Lakers survive in double OT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kobe Bryant scored 38 points and the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a humbling Christmas Day loss to Cleveland by beating the Sacramento Kings 112-103 on Saturday night in double overtime.

After Lamar Odom opened the second overtime with a putback basket, Bryant connected on two three-pointers to put the Lakers in front 109-103 with 2:37 left. Los Angeles outscored the Kings 11-2 in the second OT.

Beno Udrih scored 23 points for the Kings, who held the Lakers scoreless in the final 3:35 of the fourth quarter to force overtime. Tyreke Evans had 18 points, Donte Greene had 16 and Omri Casspi added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Two former University of Washington standouts contributed to the Kings' efforts. Spencer Hawes had eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Jon Brockman had one point and nine rebounds off the bench.

Pau Gasol had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who avoided losing consecutive games for the second time this season. Shannon Brown scored 15 points and Odom had 13 points and 15 rebounds.

Bulls outmuscle

Hornets 96-85

CHICAGO — Tyrus Thomas returned from injury to score 21 points, Joakim Noah added 17 points and 18 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls capped an eventful week with a 96-85 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

Thomas, back after missing 22 games with a broken left forearm, was active from the moment he entered to a nice ovation 3:09 into the game. He finished 10 for 17 from the floor and also had nine rebounds as the Bulls outscored the Hornets 54-16 inside.

"It felt like the first day of school all day," said Thomas, who had been out since Nov. 6. "I had a new backpack, supplies, everything. It was great."

Kirk Hinrich replaced slumping John Salmons in the starting lineup and scored 14 points and Derrick Rose also had 14 for the Bulls, who on Monday blew a 35-point, second-half lead in losing to Sacramento. The next night, they fell to New York despite erasing most of a 22-point deficit.

And coach Vinny Del Negro spent much of the week dealing with rumors he soon would be fired.

Devin Brown scored all of his 22 points in the first half for New Orleans, which had only nine third-quarter points and fell to 2-12 on the road.

Brown's sixth three-pointer in six attempts gave the Hornets a 42-31 lead with seven minutes left in the half and got the United Center crowd grumbling.

The Bulls then outscored New Orleans 42-13 over the next 18 minutes to take a 73-55 lead late in the third quarter. Noah had 10 points and 10 rebounds during the surge.

This time, the Bulls didn't collapse, holding a double-digit lead most of the fourth quarter. After the Hornets' Darren Collison scored to make it 94-85 with 1:30 to play, Noah had a rebound basket and then blocked Collison's layup, ending all hope of a New Orleans comeback.

Chris Paul had 15 points and seven assists for New Orleans.

Notes

• Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest suffered a concussion and injured his left elbow after falling at his home. Artest didn't travel with the Lakers to Saturday's game at Sacramento after tripping over a box and falling down a flight of stairs on Christmas night, the team said. He was treated at UCLA Medical Center, undergoing a CT scan and receiving stitches in the back of his head and his elbow. A neurologist examined him and confirmed he had a concussion. Artest is day to day.

• Reserve Carl Landry scored 26 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 98-93 victory over host New Jersey, sending the Nets to their ninth straight loss. Aaron Brooks from Franklin High School in Seattle made a tiebreaking layup with 37 seconds left and scored 17 points.

• Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points over the first three quarters, then saw his teammates take control in the fourth to carry the host Dallas Mavericks to a 106-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Jason Terry, also from Franklin High School, scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and sealed the victory with four free throws in the final 20.6 seconds.

• Kevin Durant scored 30 points, Russell Westbrook had 22 and the host Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Charlotte Bobcats 98-91. Nenad Krstic added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the surprising Thunder, which improved to 15-14. The team didn't earn its 15th win last season until the 60th game, on March 2.