The Los Angeles Lakers capitalized on their first chance to get some revenge for last year's NBA finals defeat, beating Boston 92-83 on Thursday to end the Celtics' franchise-record winning streak at 19 games. Kobe Bryant had 27 points and nine rebounds and Pau Gasol scored seven of his 20 points in the final 3 minutes in the Christmas Day showdown. The Celtics dropped to 27-3, while the Lakers improved to 24-5 with their 12th straight home victory. They're 15-1 at home overall. The victory was the 1,000th for Phil Jackson, enabling him to become the sixth coach in NBA history to reach that milestone. The 63-year-old has a career record of 1,000-423 in 17-plus seasons as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Lakers. Magic 88, Hornets 68: In Orlando, Florida, the Southeast Division-leading Orlando notched a sixth straight victory by thumping New Orleans. Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points, and Dwight Howard had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic.Hornets star Chris Paul's NBA-record steals streak ended at 108 games. Spurs 91, Suns 90: In Phoenix, Roger Mason hit a 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer to give San Antonio a thrilling win over Phoenix. It was the Spurs' fourth straight victory. Phoenix's Shaquille O'Neal become the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to miss 5,000 career free throws, while Steve Nash had eight assists to become the 13th NBA player to reach 7,000 for his career. Mavericks 102, Trail Blazers 94: In Portland, Oregon, Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half as Dallas ended Portland's usual Christmas joy. The Trail Blazers had won their previous 13 straight Christmas games. Cavaliers 93, Wizards 89: In Cleveland, the home team was forced to work harder than expected to see off lowly Washington and maintain its perfect home record this season. Mo Williams had 24 points, and Cleveland needed 11 straight points in the final 1:33 to see off the Wizards, who have lost eight straight.
