Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza traded elbows, trash talk and last-minute 3-pointers in regulation. In the end, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers got in the last word. Bryant scored 41 points, Andrew Bynum added 17 points and 17 rebounds and the Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 103-102 Wednesday night for their second overtime win in two nights.

Ryan Anderson admits he's been joking with Rashard Lewis about who will be the Orlando Magic's starting power forward when the All-Star returns from suspension. For now, it's no joke: Anderson is filling in just fine. Anderson had 20 and 10 rebounds, Dwight Howard scored 25 and the short-handed Orlando Magic defeated the previously unbeaten Phoenix Suns 122-100 on Wednesday night.

Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was a free man Wednesday after serving most of a 15-month sentence in a gambling scandal. Pat Berdan, a consultant working with Donaghy, said he was released from Hernando County Jail in Florida. Donaghy had been jailed there since August after officials said he violated travel restrictions while living at a halfway house in the Tampa area.

Down by a point after sub-par first-half performances by Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony, the Denver Nuggets become the latest team to take advantage of the New Jersey Nets' woes in the third quarter. Billups and Anthony woke up the Nuggets by leading a 44-point third-quarter assault that carried unbeaten Denver to its fifth straight win, a 122-94 decision over the victory over the...

Dwyane Wade wasn't about to take himself out of this game. The Miami Heat star played every minute of the second half on his way to a 40-point game, including a jumper with 25 seconds left that gave Miami the lead for good on the way to a 93-89 win against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

Byron Scott had been stewing for more than a day over the Hornets' recent 0-2 road trip to Boston and New York when he finally snapped during shootaround as New Orleans prepared to host the Dallas Mavericks. "We're not a team. We're just a collection of individual basketball players right now," Scott recalled telling his players Wednesday.

Even when Kevin Garnett isn't scoring at a high level, he can find so many other ways to affect the outcome of a game. For 12 seasons, the Minnesota Timberwolves were the beneficiaries of that all-around brilliance. On Wednesday night, they fell victim to it. Garnett had 12 points and 11 rebounds in his third game back in Minnesota since he was traded in 2007, helping the Boston Celtics remain...

A couple of top players were already on the bench, then leading scorer Danny Granger joined them after fouling out with plenty of time left. No matter. The Indiana Pacers just won it with defense. T.J. Ford scored eight of his 16 points in the final 3:12, and the Pacers won for the first time this season, holding the New York Knicks without a field goal for the final 9-plus minutes Wednesday night in...