Bryant, Gasol keep new-look Lakers on a roll

Kobe Bryant drove into the lane, met heavy traffic and flipped the ball behind his back toward the corner for Pau Gasol, who was cutting the opposite way.

After the ball bounced harmlessly out of bounds, Bryant smiled at Gasol, who smiled back. It was one of their few mistakes in a dominating first half Monday night that provided a glimpse of what the Los Angeles Lakers were hoping for when they acquired Gasol from Memphis.

With Bryant hitting from the outside and scoring 31 points and Gasol clogging the middle to score 26, the Lakers continued their impressive road trip with a 106-97 win over the reeling Charlotte Bobcats.

"Adding Pau to the mix, we have something that has to be dealt with," said Bryant after the Lakers improved to 4-1 since the trade for their new big man.

Bryant had his third straight game of 30 or more points, but Bryant is clearly warming up to his new option down low.

Gasol had his second-highest scoring game since joining Los Angeles, hitting 9 of 11 shots and 8 of 12 free throws.

Cavaliers 118, Magic 111: Larry Hughes scored a season-high 40 points, and LeBron James added 29 points and 10 assists as Cleveland won at Orlando.

Hughes scored 23 in the third quarter on 6-of-7 shooting, including two 3-pointers and an assortment of drives and jumpers. He hit 9 of 10 free throws in the period.

Sixers 84, Mavericks 76: Andre Miller scored 21 points to lead Philadelphia past visiting Dallas for the 76ers' fourth straight win.

Josh Howard led the Mavericks with 17 points before leaving in the fourth with a back injury, and Dirk Nowitzki added 15.

Spurs 93, Raptors 88: Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 34 points and added a career-high 15 rebounds, leading visiting San Antonio over Toronto.

Tim Duncan added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who led from wire-to-wire and won for the fifth time in six games.

Clippers 96, Bucks 89: Al Thornton scored 25 points, and Sam Cassell added 21 points and 8 assists as visiting Los Angeles beat Milwaukee.

Mo Williams led the Bucks with 31 points.

Rockets 95, Trail Blazers 83: Yao Ming had 25 points and 7 rebounds as host Houston defeated Portland for theRockets' seventh straight victory.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 to lead the Trail Blazers, who have lost four of their last five.