Toronto 99, LA Lakers 112: Kobe had 24, Gasol added 23, and the Lakers are 14-1. They’re on the road for four of the next five, but there’s no reason to believe they shouldn’t be 19-1 hosting Phoenix next Wednesday.

Portland 96, Detroit 85: Go ahead, trash Oden for 11 points and 13 rebounds in 30 minutes against the Pistons frontline. The Blazers are 12-6 and ESPN’s John Hollinger really likes them.

New Jersey 117, Phoenix 109: And the best individual performance of the young season officially belongs to Devin Harris of the Nets, who scored a career-high 47 points – including 21 in the fourth quarter, when NJ outscored the Suns 43-24 – in a bit of a stunner on the road. Somebody ask Mark Cuban his thoughts on Harris’s explosion.

Houston 94, Denver 104: No T-mac, no Battier, and too much Billups (28-10). Denver’s been nearly unstoppable since acquiring Mr. Big Shot, wining 11 of 14. And they’ve matured enough so that when Carmelo Anthony’s elbow is busted and he only plays 13 minutes, there’s no panic. JR Smith scored 19 points off the bench.

Chicago 103, Philadelphia 92: At some point, somebody’s going to do an in-depth probe into why a stacked team like the 76ers is sputtering at 7-10. That’s four straight losses. You’d think Brand would be drawing doubles and creating open shots, but the 76ers are in the bottom third of the league in shooting from the field and from three. And they’re fifth in the league in turnovers despite having a veteran PG in Andre Miller.