Jazz forward Paul Millsap knocks the ball away from Lakers star Kobe Bryant during the second half in Utah. The Jazz defeated the Lakers 96-87 as LA lost its composure late in the game.

Suns guard Shannon Brown drives to the rim against the Bobcats' Matt Carroll. Brown chipped in nine points in the Suns' 95-89 win over the Bobcats.

Plagued by injuries, the Pistons had their work cut out for them against the Hornets. Detroit's Jonas Jerebko helped to pick up the slack with 11 points in Detroit's  89-87 over New Orleans. Jason Smith added eight points for the Hornets.

Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire (right) is all smiles after Tyson Chandler knocks down a shot and gets the foul against the Nets at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks got a much-needed win, defeating the Nets 99-92.

Cavs forward Luke Harangody uses his head while grabbing a rebound against the Mavericks. The Cavs beat the defending champs 91-88 on Saturday.

Clippers center DeAndre Jordan soars for a dunk over Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin. Jordan had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the Clippers' 107-81 win.

January 7, 2012: Toronto Raptors point guard Jose Calderon (8) looks to pass while in mid-air as Philadelphia 76ers small forward Andre Iguodala (9) guards him during the NBA game between the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers beats the Raptors, 97-62.

Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu reacts after being called for a technical foul against the Pacers. The Magic defeated the Pacers 85-81.

Clippers guard Chauncey Billups (No. 1) drives past Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo on Sunday, and, in a frequently repeated scene, found his way to the basket. Billups scored a game-high 32 points as Los Angeles improved to 11-6 with a 109-105 victory on the road.

Denver center Nene (with ball) finds a wall in the form of Clippers forward Blake Griffin during Sunday's first quarter. Nene did manage to score a team-high 18 points, but the Clippers won 109-105 in Denver.

At one time, there was a heated debate as to whether Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley should be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. Fast forward to 2012 and Rose is the reigning MVP while Beasley no longer starts. But on Sunday, the former Kansas State star at least showed why there was a debate going for 18 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in the Timberwolves' 106-101 loss to the Lakers.

. . . crunch time belongs to Kobe Bryant. On Sunday, the Lakers' guard (No. 24) hit two late jumpers to thwart a Minnesota comeback and lead LA to victory on the road. 'I don't know if he's the best one or not, but in the last quarter, for sure,' Wolves rookie point guard Ricky Rubio said of Bryant, who finished with 35 points and 14 rebounds.

Dallas guard Jason Terry (No. 31) carried the Mavericks on Sunday, scoring a season-high 34 points, including the game-tying shot with less than a second left in regulation and the final four points of overtime, as Dallas defeated San Antonio 101-100 in a home victory.

San Antonio point guard Tony Parker (No. 9) saw defense like this display by guard Rodrigue Beaubois (No. 3) all day Sunday, as the Dallas Mavericks held him to nine points on 2-of-11 shooting.

Indiana's Dahntay Jones (No. 1) gets emotional after being fouled Sunday, but he, point guard Darren Collison (No. 2) and his Pacers teammates had the last laugh, winning 106-85 at Orlando to improve to 13-6 on the season.

Orlando center Dwight Howard has rose to global popularity in part to his Superman persona. But not even the NBA's Man of Steel can get his Magic out of a funk right now, as they lost for the fourth time in five games, losing by 21 at home to Indiana on Sunday.

Well, sorta. New Jersey's Deron Williams, right, collides with Toronto's Jerryd Bayless during the second quarter Sunday. The Raptors won on the road, 94-73.

The Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce, center, drives between the Cleveland Cavaliers' Omri Casspi, left, and Antawn Jamison on Sunday. The Celtics, playing at home and one of the league's most veteran teams, fell victim to last summer's No. 1 pick as Kyrie Irving hit a layup with 2.6 seconds left to lift the Cavs to an 88-87 win.

LeBron James throws down two of his game-high 35 points as the Heat hold off the Bulls 97-93 on Sunday for their fourth straight win. LeBron outplayed Derrick Rose in a battle of the past two MVPs but each missed critical free throws down the stretch that could have aided their teams.

We may be little more than a month removed from Christmas, but it's pretty warm in Miami these days, as evidenced during Sunday's game.

In a heated battle of two of the best teams in the East, Joakim Noah tries to clear some space against Shane Battier as both teams combined for 48 fouls in the Heat's narrow win over the Bulls.

LeBron James scores a game-high 35 points and adds 11 rebounds and five assists as the Heat pulled to within two games of the Bulls for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Kobe Bryant scores 27 points, hands out nine assists and hauls in eight rebounds — and the Lakers still lose, falling to the Bucks 100-89 on Saturday. Milwaukee was playing without center Andrew Bogut (injured) and shooting guard Stephen Jackson (suspended). The Lakers fell to ninth in the Western Conference.

Bucks points guard Brandon Jennings keeps the Lakers defense on its toes, helping the Bucks shoot 50 percent from the field in Milwaukee's 100-89 win over the Lakers. Los Angeles falls to 1-7 on the road.

New York Knicks' Amare Stoudemire (1) and Houston Rockets' Courtney Lee, right, fight for the ball in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in Houston.

Jan 28, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin (17) drives on Houston Rockets shooting guard Courtney Lee (5) during the third quarter at the Toyota Center.

The Warriors had this game circled on their schedule, and the Thunder haven't always played well in the Bay Area for some reason. But OKC used a late fourth-quarter run to put the game away for good and improve to 16-3, good enough to make them top dogs in the Western Conference.

Trail Blazers small forward Gerald Wallace had 17 points, but frankly, the Suns didn't bother to play much defense. The only player on Portland's roster who didn't score any points was Marcus Camby, although he can be forgiven since he was too busy spending time hauling in 20 rebounds for the game.

Suns power forward Hakim Warrick is clotheslined by Trail Blazers center Kurt Thomas during the second quarter. It's hard to imagine why Portland was committing cheap fouls as they crushed the Suns 109-71.

Nuggets forward Al Harrington, left, shoves teammate Rudy Fernandez into Raptors forward Linas Kleiza. It makes sense if you watched how the whole play unfolded. The two teams got chippy with each other more than once, but Denver ultimately won 96-81.

Mavericks center Brendan Haywood looks half giddy and half surprised as he watched power forward Yi Jianlian dunk against the Utah Jazz during the fourth quarter of a 116-101 Dallas win.

San Antonio's Tim Duncan protects the ball from Minnesota's Nikola Pekovic as the Spurs hung around early, but couldn't stop a late fourth-quarter rally by the host T-Wolves.

Bulls center Joakim Noah notched 15 points and 16 boards on the night, and the Bulls needed all his help to pull out a relatively close 107-100 win over a pesky Milwaukee team.

Hornets point guard Jarrett Jack collides with Magic point guard Jameer Nelson, who was forced to leave the game and didn't return because of a jaw injury suffered on the play. The Magic are falling apart and had a highly forgettable week of results, losing twice to Boston and once to the poor Hornets.

Orlando center Dwight Howard reacts to a missed basket against the Hornets during an embarrassing 93-67 loss to one of the worst teams in the NBA. "Superman" reportedly tore into his team at halftime, citing a lack of effort.

Rockets guard Goran Dragic takes a shot in a tight area against the Wizards in the fourth quarter of what turned into a 27-point laugher of a victory for Houston.

Miami's LeBron James was happy to have his sidekick Dwyane Wade return to the lineup. Without Carmelo Anthony on the other end of the court, the Heat predictably defeated the Knicks 99-89.

Shane Battier falls to the court as he passes the ball against the Knicks in a game that was tight until Miami pulled away late in the fourth quarter.

Paul Pierce and the shorthanded Celtics have somehow been getting it done without their full supporting cast. The Pacers rallied to tie the game in the third quarter, but Boston extinguished any comeback hopes by putting together a quick run of their own to put the game effectively out of reach.

Pistons center Greg Monroe is defended by imposing Hawks power forward Josh Smith, who had the most complete game for the Hawks with 19 points, 11 boards and three blocks.

Hawks small forward Tracy McGrady only scored seven points, but that was almost the exact margin of victory as Atlanta needed overtime to dispose of the Pistons 107-101.

Cavaliers power forward Anderson Varejao has been a solid contributor this season, but will he finish the year in Cleveland? The Cavs are clearly in rebuilding mode, and there are likely a few playoff-bound teams which may enquire about Varejao's availability at the trade deadline.

Cleveland's Daniel Gibson fouls Nets point guard Deron Williams in a game that wasn't as close as the 99-96 final may indicate. The Nets won, but take solace, Cavs fans. The top of the 2012 draft appears to be stacked, so some help for Kyrie Irving may be on the way.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Jrue Holiday drives around Charlotte's Cory Higgins. Bobcats coach Paul Silas ripped his own team after the game, saying they were too short on talent to compete with the rest of the league. And looking at the scores of some recent Bobcats games, he's probably right.

Philly's Evan Turner and Charlotte's Tyrus Thomas reach for a rebound in the first half of a game that was essentially decided at the end of the first quarter. It's going to be a long year for the Bobcats, who have been on the wrong end of a number of heavy defeats of late.