By The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Saturday, November 18, 2006; 4:21 AM
-- Shaq sat, Kobe soared. On the night Bryant had one of his best games since knee surgery, the Heat learned that now it's Shaquille O'Neal's turn to head under the knife.
And if Friday night was any indication, it doesn't look good for the Heat's chances of surviving without their All-Star center. Miami was routed 100-76 by the New York Knicks, its third loss by 22 points or more _ all at home.
"This is how you build character," Dwyane Wade said. "We're down now, but we know the true test of a champion is how they fight back."
Bryant's spirits were much higher after he had 31 points and 11 rebounds in the Lakers' 107-100 home victory over Toronto. Bryant went over the 17,000-point mark, the youngest player in NBA history to do so.
More importantly, he felt good doing it. After a four-day layoff, last season's scoring champion had some of the lift that helped him score 81 points in a game against the Raptors last season.
"My leg feels good and I started getting some of that explosion," Bryant said. "I was able to turn it up. Four days off helped a lot."
In other games, it was: New Jersey 100, Indiana 91; Boston 118, Portland 90; Cleveland 92, Minnesota 76; Dallas 115, Memphis 103; San Antonio 100, Chicago 83; Detroit 100, Washington 91; Utah 118, Seattle 109; and Phoenix 106, Philadelphia 94.
Bryant reached the milestone with a 16-fooot jumper in the second quarter. At 28 years and 86 days, Bryant reached the mark faster than Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and O'Neal.
"It's cool, man," Bryant said. "It puts things in perspective. Twenty-eight is the new 38."
O'Neal will be sidelined four to six weeks after he tore cartilage in his left knee Sunday against Houston, an injury originally diagnosed as a hyperextended knee. The Heat somewhat held their own when they had to play without him last season, going 10-13.
But they looked bad with him sitting on the bench in sport coat and tie Friday, and they could be looking at perhaps 20-25 more games without him _ likely including the Christmas Day matchup with Bryant and the Lakers.
"Obviously we're going to have to gather the troops and do something different," coach Pat Riley said. "I think the guys have sort of been waiting for him to come back. Now we have to look in another direction."
Suns 106, 76ers 94
At Phoenix, Leandro Barbosa had 26 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in place of ailing Steve Nash, and Amare Stoudemire added 23 points and 10 boards.
Reserve Marcus Banks scored a season-high 17 points for the Suns and Raja Bell, back after missing two games with a rib injury, had 15.
Allen Iverson, playing despite an abcessed wisdom tooth, led Philadelphia with 23 points.
Jazz 118, SuperSonics 109
At Seattle, Deron Williams continued his outstanding all-around play with 27 points, reserve Matt Harpring added 21, and Utah improved to an NBA-best 8-1.
Mehmet Okur had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Carlos Boozer had 14 and 13, for the Jazz, who played without injured forward Andrei Kirilenko.
Ray Allen finished with 32 points _ his fourth game already with 30 or more _ and Rashard Lewis added 24.
Nets 100, Pacers 91
At Indianapolis, Vince Carter scored 28 points and Clifford Robinson, the oldest player in the NBA, added a season-high 14.
Al Harrington, in foul trouble much of the game, led Indiana with 18 points, and Jamaal Tinsley added 16.
Cavaliers 92, Timberwolves 76
At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 37 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas matched a season high with 14, leading the Cavaliers to their fifth straight win.
James added nine rebounds and six assists for the Cavs, playing their first game without injured guard Larry Hughes.
Kevin Garnett scored a season-low 14 on 5-of-17 shooting for the Timberwolves, who scored only 31 points in the second half and lost for the fifth time in six games.
Pistons 100, Wizards 91
Richard Hamilton scored 27 points and Rasheed Wallace added 20 points and 10 rebounds as host Detroit ended a two-game losing streak.
Caron Butler had 24 points and Gilbert Arenas added 20 for Washington, which has lost three straight.
Spurs 100, Bulls 83
Tim Duncan had 21 points and 11 rebounds to help host San Antonio win for the sixth time in seven games.
Ben Gordon, coming off the bench for the third straight game after starting the first six, led the Bulls with 21 points in 25 minutes.
Mavericks 115, Grizzlies 103
At Memphis, Tenn., Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points and Erick Dampier added 22 points and 15 rebounds to help Dallas win its fourth straight and reach .500 for the first time this season.
Hakim Warrick led Memphis with a career-high 26 points. The Grizzlies have lost six in a row.
Celtics 118, Trail Blazers 90
At Boston, Paul Pierce scored 29 points in three quarters and Delonte West had 13 of his 17 in the fourth quarter for the Celtics, who have won two straight after starting the season 1-6.
Zach Randolph had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Ime Udoka added 14 points for the Blazers, who have lost four straight after getting off to a surprising 4-2 start.