Bryant inspires Lakers

LOS ANGELES —  Forward Kobe Bryant scored 22 points in three quarters, allowing the Los Angeles Lakers to snap a six-game losing streak by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 113-95 at Staples Center Tuesday. Rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell came off the bench to score 19 points and record seven assists as seven Lakers reached double figures in scoring. Guard Lou Williams scored 16 points, forward Julius Randle finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds and center Roy Hibbert added 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds for Los Angeles (4-21), which won for only the second time at home this season. Reserve guard Michael Carter-Williams had 19 points and guard Khris Middleton chipped in 16 to lead Milwaukee (10-16), which has dropped three of its last four games. Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Bucks did not play anything close to their performance in Saturday’s 108-95 win over Golden State that ended the Warriors’ perfect 24-0 start to the season. Against the Lakers, the Bucks fell into an early hole and never recovered. Milwaukee also was hurt playing without center Greg Monroe, who was a late scratch with a sore left knee. Monroe apparently bumped knees with a team mate during the team’s shoot-around on Tuesday morning. He will be re-evaluated Wednesday. With the victory, the Lakers also ended a run of 14 straight opponents scoring at least 100 points. The Bucks outshot the Lakers 47.1 percent to 46.1 percent but Los Angeles had an edge in three-pointers, making 10-of-27 (37 percent) to only 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) for Milwaukee. Cavaliers 89, Celtics 77: LeBron James scored 24 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their third straight game, 89-77 over the Boston Celtics. James capped a 12-0 third-quarter run with a reverse slam dunk as Cleveland established a lead they would never relinquish. Forward Kevin Love, whose 2015 postseason ended when he was injured by Boston forward Kelly Olynyk, scored 20 points and added eight rebounds and five assists. Russian center Timofey Mozgov added nine points and 10 rebounds while Iman Shumpert came off the bench to score 10 points before suffering a groin injury as the Cavaliers won their third game in a row and improved the best record in the Eastern Conference to 16-7. Avery Bradley scored 17 points to top the Celtics, who led 46-40 at half-time but shot only 26 percent in the second half and managed only 31 points after half-time in a physical contest. Nuggets 112, Timberwolves 100: Kenneth Faried had 19 points and 10 rebounds and backup guard Randy Foye added 19 points off the bench as the Denver Nuggets found their shooting range to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-100. The Nuggets came into the game shooting just 42.8 percent from the floor, 25th in the league. But against the Timberwolves, Denver shot 56.2 percent — and 55.6 percent from 3-point range. Foye was particularly lethal, going 5-of-6 from behind the arc. Kings 107, Rockets 97: DeMarcus Cousins scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and point guard Darren Collison made up for the absence of team mate Rajon Rondo with 14 points and 13 assists. Omri Casspi scored 19 points and added six assists and the Kings won their third straight to match the longest win streak of the season.