EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — On a night that Kobe Bryant tossed up an air ball with his first shot, sprained his right ankle and finished 5-of-19 from the field, the Los Angeles Lakers still showed why they are the top playoff seed in the Western Conference.

Bottom line — there's more to the Lakers than Kobe.

Pau Gasol had a season-high 36 points and 11 rebounds, and the Lakers (58-14) guaranteed the road to the Western Conference championship will run through downtown Los Angeles with a 103-95 victory over the New Jersey Nets last night.

"It's just one more step toward our goal," Gasol said "Now we're just looking to the next game."

Derek Fisher added 18 points in Phil Jackson's record-setting 728th game as the Lakers' coach.

Bryant, a former MVP, hurt his right ankle late in the first half in a collision with Devin Harris of the Nets on a drive to the basket. He started the second half and scored 12 of his 14 points after halftime as the Lakers won their fifth straight.

L.A. LAKERS 31 20 30 22—103

DETROIT 25 24 21 25— 95

L.A. LAKERS—Ariza 4-9 2-2 11, Odom 5-9 2-4 12, Gasol 14-19 8-10 36, Bryant 5-19 1-1 14, Fisher 8-12 0-0 18, Farmar 1-7 1-2 3, Vujacic 1-5 0-0 3, Walton 2-3 0-0 4, Powell 0-1 0-0 0, Mbenga 1-3 0-0 2, Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 41-87 14-19 103.

NEW JERSEY—Hassell 2-5 0-0 4, Anderson 2-7 0-0 4, Lopez 8-11 0-2 16, Carter 8-15 3-6 20, Harris 4-13 4-6 13, Boone 4-8 0-2 8, Hayes 7-14 1-1 19, Simmons 1-4 0-0 2, Dooling 3-6 0-0 9, Douglas-Roberts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-83 8-17 95.

3-Point Goals—L.A. Lakers 7-21 (Bryant 3-6, Fisher 2-5, Vujacic 1-4, Ariza 1-4, Farmar 0-1, Odom 0-1), New Jersey 9-27 (Hayes 4-8, Dooling 3-4, Carter 1-3, Harris 1-7, Anderson 0-2, Simmons 0-3). Rebounds—L.A. Lakers 50 (Gasol, Odom 11), New Jersey 54 (Lopez 10). Assists—L.A. Lakers 29 (Bryant 9), New Jersey 23 (Harris 14). Total Fouls—L.A. Lakers 17, New Jersey 20. Technicals—Fisher, Powell, Harris. A—19,990 (19,990).

Celtics 99, Hawks 93: With Kevin Garnett (sore right knee) resting on the bench, Glen Davis filled in with 19 points and 12 rebounds as visiting Boston led by 20 twice in the final period in turning back Atlanta.

BOSTON 28 24 25 22—99

ATLANTA 25 17 18 33—93

BOSTON—Pierce 6-15 8-10 21, Davis 8-18 3-5 19, Perkins 1-2 1-2 3, R.Allen 8-17 3-3 22, Rondo 4-7 1-1 9, House 5-9 0-0 12, Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Moore 1-4 0-0 2, Marbury 4-5 0-0 11. Totals 37-78 16-21 99.

ATLANTA—Smith 8-17 6-9 22, Horford 3-12 0-0 6, Pachulia 3-3 1-2 7, Johnson 8-15 2-2 22, Bibby 7-15 3-4 19, Evans 2-8 2-2 6, Murray 4-13 2-3 11, Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-83 16-22 93.

3-Point Goals—Boston 9-20 (Marbury 3-4, R.Allen 3-8, House 2-4, Pierce 1-4), Atlanta 7-21 (Johnson 4-6, Bibby 2-6, Murray 1-3, Smith 0-1, Evans 0-5). Fouled Out—Perkins. Rebounds—Boston 50 (Davis 12), Atlanta 50 (Horford 14). Assists—Boston 22 (Rondo, Pierce 5), Atlanta 14 (Smith, Johnson 4). Total Fouls—Boston 25, Atlanta 17. Technical—Atlanta defensive three second. A—20,054 (18,729).

Cavaliers 107, Timberwolves 85: LeBron James scored 25 points and host Cleveland built a 22-point lead in the third period, allowing Minnesota no closer than 86-74 with 7:13 to play, in winning its 11th straight.

MINNESOTA 18 21 25 21— 85

CLEVELAND 27 29 23 28—107

MINNESOTA—Gomes 2-7 3-4 7, Love 7-13 4-4 18, Collins 2-3 0-2 4, Carney 2-8 0-0 5, Ollie 0-5 2-3 2, Foye 6-16 1-2 18, Miller 1-2 0-0 2, Telfair 3-10 1-2 8, C.Smith 5-8 0-3 10, Cardinal 3-4 1-1 9, Brown 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-78 12-21 85.

CLEVELAND—James 8-14 7-10 25, Varejao 5-10 0-0 10, Ilgauskas 3-8 4-4 11, West 5-8 3-3 13, M.Williams 8-14 2-2 22, J.Smith 2-4 0-0 4, Gibson 4-7 0-0 12, Pavlovic 2-4 0-0 4, Jackson 2-3 2-2 6, Hickson 0-1 0-0 0, Kinsey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-73 18-21 107.

3-Point Goals—Minnesota 9-23 (Foye 5-9, Cardinal 2-3, Telfair 1-3, Carney 1-5, Miller 0-1, Brown 0-1, Gomes 0-1), Cleveland 11-20 (Gibson 4-5, M.Williams 4-8, James 2-3, Ilgauskas 1-1, West 0-1, Pavlovic 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Minnesota 41 (Love 6), Cleveland 51 (James 12). Assists—Minnesota 21 (Miller, Telfair 4), Cleveland 25 (James 7). Total Fouls—Minnesota 13, Cleveland 21. Technicals—Minnesota defensive three second, Ilgauskas. Flagrant Foul—Collins. A—20,562 (20,562).

Magic 110, Bucks 94: Rashard Lewis scored 19 points, Hedo Turkoglu added 18 and host Orlando beat Milwaukee for its fifth straight victory.

MILWAUKEE 20 23 27 24— 94

ORLANDO 21 28 31 30—110

MILWAUKEE—Jefferson 5-24 2-2 13, Villanueva 3-9 4-4 11, Gadzuric 3-4 0-0 6, Bell 8-11 1-3 19, Sessions 8-16 3-3 19, Elson 1-4 0-0 2, Mbah a Moute 3-10 1-4 7, Bogans 1-4 0-0 3, Ridnour 1-3 1-2 4, Alexander 2-4 4-6 8, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 36-92 16-24 94.

ORLANDO—Turkoglu 7-12 3-3 18, Lewis 8-15 0-0 19, Howard 4-8 10-14 18, Lee 6-10 1-4 16, Alston 4-10 2-3 11, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Pietrus 2-5 2-2 6, Battie 0-2 0-0 0, Gortat 5-8 0-3 10, Redick 3-6 1-3 8, Lue 0-1 0-0 0, Richardson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 41-80 19-32 110.

3-Point Goals—Milwaukee 6-15 (Bell 2-3, Ridnour 1-1, Villanueva 1-2, Jefferson 1-4, Bogans 1-4, Jones 0-1), Orlando 9-21 (Lee 3-5, Lewis 3-6, Redick 1-3, Alston 1-3, Turkoglu 1-3, Pietrus 0-1). Rebounds—Milwaukee 58 (Jefferson, Elson 7), Orlando 58 (Gortat 11). Assists—Milwaukee 15 (Sessions 4), Orlando 21 (Alston, Howard 5). Total Fouls—Milwaukee 23, Orlando 22. Technical—Milwaukee Coach Skiles. A—17,461 (17,461).

Raptors 112, Thunder 96: Chris Bosh had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Shawn Marion added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and host Toronto opened the second half with a 9-2 run for a 60-42 lead in beating Oklahoma City.

OKLAHOMA CITY 18 22 25 31— 96

TORONTO 28 23 33 28—112

OKLAHOMA CITY—Durant 4-13 9-11 18, Green 3-9 5-7 11, Krstic 5-13 1-1 11, Sefolosha 1-7 2-2 4, Westbrook 5-11 0-1 10, Collison 9-12 3-3 21, Atkins 1-7 0-0 2, Weaver 3-4 0-0 7, Rose 0-3 2-2 2, Swift 1-1 0-0 2, Wilkins 3-4 1-2 8. Totals 35-84 23-29 96.

TORONTO—Marion 10-14 0-0 20, Bosh 10-18 1-1 21, Bargnani 6-13 0-0 14, Parker 4-9 2-2 12, Calderon 3-7 0-0 7, Mensah-Bonsu 0-0 0-0 0, Ukic 4-9 0-1 8, Kapono 5-11 2-2 15, Graham 4-6 1-1 9, O'Bryant 2-6 0-0 4, Douby 0-1 2-2 2, Voskuhl 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 48-95 8-9 112.

3-Point Goals—Oklahoma City 3-13 (Wilkins 1-1, Weaver 1-2, Durant 1-3, Westbrook 0-1, Sefolosha 0-2, Green 0-4), Toronto 8-18 (Kapono 3-4, Bargnani 2-3, Parker 2-5, Calderon 1-3, O'Bryant 0-1, Ukic 0-2). Rebounds—Oklahoma City 44 (Sefolosha, Collison 7), Toronto 59 (Bosh 13). Assists—Oklahoma City 21 (Westbrook 5), Toronto 36 (Ukic 10). Total Fouls—Oklahoma City 14, Toronto 19. Technical—Toronto defensive three second. A—17,127 (19,800).

Bobcats 100, 76ers 95: Boris Diaw scored 24 points to help visiting Charlotte beat Philadelphia and keep its slim hopes alive for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

CHARLOTTE 29 21 23 27—100

PHILADELPHIA 23 10 27 35— 95

CHARLOTTE—Wallace 6-9 2-4 14, Diaw 8-16 6-7 24, Okafor 4-4 0-0 8, Bell 5-14 2-2 13, Felton 8-14 3-6 20, Howard 2-7 0-0 4, Diop 0-2 0-0 0, Augustin 4-5 3-4 13, Radmanovic 0-0 1-2 1, Martin 0-1 0-0 0, Mohammed 0-0 3-4 3. Totals 37-72 20-29 100.

PHILADELPHIA—Iguodala 8-18 7-9 25, Young 10-14 0-0 21, Dalembert 2-3 0-2 4, Green 2-6 3-3 7, Miller 2-11 3-3 7, Williams 3-7 8-8 14, Evans 3-4 4-6 10, Ivey 2-3 0-0 5, Speights 0-2 2-2 2, Marshall 0-1 0-0 0, Ratliff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-69 27-33 95.

3-Point Goals—Charlotte 6-18 (Diaw 2-3, Augustin 2-3, Bell 1-4, Felton 1-5, Martin 0-1, Wallace 0-2), Philadelphia 4-13 (Iguodala 2-6, Young 1-1, Ivey 1-2, Marshall 0-1, Williams 0-1, Green 0-2). Rebounds—Charlotte 55 (Wallace 11), Philadelphia 32 (Young 7). Assists—Charlotte 21 (Diaw 6), Philadelphia 14 (Young 4). Total Fouls—Charlotte 25, Philadelphia 24. Technical—Charlotte defensive three second. A—19,098 (20,318).

Knicks 103, Hornets 93: Al Harrington scored 23 points, David Lee added 18 points and 11 rebounds, and host New York snapped a six-game losing streak by beating New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS 26 23 16 28— 93

NEW YORK 23 19 35 26—103

NEW ORLEANS—Armstrong 3-5 0-0 6, West 11-19 7-7 29, Wright 5-14 1-2 11, Butler 2-11 0-0 5, Paul 8-18 5-6 22, Marks 1-3 0-0 2, Posey 3-8 0-0 7, Peterson 3-6 0-0 9, Daniels 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 37-86 13-15 93.

NEW YORK—W.Chandler 6-13 2-3 15, Harrington 7-15 4-4 23, Lee 9-15 0-0 18, Hughes 4-12 2-2 11, Duhon 4-7 3-3 15, Jeffries 2-2 0-0 4, Richardson 2-4 2-2 7, Robinson 4-8 0-0 8, Wilcox 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 38-78 15-16 103.

3-Point Goals—New Orleans 6-20 (Peterson 3-4, Paul 1-3, Posey 1-4, Butler 1-6, West 0-1, Wright 0-2), New York 12-32 (Harrington 5-11, Duhon 4-7, Richardson 1-2, W.Chandler 1-4, Hughes 1-6, Wilcox 0-1, Robinson 0-1). Rebounds—New Orleans 45 (Wright 14), New York 47 (Lee 11). Assists—New Orleans 15 (Paul 10), New York 23 (Duhon 7). Total Fouls—New Orleans 15, New York 13. Technicals—Paul, Posey, Harrington, Robinson. Ejected—Posey. A—19,763 (19,763).

Spurs 111, Clippers 98: Tony Parker scored 18 points and host San Antonio celebrated having its big three — Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan — together for the first time in six weeks by drubbing Los Angeles.

L.A. CLIPPERS 19 27 26 26— 98

SAN ANTONIO 39 20 37 15—111

L.A. CLIPPERS—Jones 3-9 0-0 7, Randolph 6-8 4-7 16, Camby 0-0 0-0 0, Gordon 5-12 4-4 18, Taylor 10-13 1-3 23, Thornton 8-13 0-1 16, Novak 1-3 0-0 3, Kaman 2-7 0-0 4, Acker 2-6 0-0 4, Jordan 3-7 1-1 7. Totals 40-78 10-16 98.

SAN ANTONIO—Finley 4-8 0-0 11, Duncan 5-6 3-4 13, Bonner 4-7 0-0 10, Mason 3-9 1-1 8, Parker 8-10 1-2 18, Thomas 5-6 0-0 10, Ginobili 5-7 2-2 14, Udoka 1-5 0-0 3, Hill 4-10 0-0 8, Vaughn 1-4 0-0 2, Bowen 0-1 0-0 0, Gooden 6-9 2-2 14. Totals 46-82 9-11 111.

3-Point Goals—L.A. Clippers 8-16 (Gordon 4-6, Taylor 2-2, Novak 1-2, Jones 1-5, Acker 0-1), San Antonio 10-24 (Finley 3-6, Ginobili 2-3, Bonner 2-4, Parker 1-1, Udoka 1-2, Mason 1-6, Hill 0-2). Rebounds—L.A. Clippers 40 (Acker 8), San Antonio 42 (Mason 8). Assists—L.A. Clippers 17 (Gordon 4), San Antonio 31 (Ginobili 7). Total Fouls—L.A. Clippers 14, San Antonio 15. A—18,797 (18,797).

Nuggets 103, Mavericks 101: Carmelo Anthony made three free throws and a layup in traffic in the final 43 seconds, capping a 43-point night that lifted visiting Denver over Jason Kidd-less (sore back) Dallas.

DENVER 25 32 29 17—103

DALLAS 26 26 24 25—101

DENVER—Anthony 18-29 5-6 43, Martin 4-8 2-2 10, Petro 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 3-4 2-3 9, Billups 2-8 1-1 5, Andersen 3-5 1-2 7, Smith 9-12 0-0 22, Carter 2-4 0-2 4, Balkman 0-0 0-0 0, Kleiza 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 42-75 12-18 103.

DALLAS—Singleton 1-5 0-0 3, Nowitzki 7-23 12-13 26, Dampier 1-2 3-4 5, Wright 0-7 1-4 1, Terry 6-17 6-6 20, Barea 8-12 1-2 22, Hollins 3-6 3-4 9, Green 2-9 2-2 7, Bass 3-6 2-2 8. Totals 31-87 30-37 101.

3-Point Goals—Denver 7-16 (Smith 4-7, Anthony 2-3, Jones 1-1, Carter 0-2, Billups 0-3), Dallas 9-21 (Barea 5-7, Terry 2-7, Green 1-2, Singleton 1-2, Nowitzki 0-1, Wright 0-2). Rebounds—Denver 45 (Anthony 11), Dallas 57 (Nowitzki 11). Assists—Denver 21 (Billups 9), Dallas 14 (Terry, Barea 4). Total Fouls—Denver 29, Dallas 19. Technical—Dallas defensive three second. A—20,310 (19,200).

Grizzlies 113, Kings 95: Marc Gasol scored 27 points and Memphis raced to a 59-37 halftime lead and never looked back in winning in Sacramento for the first time in 11 years, a span of 21 games.

MEMPHIS 32 27 23 31—113

SACRAMENTO 22 15 30 28— 95

MEMPHIS—Gay 8-15 6-10 23, Arthur 2-3 0-0 4, Gasol 8-12 11-11 27, Mayo 2-6 2-2 6, Conley 7-13 3-4 20, Milicic 1-1 3-4 5, Warrick 5-10 2-2 13, Jaric 1-2 0-0 2, Buckner 0-3 0-0 0, Ross 3-7 0-0 8, Miles 1-1 0-0 3, Haddadi 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 39-74 27-33 113.

SACRAMENTO—Garcia 4-8 0-0 10, Thompson 6-7 5-7 17, Hawes 4-9 1-1 9, Martin 9-18 12-13 31, Udrih 2-5 1-2 5, Nocioni 5-8 2-2 14, Booth 0-1 2-4 2, Jackson 0-3 0-0 0, Greene 0-3 4-4 4, McCants 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 31-66 28-35 95.

3-Point Goals—Memphis 8-12 (Conley 3-5, Ross 2-2, Warrick 1-1, Gay 1-1, Miles 1-1, Mayo 0-1, Buckner 0-1), Sacramento 5-16 (Nocioni 2-3, Garcia 2-4, Martin 1-3, Hawes 0-1, Jackson 0-1, Greene 0-2, McCants 0-2). Fouled Out—Thompson. Rebounds—Memphis 50 (Gay 9), Sacramento 33 (Thompson 8). Assists—Memphis 16 (Conley 5), Sacramento 18 (Udrih 5). Total Fouls—Memphis 24, Sacramento 28. Technicals—Gay. A—12,987 (17,317).