair of three-pointers after the Celtics cut the
deficit to 63-62 with 8:31 left in the third quarter. He also made
a 30-footer at the end of the quarter to give the Lakers a 10-point
lead and threw down a reverse dunk in the final two minutes to
electrify the fans who weren’t already heading for the exits.

Ryan Gomes had 23 points for Boston, which last lost 13 straight
in 1996-97.

● Mavericks 95, Grizzlies 94: In Memphis,
Tenn., Dirk Nowitzki overcame a tough shooting night with 26
points, including 16 in the fourth quarter.

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Nowitzki shot 8 of 20 from the field but hit all 10 of his free
throws, including eight in the fourth period. The Grizzlies lost
for the third time in the last four games and have an NBA-worst
12-35 record.

Mike Miller led the Grizzlies with 32 points, including 20 in
the fourth quarter. His 30-footer with 5 seconds left got Memphis
within 93-91, but a pair of free throws by Nowitzki put Dallas up
95-91 with too little time for the Grizzlies to make up four
points.

● Jazz 97, Spurs 93: In Salt Lake City, Mehmet
Okur scored 14 of his 31 in the fourth quarter to fend off a late
Spurs rally.

Okur also pulled down 11 of Utah’s 50 rebounds, and Deron
Williams added 14 points and seven assists for the Jazz, which had
lost two straight. Tim Duncan had 25 points and 12 rebounds and
Tony Parker scored 27 points for the Spurs.

● Hawks 115, Warriors 94: In Atlanta, Joe
Johnson, hoping to be picked as a reserve for the All-Star game,
scored 33 points to lead Atlanta to its first winning month in
almost three years and its highest point total of the season.

The Hawks won for the fourth time in five games to post their
first winning month in coach Mike Woodson’s three years. The 8-7
record is Atlanta’s first winning month since a 4-3 April in
2004.

● Rockets 112, Sonics 102: In Houston, Tracy
McGrady matched Ray Allen’s 36 points to lead the Rockets past
Seattle, which tied a franchise record with a 14th straight road
loss.

McGrady and Allen both delivered plenty of highlight-reel
baskets, but McGrady finished off the Sonics with a three-pointer
from the top of the key with 51 seconds left. He glanced at the
Sonics’ bench and wryly grinned as Seattle coach Bob Hill called a
timeout.

● Magic 98, Bucks 73: In Orlando, Hedo Turkoglu
scored 17 points, and Tony Battie added a season-high 15 as Orlando
stopped a three-game losing streak.

Keith Bogans had 14 points and tied a career high with seven
assists for Orlando, which had lost eight of nine.

Mo Williams scored 23 points for Milwaukee, which dug itself a
29-point hole early in the game and never recovered.

● Pistons 113, Nets 89: In East Rutherford,
N.J., Richard Hamilton scored 24 points, and Detroit set a team
record with 27 consecutive free throws.

Chauncey Billups added 18 points, including 12 on perfect
free-throw shooting. Nets center Mikki Moore scored 18 of his 20
points in the first quarter.

● Raptors 119, Wizards 109: In Toronto, Chris
Bosh scored 34 points, and Jose Calderon had a career-high 24
points and 11 assists to lead Toronto.

The Raptors shot a season-high 59 percent and scored a
franchise-record 43 points in the third quarter. Bosh even made a
buzzer-beating 56-footer after stealing an inbounds pass to give
Toronto a 17-point lead after three quarters.

● Bobcats 104, Knicks 87: In Charlotte, N.C.,
Gerald Wallace scored 17 of his career-high 42 points in the fourth
quarter as New York went cold.

The Knicks went more than 11 minutes without a field goal
bridging the third and fourth quarters.

● 76ers 89, Hornets 78: In Oklahoma City,
former Wildcat Andre Iguodala scored 22 points, and Samuel
Dalembert grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Philadelphia’s dominant
rebounding effort (58-40).

● Kings 100, Timberwolves 98: In Minneapolis,
Kevin Martin had 28 points and the go-ahead jump shot with 16.6
seconds left to help struggling Sacramento avoid a road defeat.

● Clippers 110, Bulls 98: In Los Angeles, Elton
Brand had 26 points and eight rebounds, and Los Angeles pulled away
late to move above .500 for the first time in almost two
months.

● Trail Blazers 100, Nuggets 91: In Portland,
Ore., Zach Randolph had 26 points and 17 rebounds to help hand
Denver its fourth straight loss. The Nuggets were without Allen
Iverson, who sprained his ankle in Denver’s 105-101 loss to
Charlotte on Monday.

Trail Blazers’ title-team builder Inman dies at
80

PORTLAND, Ore. — Stu Inman, who helped build the Portland Trail
Blazers’ 1977 NBA championship team, died of an apparent heart
attack. He was 80.

Inman collapsed in his Lake Oswego home Tuesday and was
pronounced dead at the hospital, his son, David, said
Wednesday.

It is the Trail Blazers’ only title since entering the league as
an expansion team in 1970. Inman drafted Bill Walton, Geoff Petrie,
Larry Steele, Lloyd Neal, Lionel Hollins, Bobby Gross, Wally Walker
and Johnny Davis. He helped sign Dave Twardzik after the American
Basketball Association folded, and selected Maurice Lucas in the
ABA dispersal draft.

A star at San Jose State who set scoring and rebounding records,
Inman joined the Trail Blazers as chief scout in 1970. He became
vice president of player personnel, compiled a 6-20 record as
interim coach in 1971-72, and was general manager from 1981 to
1986.

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