Kobe Bryant has continued his excellent recent form by scoring 43 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 115-113 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Coming off four consecutive games where the superstar scored above 50 points, Lamar Odom (24 points) and Smush Parker (13 points) gave Bryant and the Lakers the extra scoring help that was needed.

Going into the last quarter the Lakers trailed by three points, and a 7-0 run by the Warriors gave them a 95-85 lead, but the Lakers rallied under the experienced Bryant and Odom to register the important win.

Monta Ellis top-scored for the Warriors with 31 points, while Al Harrington (23 points) and Stephen Jackson (16 points) were the next best.

In Sacramento, Mike Bibby drained nine three pointers in his 37 point haul as the Sacramento Kings defeated the Phoenix Suns 107-100.

Trailing by three points at three-quarter-time Bibby, Ron Artest (24 points) and John Salmons (17 points) turned it on in the final quarter to keep the Kings in with a chance of making the playoffs for the ninth straight year.

Leandro Barbosa (27 points) and Amare Stoudemire (23 points) led the scoring for the Suns, while Steve Nash had a poor game committing nine turnovers.

In Cleveland, Carmelo Anthony netted 27 points as the Denver Nuggets picked up a handy 105-93 away win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Anthony was well supported by Nene Hilario (21 points) and Allen Iverson (18 points), while LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas top-scored for the Cavs with 18.

In other matches the Dallas Mavericks edged past the Atlanta Hawks 104-97, the Chicago Bulls accounted for the Indiana Pacers 92-90, the Detroit Pistons thrashed the Milwaukee Bucks 121-95, the Minnesota Timberwolves downed the Portland Trailblazers 94-93, the New Orleans Hornets overpowered the Houston Rockets 106-94 and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Seattle Supersonics 120-79.

NBA results
Atlanta Hawks 97 Dallas Mavericks 104
Indiana Pacers 90 Chicago Bulls 92
Milwaukee Bucks 95 Detroit Pistons 121
Minnesota Timberwolves 94 Portland Trailblazers 93
Sacramento Kings 107 Phoenix Suns 100
New Orleans Hornets 106 Houston Rockets 94
Cleveland Cavaliers 93 Denver Nuggets 105
Seattle Supersonics 79 San Antonio Spurs 120
Los Angeles Lakers 115 Golden State Warriors 113