NBA Scores And More: Kobe Bryant, Lakers Come Up Short, Paul Pierce Takes Over, Heat Lose To Bucks

Milwaukee unquestionably won Sunday’s game on the defensive end, though, and that effort marked both their second straight excellent defensive outing and second consecutive road win after opening the season with eight straight losses away from the Bradley Center. They now find themselves 6-9 overall, while the Heat fell to 11-5 on the season, though this was their first loss without Dwyane Wade in uniform.

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Paul missed his fifth straight game with a strained hamstring. Griffin played well, and started the afternoon off with a bang on an alley-oop on the Clippers’ first possession. But on this day he was outshone by his frontcourt mate and bestest buddy Jordan, the impossibly long and bouncy fourth-year center who signed a four-year, $43 million contract in December. Jordan earned that money tonight, with 16 points and 16 rebounds on 7-9 shooting to go along with two blocked shots -- all in just 25 minutes of play as the Clippers starters took the fourth quarter off. Six of his seven field goals were dunks -- on half court alley oops, on lobs so high it seemed as if no one could catch them, on follow dunks, after offensive rebounds. He was simply too active for Toronto’s bigs to contain, and was a major factor as the Clippers raced to a 27-9 lead in the first quarter.

Meanwhile Williams led the team in scoring for the third straight game with 26 points. Since returning from a foot injury, Williams has been on a major tear. In three games he has scored 26, 25 and 26 off the bench, while making 29-45 shots, and 8-13 three-pointers. He scored the Clippers first 17 points of the fourth quarter (in less than six minutes!), dispelling any notions the Raptors might have had about staging a comeback against the second unit. At one point he launched a deep three from three steps behind the arc with 18 seconds left on the shot clock -- a heat check if ever there was one -- and it went in. So naturally he hoisted another quick three the next time he touched the ball (this one finally missed).

Kobe shot more times than any two Pacers players combined on the night, but for Indiana that’s the blueprint. They now sit at an impressive 11-4 overall and have managed to create an early cushion in the standings while playing one of the softest schedules in the league. Indiana did not look outclassed or intimidated at any point during the game, and managed to hand the Lakers just their second loss at Staples Center this season.

The narrow 98-96 loss drops the Lakers to a disappointing 10-8 overall, while the Pacers now occupy the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Whether you are a Lakers fan, Pacers fan or just a general NBA enthusiast looking for entertainment, here is a three-minute compilation of that classic 81-point performance to check out. As Sunday’s game proved, nothing else will ever be quite the same.

It didn’t matter who had the check on Pierce for Washington, Pierce simply found ways to get the ball, get to his spots and the free throw line, where he scored 12 of his points (12-15). As such, it allowed Boston to dictate pace, which helped in hiding the impact of losing Rondo and Allen. Also helping Boston’s control of pace was Washington’s lack of defensive pressure, rarely doing anything aggressive to deny what Boston wanted to do offensively.

The Wizards were close through this game, the lead changing hands 11 times, and would have success and then suddenly go away from it, be it attacking the rim or going inside to the post, especially late in the game when JaVale McGee was matched up on Jermaine O’Neal.