Associated Press
The NBA notebook …
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. ó Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and helped the Los Angeles Lakers score the last 20 points of the third quarter in a 92-77 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night.
The Western Conference-leading Lakers have won four straight to pull within a victory of Cleveland’s NBA-high total of 58, and five in a row on the road for a league-high 26 this season.
Detroit reserve Will Bynum had career highs with 25 points and 11 assists and helped his banged-up team outscore the Lakers 30-14 in the second quarter to lead 42-39.
The Lakers snapped a nine-game losing streak, including three losses in the 2004 NBA Finals, at The Palace, where they hadn’t won since Jan. 8, 2002.
Bulls 106, Heat 87
CHICAGO ó John Salmons scored 27 points, and the Chicago Bulls beat Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat 106-87 for their sixth win in seven games.
The Bulls took control in the third quarter, outscoring the Heat 32-14, and moved into a 7th-place tie with Detroit in the East.
Salmons scored 13 points in the period as the Bulls turned a two-point deficit into a 79-63 lead and sent the Heat to their fifth loss in seven games.
Wade scored 31 points, but solid efforts by Chicago’s Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas to helped the Bulls avoid a four-game sweep.