Chris Paul had his first double-double since returning from injury, scoring 15 points and collecting 13 assists to help New Orleans beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 108-100 Monday night. David West scored 20 points for the Hornets, while Marcus Thornton had 18 points and fellow rookie Darren Collison, a former UCLA standout, added 17 points against his hometown team. Kobe Bryant scored 31 points and Pau Gasol added 26 points and 22 rebounds for the Lakers. But they didn't have much help as the team trailed throughout the final three quarters and fell behind by as many as 17 points in the fourth. Thornton and James Posey each had three three-pointers for the Hornets, who hit 10 threes in all. Nets 90, Spurs 84: New Jersey notched its 10th victory of the season, avoiding any chance of matching the worst record in NBA history. Former Stanford star Brook Lopez had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets, who improved to 10-64. The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who went 9-73, will remain in the record books as the league's worst team. ... Public address announcer Gary Sussman shouted “We got 10! The Nets win!” after New Jersey beat San Antonio for the first time since the 2003 NBA Finals. Mavericks 109, Nuggets 93: Dirk Nowitzki had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double, as host Dallas maintained its grip on the No. 2 seed in the West. Shawn Marion added 21 points for the Mavericks, who stretched their lead over Denver to 1-1/2 games. J.R. Smith scored 27 points for the Nuggets, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Dallas held Carmelo Anthony to only 10 points. Jazz 103, Knicks 98: Carlos Boozer scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Deron Williams added 23 points and 14 assists to lead host Utah. The win allowed the Jazz to take over first place in the Northwest Division, one game ahead of Denver. Utah also stayed with a half-game of Dallas for the No. 2 spot in the West. Raptors 103, Bobcats 101: Chris Bosh had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Hedo Turkoglu hit the go-ahead three-pointer as visiting Toronto collected a key win in its playoff chase. The win kept the Raptors (36-37) in eighth place in the East, one game ahead of Chicago. Davis, Curry out: Point guard Baron Davis will miss the Clippers' three-game road trip, starting Tuesday in Milwaukee, because of back spasms.
