Dwight Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds in his return from a three-game injury absence, and theLakers snapped their six-game losing streak with a 113-93 victory over the Cavaliers last night in Los Angeles.
Kobe Bryant scored 23 points for the Lakers, who finally earned their first victory of 2013 while ending their longest skid since February 2007.
Howard went 9- for-11 despite his injured shoulder while leading the Lakers (16-21) to a comfortable victory over the lowly Cavaliers, who beat the Lakers last month.
Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters scored 15 points apiece for Cleveland, which has lost seven of nine.
Thunder 87, Trail Blazers 83
In Portland, Kevin Durant had 33 points as Oklahoma City snapped the Blazers’ nine-game winning streak at the Rose Garden.
Russell Westbrook added 18 points and nine assists for the Thunder, who played without starters Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha because of injuries.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 33 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers.
Nuggets 116, Warriors 105
In Denver, Danilo Gallinari scored 21 points, Ty Lawson had 20, and the Nuggets rallied to beat the Warriors for their fifth straight win.
Wilson Chandler scored 14 points in his first game in two months for Denver after being sidelined since early November because of hip pain.
Stephen Curry scored 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, to lead Golden State.
Spurs 106, Timberwolves 88
Tony Parker scored 20 points as the Spurs extended their home winning streak to 12 games.
Gary Neal was 3 for 3 on 3-pointers in scoring 15 points for San Antonio, which beat Minnesota at home for the 16th straight time. Manu Ginobili scored 12 points in the first half before leaving with a strained left hamstring.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was ejected with 7:22 left in the game following a double technical for arguing a foul called against Tiago Splitter on J.J. Barea.
Bucks 107, Raptors 96
In Toronto, Brandon Jennings had 19 points and 10 assists, rookie John Henson scored 19 and the Bucks rallied from a 20-point first-quarter deficit to notch their eighth straight victory over Toronto.
Larry Sanders extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one block to 23 with a pair of rejected shots. His biggest, however, was a block on DeMar DeRozan’s layup attempt with 3:09 to play and the Bucks clinging to a 92-91 lead.