Derek Fisher sinks late 3, Lakers top Mavericks

LOS ANGELES - Derek Fisher spent the last year wearing more suits than sweats while negotiating the union's labor deal, and he realizes his peak playing days are probably past.

But Kobe Bryant borrows a term from former coach Phil Jackson to describe anybody who doubts what the Lakers' veteran point guard can do in the clutch.

"That's inherently idiotic," he said.

Fisher hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds to play and Los Angeles emerged from a dismal offensive game by both teams with a 73-70 victory over the Mavericks on Monday night, snapping Dallas' five-game winning streak.

Vince Carter missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the defending champion Mavericks, who swept Los Angeles out of the second round of the postseason last spring, ending the Lakers' bid for a three-peat.

Neither team looked much like a championship contender in their first meeting since, with 3½ miserable offensive quarters before the exciting finish keyed by Fisher, who added another line to an overflowing list of late-game heroics.

"This is what I do," Fisher said. "When opportunities like that present themselves, I'm confident in my ability to step up and make the right play. I've been fortunate in my career to come up with some of those big plays."

Fisher scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, leading a 10-0 run midway through the period before the Mavericks rallied to tie it on Jason Terry's running jumper at the top of the key with 9.9 seconds left.

Bryant, whose streak of four straight 40-point games ended with just 14 against the Mavs, drew the Dallas defense before passing to Fisher. The veteran point guard calmly drilled a long 3-pointer from the wing.

"We made the decision to get the ball out of Bryant's hands, and we just didn't get to (Fisher) in time," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Our full intention was to rotate to him, but he got the shot off quick and he shot it high, so we couldn't get to it. But he made a great shot. In that situation, you've got to live with that decision. And it's tough."

Elsewhere in the NBA:

76ERS 94, BUCKS 82

At Philadelphia, Jrue Holiday scored 24 points and Andre Iguodala had 21 to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 94-82 and remain unbeaten at home.

Andrew Bogut returned from concussion-like symptoms to lead the Bucks with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

THUNDER 97, CELTICS 88

At Boston, Russell Westbrook scored 26 points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the final 91 seconds to help Oklahoma City pull away from slumping Boston.

Kevin Durant scored 28 with seven rebounds for the Thunder, who won their seventh consecutive game. Thabo Sefolosha scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and Kendrick Perkins had seven points and five rebounds in his first game back in Boston since the trade that sent him to Oklahoma City and broke up the starting lineup from the Celtics' 2008 NBA championship team.

Paul Pierce scored 24 points and Kevin Garnett had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics. Rajon Rondo added 12 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Boston.

MAGIC 102, KNICKS 93

At New York, Ryan Anderson scored a career-high 30 points, extending his NBA lead with seven 3-pointers, as Orlando completed a perfect four-game road trip.

JJ Redick added 21 points for the Magic, who won three games on the West Coast before finishing in New York and will play at home the next two nights to wrap up a stretch of three games in three nights.

Howard was in foul trouble and finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Carmelo Anthony had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks in his return from a one-game absence with a sprained right ankle, but shot just 9 of 27.

CLIPPERS 101, NETS 91

At Los Angeles, Blake Griffin had 23 points and 14 rebounds as the Clippers beat New Jersey without injured point guard Chris Paul after blowing an 18-point lead.

Chauncey Billups scored nine of his 20 points in the final 4:23 — including a clinching 3-pointer with 1:09 left.

MarShon Brooks led New Jersey with 19 points and eight rebounds. Deron Williams finished with 14 points and six assists.

GRIZZLIES 102, BULLS 86

At Memphis, Tennessee, Rudy Gay scored 24 points and Mike Conley added 20 points and eight assists to help Memphis end Chicago's five-game winning streak.

The Bulls played without leading scorer Derrick Rose, who missed his second game in the last four with a left toe sprain.

Marc Gasol had 19 points and 10 rebounds while Marreese Speights finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds as Memphis extended its winning streak to three games.

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 20 points and C.J. Watson finished with 17 points. Taj Gibson had 16 points and Carlos Boozer added 13 points and seven rebounds.

ROCKETS 114, WIZARDS 106

At Washington, Kevin Martin scored 25 points and Samuel Dalembert added 20 as Houston broke away in the third quarter to beat Washington.

John Wall scored a career-high 38 points on 13 of 22 shooting for the Wizards. He began the game making under 35 percent this season.

Luis Scola had 18 and Kyle Lowry had 16 for the Rockets in their highest-scoring game of the season.

CAVALIERS 102, BOBCATS 94

At Charlotte, North Carolina, Kyrie Irving had 25 points and seven assists to lead Cleveland past Charlotte.

Antawn Jamison added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Cavs, who returned to .500 on the season.

Omri Casspi played a big role in Cleveland's second half comeback with 14 points and seven rebounds with most of his damage coming in the third quarter.

D.J. Augustin led the Bobcats with 24 points and eight assists and Gerald Henderson added 17 points.

TRAIL BLAZERS 84, HORNETS 77

At New Orleans, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points as Portland beat New Orleans to end a three-game losing streak.

Nicolas Batum add 19 points and Gerald Wallace 14 for the Trail Blazers, who blew open a tie game early in the third quarter with a 17-2 run during which Aldridge made all five of his shots for 10 points.

Jarrett Jack scored 21, while Emeka Okafor added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who've lost four straight and 10 of 11.

HAWKS 93, RAPTORS 84

At Atlanta, Josh Smith scored 28 points and pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds, and Joe Johnson added 27 points to help Atlanta win its third straight game.

Leandro Barbosa finished with 22 points in a reserve role for Toronto, which has lost five straight. The Raptors were without center Andrea Bargnani, the NBA's ninth-leading scorer, for the third straight game because of a strained left calf. Reserve guard James Johnson didn't play because of a sprained right ankle.

TIMBERWOLVES 99, KINGS 86

At Minneapolis, Kevin Love had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and Luke Ridnour added 25 points and nine assists to lead Minnesota over Sacramento.

Wayne Ellington scored 15 off the bench for the Timberwolves, a significant contribution for a backcourt that was missing J.J. Barea for the third straight game because of a sprained left ankle.

Tyreke Evans had nine points, 10 assists and eight rebounds but shot just 3 of 11 from the field as the Kings lost for the fifth time in six games. Jason Thompson and Marcus Thornton led Sacramento with 12 points each.

Ricky Rubio had nine points, eight assists and eight rebounds for Minnesota.