Bryant, Nash pilot Lakers to 100-94 win over New York Knicks

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — Kobe Bryant scored 34 points and Steve Nash came up big once again, and the Los Angeles Lakers scored an exciting 100-94 victory over the New York Knicks here at the Staples Center.

Carmelo Anthony also scored 34 points for the Knicks, but came up short this time around as the Lakers avenged the defeat from the last outing.

Bryant finished with 14-of-24 shooting on the day on his way to score 30 or more points for the his ninth straight, while Nash, in his second game back from a leg injury, finished with 16 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Lakers, who extended its winning streak to five games.

Metta World Peace collected 20 points and seven rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Center Dwight Howard shot 6-of-9 from the free throw line, including two big ones down the stretch in contributing 14 points and 11 rebounds in the victory for the Lakers (14-14).

Pau Gasol, knocked down some big buckets throughout the game, including an important two-handed dunk to give Los Angeles a 99-94 lead on a Nash assist with 0:12 left for the five point lead.

J.R. Smith helped to pace the Knicks with 25 points and Raymond Felton added 10 points and six assists as New York (20-8) fell to 8-6 on the road.

The Lakers shot 48 percent from the field on 37-of-77, while New York went 43.7-percent on 38-of-87.