Kobe Bryant scored 22 points for the Los Angeles Lakers in their win over San Antonio Spurs. Source: AP

Read on for your full wrap of all today’s NBA action.

HOW THE AUSSIES FARED

Frustration continues for rookie Cam Bairstow. He did not play in Chicago’s game against Portland.

Another quiet day for Utah’s Dante Exum and Joe Ingles. Off the bench, the duo only managed 26 minutes combined. Exum contributed five points and two assists while Ingles was kept to just two assists and a steal.

Cleveland’s Matthew Dellavedova missed all five of his shot attempts, and scored no points against the Pelicans. He did have five rebounds, three assists and one steal however.

Aaron Baynes scored two points and grabbed four rebounds in nine minutes off the bench as San Antonio fell to the Lakers in overtime.

Omer Asik of the New Orleans Pelicans fights for a ball with Kevin Love. Source: AFP

PELICANS 119 — CAVALIERS 114

Tyreke Evans scored 31 points, Ryan Anderson tied a career high with eight 3-pointers on his way to 30 points, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame the loss of Anthony Davis to beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 119-114 on Friday night.

Davis left the game in the first quarter after taking an elbow to chest while jostling for position during a free throw by Kevin Love.

James, returning from a one-game absence because of a sore knee, scored 41 points, while Love added 21 points. Kyrie Irving played one night after hurting his left knee in a collision with Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook, but struggled early. He missed his first nine shots and did not score any of his 17 points until the fourth quarter, when Cleveland trailed by as many as 19 points.

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant shoots against the San Antonio Spurs. Source: AP

LAKERS 112 SPURS 110

Kobe Bryant didn’t catch Michael Jordan, though he got a victory thanks to Nick Young.

Young scored 29 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left in overtime, Bryant had 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a shaky ending to beat the San Antonio Spurs 112-110.

Bryant needed 30 points to tie Jordan for third place on the career scoring list, but will have to wait until Sunday in Minnesota to possibly surpass the Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer.

Tim Duncan had 19 points and 18 rebounds for San Antonio (16-7), which had its six-game home winning streak snapped.

PISTONS 105 — SUNS 103

Andre Drummond sank a free throw with 2.5 seconds left, part of his 23 points, to lead the Detroit Pistons over the Phoenix Suns 105-103 win Friday night.

The Suns turned the ball over of their last possession of the game to help Detroit seal the win. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a fadeaway 23-foot 3-pointer with 1:13 to play to break a 97-97 tie, and the Pistons were able to hold off the Suns in the closing seconds. The Pistons ended a 13-game losing streak to improve to 4-19, sending the struggling Suns to their fourth straight loss.

Drummond’s 23 points and 14 rebounds led the Pistons, with Josh Smith adding 12 points and 11 boards. Caldwell-Pope finished with 14 points.

Goran Dragic led the Suns with 18 points, including a layup with 15.9 seconds left in the game to make the score 102-101 Detroit. But the Suns (12-12) came up short.

THUNDER 111 — TIMBERWOLVES 92

Russell Westbrook scored 20 of his 34 points in the first half and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-92 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.

Kevin Durant added 16 as he and Westbrook played the second night of back-to-back games for the first time since returning to the Thunder line-up.

Andrew Wiggins and Shabazz Muhammad each scored 18 points for Minnesota, which hung around in the second half after allowing the Thunder to score a season-high 70 in the first half.

Steven Adams scored a season-high 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City. Anthony Morrow added 14 points off the bench, all in the first half.

The Thunder took an 87-63 lead with 3:54 left in the third after Durant found Westbrook for an easy bucket inside off a no-look pass.

Minnesota cut the deficit to 95-84 following Corey Brewer’s breakaway layup with 8 minutes left in the fourth, but Durant nailed a 3 out of a time-out and the Thunder quickly regained control. Westbrook shot 12 of 19 and had his pre-injury swagger back, pounding his chest after big shots and giving an angry glance at a fan who yelled at him following a missed dunk in the third.

For Minnesota, Thaddeus Young had 16 points and Gorgui Dieng added 11 points and nine rebounds.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) goes up for a shot. Source: AP

GRIZZLIES 113 — HORNETS 107 (OT)

Mike Conley scored six of his 19 points in the second overtime, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Charlotte Hornets 113-107 on Friday night.

Zach Randolph had 20 points and Marc Gasol also scored 19 for the Grizzlies, who got a tying 3-pointer from Vince Carter with 4.5 seconds left in the first overtime.

The Grizzlies won for the sixth time in the past seven games against the Hornets, who got 28 points from Kemba Walker and 25 from Gary Neal.

Gerald Henderson tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer to end regulation.

The Grizzlies trailed most of the second half but rallied in the final 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, shortly after Gasol re-entered the game. He and Randolph scored the Grizzlies’ final 13 points in regulation.

Charlotte Hornets guard Gerald Henderson, bottom right, holds the ball and calls time-out. Source: AP

RAPTORS 106 — PACERS 94

When it comes time to pick the NBA’s best sixth man, the case for Lou Williams will be based on performances like Friday’s.

Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and 14 rebounds, Williams scored 26 and the Toronto Raptors beat Indiana 106-94, handing the slumping Pacers their seventh straight loss.

Williams connected on 9 of 18 attempts, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and added four rebounds and three assists.

Toronto’s bench accounted for 64 points, with four different reserves scoring in double digits.

James Johnson had 13 points, Patrick Patterson 11 and Grevis Vasquez scored seven of his 10 in the fourth quarter as the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors began a streak of six games against teams with losing records. Toronto is 10-1 against sub .500 teams. Its only loss was to the Lakers, 129-122 in overtime, in Los Angeles on Nov. 30.

Solomon Hill scored 16, C.J. Watson and Rodney Stuckey each had 13 and David West 12 for the Pacers, whose seven-game losing streak is their longest since an eight-game skid from Dec. 18-30, 2009.

HEAT 100 — JAZZ 95

Dwayne Wade scored a season-high 29 points, including three free throws in the final 9 seconds, to help the Miami Heat beat the Utah Jazz 100-95 on Friday nght.

Chris Bosh had 22 points and Luol Deng added 14 for the Heat.

Enes Kanter scored 25 points, Gordon Hayward had 18 and Alec Burks 16 for Utah, which has lost 10 of its last 11 games.

Wade’s final free-throw attempt with 5.2 seconds left rimmed out, leaving the score 98-95 and giving the Jazz a chance to tie. However, Joe Ingles failed to get the ball in bounds within 5 seconds after a time out, turning the ball back over to the Heat. Norris Cole was then fouled and made both free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining for the final margin.

Chicago Bulls' Pau Gasol rebounds the ball. Source: AP

BULLS 115 — TRAIL BLAZERS 106

Derrick Rose scored a season-high 31 points, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers 115-106 on Friday night.

Rose, who tore the meniscus in his right knee against the Blazers last season, went past his previous high of 24 points and scored over 30 for the first time since March 12, 2012. He was 14 of 24 from the floor for the Bulls, who have won three of four and improved to 4-5 at the United Center.

Chicago broke a seven-game losing streak to Portland.

Pau Gasol had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth straight double-double and 14th of the season. Rookie Nikola Mirotic had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Aaron Brooks scored 17 points for the Bulls, whose bench outscored Portland’s 40-15.

LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard each scored 35 for Portland.

Chris Paul #3 of the Los Angeles Clippers drives to the basket against John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards. Source: AFP

WIZARDS 104 — CLIPPERS 96

John Wall outplayed Chris Paul in their first meeting of the season on Friday night and the Washington Wizards snapped the Los Angeles Clippers’ nine-game winning streak with a 104-96 victory.

Wall controlled the game with 10 points and 11 assists and Paul struggled with a season-high six turnovers. Wall’s impact was greater than his stat line. He turned the game with a blistering sequence late in the first half that included an acrobatic assist to Bradley Beal for a 3-pointer, a 3-pointer of his own, a from-behind block of Glen Davis’ shot in the paint, and a steal off Paul.

The Wizards closed the half with a 12-2 run to lead 57-42 and didn’t allow the Clippers any closer than eight points in a second half. Fans serenaded Wall with “M-V-P!” in the final minute.

Beal scored a season-high 29 points, and Marcin Gortat scored 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting for the Wizards, who have won seven of eight and are 11-2 at the Verizon Center — the best 13-game start at home in franchise history. Wall has at least 11 assists in seven straight games.

Paul made some late baskets to finish with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Blake Griffin scored 14 points for the Clippers, who never led and finished with 14 assists and 18 turnovers.

HAWKS 87 — MAGIC 81

Paul Millsap scored 23 points, Al Horford added 17 and the Atlanta Hawks won their ninth straight game with a 87-81 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

The winning streak is Atlanta’s longest since it opened the 1997-98 season with 11 victories in a row.

Michael Oladipo scored 21 points and Evan Fournier added 18 for Orlando, which has lost four of six.

Jeff Teague, who had 13 points for the Hawks, hit a pair of free throws with 10.5 seconds left to put Atlanta up 85-81 and all but end Orlando’s hopes.

The Magic took their biggest lead at 12 on Kyle O’Quinn’s three-point play midway through the third, but Atlanta went on a 20-7 run to go up 65-54 early in the fourth on Elton Brand’s free throw.

New York Knicks' Iman Shumpert is helped off the court after being injured against the Boston Celtics. Source: AP

KNICKS 101 — CELTICS 95

Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points, Amare Stoudemire had 20 and the New York Knicks snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 101-95 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.

Tim Hardaway Jr. added 16 points and Jason Smith 12 as New York snapped its longest losing streak since the 2005-06 team lost 10 straight from Jan. 28-Feb 13 en route to a 23-59 record.

It was just the Knicks’ second road win of the season. They won their first, beating LeBron James and the Cavaliers in his return to Cleveland before losing the next 11.

Jeff Green had 28 points and Tyler Zeller 19 for the Celtics, who dropped their third straight.

Boston sliced it to 75-73 on the first basket of the fourth quarter, Marcus Thornton’s 3-pointer from the right wing, before the Knicks went on a game-breaking 11-0 run over the ensuing 2 minutes. Shane Larkin started the burst with a 3-pointer.

Boston was held to just two baskets in the opening 7 minutes of the fourth, missing nine of its initial 11 shots.

Anthony’s baseline jumper increased it to 90-75 with 5:43 to play.

The Celtics made a late charge, closing it to 99-95 on Phil Pressey’s free throw with 16.8 seconds left, but Anthony’s two free throws sealed it.

New York had pushed its five-point half-time edge to 71-60 on Stoudemire’s basket with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.

The Knicks shot 55 per cent in the opening half and led 51-46 at intermission.

NETS 88 — 76ERS 70

Mason Plumlee scored a season-high 18 points and had 10 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets broke open a close game in the fourth quarter to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 88-70 on Friday night.

Joe Johnson and Alan Anderson each had 12 points for the Nets.

Robert Covington had 20 points for the 76ers, an NBA-worst 2-20. Michael Carter-Williams added 14 points and nine assists.

The Nets entered the fourth quarter with a 63-60 lead.

However, the 76ers did not score again until Covington hit a 3-pointer with 6:56 left. The Nets opened the period on a 10-0 run and increased it to 18 on newcomer Darius Morris’ dunk with three seconds remaining.

Jarrett Jack #0 of the Brooklyn Nets drives past Hollis Thompson #31 of the Philadelphia 76ers. Source: AFP