LA Lakers 102, Houston 96: If Shane Battier is such a spectacular defender of Kobe, why was Ron Artest attempting to defend the league’s 3rd leading scorer in the second half last night? In the third quarter, Artest got physical with Kobe (2:02 mark) – loosening one of his front teeth, apparently – and that led to lots of on-court chatter the rest of the game (”We are not friends out there at all,” Artest said.) Kobe dropped 18 of his 37 in the final 4:13, and, many, if not all, came against Artest.

New York 116, Detroit 111, OT: Count the Knicks out of the playoff picture at your own peril! Someone can crack open Elias, because we’d love to know the last team to get destroyed on the boards this badly (64-39) and still win on the road. That deficit was offset by NY committing just three turnovers. Another 18-rebound night for David Lee, another 30 off the bench for Little Nate. The McDyess mini-surge continues: 21 points, 22 rebounds.

Dallas 93, Portland 89: The Mavs held off a late Blazers rally to sweep the three-game season series with the Blazers and end Portland’s 12-game home win-streak. The Rudy-less Blazer bench shot a meek 7-for-21. Dirk had 29.

Boston 99, Miami 107: The team and player that currently doesn’t have home court advantage in the playoffs that nobody wants to play: the Wades. Hotter than a Naga Jolokia, He had 32 points, seven boards, and four steals (including one clean pick of Ray Allen that’ll make you laugh). With Rondo still ailing, Starbury got the start: 0-for-6 in 24 minutes, zero points.

Utah 93, Atlanta 100: The Jazz couldn’t get that 13th win in a row because they couldn’t make a basket in the final five minutes. Joe Johnson had 31, and Horford (13-12) and Josh Smith (22-13) picked up the slack for Bibby (1-for-6), who was shutdown by Deron Williams.