Center Brook Lopez scored 25 points and guards Devin Harris and Courtney Lee added 23 and 21 points and the New Jersey Nets topped the Boston Celtics 104-96 Saturday. The Nets, who entered the game 5-52 and 2-27 on the road, took a 29-27 lead on Keyon Dooling's jumper at the end of the first quarter and never trailed again.

NBA commissioner David Stern said Saturday he expects Michael Jordan to be approved as majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats by the end of next month. Minutes before his exclusive negotiating window expired late Friday night, Jordan struck a deal with owner Bob Johnson to take over the money-losing team in his home state.

Kobe Bryant was perfectly content to let Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol do the heavy lifting in a grind-it-out victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. It had more to do with matchups than Bryant's left ankle, though. Gasol had 23 points and 11 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers held the 76ers to one field goal over the final 3:40 of a 99-90 victory Friday night.

One of David West's best efforts of the season seemed destined to go to waste until seldom-used reserve Aaron Gray sauntered onto the court and put his 7-foot, 270-pound frame on Dwight Howard. West had 40 points and 10 rebounds, and Gray slowed Orlando's All-Star center enough to help the Hornets erase an 18-point hole en route to a 100-93 victory over the Magic on Friday night.

Derrick Rose thought he capped off a spectacular fourth quarter with a game-winning layup, but instead had to take a secondary role as his teammates finished off the Trail Blazers in overtime. Rose scored 33 points and Luol Deng added seven of his 23 in the extra period to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 115-111 victory over Portland on Friday night.

Kevin Martin is getting comfortable in Houston, and finally got his first win as a member of the Rockets. Martin had his best game since being traded to Houston, scoring 33 points to lead the Rockets to a 109-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. In his fourth game in Houston, Martin showed he was the scorer the Rockets were looking for when they acquired him and three others last...

Mo Williams made the clutch 3-pointers again as the Cleveland Cavaliers followed up a big win in Boston with an overtime triumph in Toronto. Williams made back-to-back 3-pointers to begin the extra period and finished with 22 points, LeBron James scored 36, and the Cavaliers beat the Raptors 126-118 on Friday night.

Jason Kidd needed to take control. Hawks coach Mike Woodson gave him a perfect opportunity. Kidd bumped into and briefly argued with Woodson, the spark Dallas needed to overcome a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter and beat Atlanta 111-103 in overtime on Friday night. "The coach is not supposed to be on the floor," Kidd said.

Former NBA All-Star Alvin Robertson faces sexual assault of a child and sex trafficking charges alleging he was among seven people who kidnapped a 14-year-old girl who was forced into prostitution and made to dance at a strip club, authorities said Friday. Robertson was taken into custody Friday in Bentonville, Ark., said Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy Ino Badillo.

Golden State's Stephen Curry thanked the Oracle Arena crowd in a pregame speech for supporting the team through what has been a rough first half of the season. Then the Warriors rookie went out and gave them optimism for the future. Taking over the offense with leading scorer Monta Ellis sidelined with a knee injury, Curry recorded his first triple-double with a career-high 36 points, 13...

The depleted Portland Trail Blazers straggled into Phoenix at 3 a.m. after an embarrassing home loss. The Suns were waiting, with five days' rest and a five-game winning streak, knowing the Blazers hadn't won in Phoenix for a long, long time. What followed was a 108-101 victory for Portland in one of the Blazers' best offensive games of the season and a Suns performance that left Phoenix...

Rest up, Kobe. The Lakers are faring just fine without you. Kobe Bryant sat out his third straight game and his teammates responded with their third consecutive win without their injured superstar, beating Utah 96-81 Wednesday night and ending the Jazz's nine-game winning streak. "This is a good team no matter who's in or who's out of the lineup," said Lamar Odom, who had 25...

Darren Collison didn't look like a rookie when he took over the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics. He only felt like one when he returned to his locker and sat next to the pink "Little Mermaid" suitcase his teammates have made him cart around all season. "Until they stop having me come in with doughnuts and carrying that (suitcase), I'm still a rookie," Collison...

Dwight Howard insisted his intentions were pure, that he was simply trying to block a layup and in no way meant to injure Derrick Rose. It's just that the lane can be a dangerous place. Particularly when "Superman" is lurking. "He hit the 'Man of Steel,"' Howard said. Howard had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic pulled away early for a 107-87 victory...

It was a sad sight in a sorry season. In front of about 1,000 fans, the New Jersey Nets lost for the 48th time before the All-Star break, trounced 97-77 by the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. Andrew Bogut scored 22 points and Ersan Ilyasova added 18 for Milwaukee. A storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on the New York region kept the crowd at the IZOD Center to a turnstile count of 1,016,...

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra believes two days can change the Heat's season. Two wins in two days at least lifted the team's mood entering the All-Star break. Jermaine O'Neal scored 19 points, Dwyane Wade had 18 and Miami took advantage of Atlanta's thin bench to beat the Hawks 94-76 on Wednesday night.