Kobe Gives Celtics Fans Reason to Cheer

Boston fans finally had reason to cheer again. Too bad it had nothing to do with the Celtics. Instead, it was Kobe Bryant of the hated Lakers who heard ``MVP!'' chants while scoring 43 points in

Thursday, February 1st 2007, 5:51 am

By: News On 6

Boston fans finally had reason to cheer again. Too bad it had nothing to do with the Celtics. Instead, it was Kobe Bryant of the hated Lakers who heard ``MVP!'' chants while scoring 43 points in his return from a suspension, leading Los Angeles to a 111-98 victory Wednesday night that extended Boston's losing streak to 13 games.

Those fans who prefer to root for the home team were treated to some impressive performances. Chris Bosh made 15 straight shots in Toronto, including a 56-footer; Mehmet Okur's big fourth quarter carried Utah to a victory over San Antonio; and Gerald Wallace scored a career-best 42 points for improving Charlotte.

Bryant's performance was surprising only because of the reception from Celtics fans. Boston and Los Angeles have a storied rivalry, and longtime Lakers trainer Gary Vitti couldn't believe what he was hearing in a place where ``Beat L.A.!'' was always the norm.

``Gary Vitti was in there telling me how shocked he was, that he heard an 'MVP!' chant here in Boston,'' Bryant said. ``But I really appreciated it.''

In other games, it was: Orlando 98, Milwaukee 73; Atlanta 115, Golden State 94; Toronto 119, Washington 109; Charlotte 104, New York 87; Detroit 113, New Jersey 89; Dallas 95, Memphis 94; Sacramento 100, Minnesota 98; Philadelphia 89, New Orleans 78; Houston 112, Seattle 102; Utah 97, San Antonio 93; Portland 100, Denver 91; and the Los Angeles Clippers 110, Chicago 98.

The Lakers snapped a season-high three-game skid. Bryant was suspended for the loss at New York on Tuesday night for striking San Antonio's Manu Ginobili in the face on Sunday.

``I couldn't go outside and play on the swings,'' he said before the game.

``I was finally able to run out in the yard,'' he said after. ``Just have a good time. I have so much fun playing.''

The Celtics certainly aren't. The once-proud franchise matched its longest skid ever and fell to 2-19 since star Paul Pierce went out on Dec. 20 with a stress reaction in his left foot that was supposed to keep him out for about three weeks.

Boston, which last lost 13 in a row during the 1996-97 season, needs to beat the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night to avoid a record 14th straight loss.

``Well, I guess that's one way to get in the record books,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ``Not the way you want to.''

Raptors 119, Wizards 109

At Toronto, Bosh made his final 15 shots after missing his first four and scored 34 points. He even made a buzzer-beating 56-footer after stealing an inbounds pass, giving Toronto a 17-point lead after three quarters.

Jazz 97, Spurs 93

At Salt Lake City, Okur scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, including eight in the final minute.

Okur also pulled down 11 rebounds for Utah, which snapped a two-game skid hours after learning that leading scorer and rebounder Carlos Boozer could miss a month with a broken bone in his leg.

Tim Duncan had 25 points and 12 rebounds and Tony Parker scored 27 points for the Spurs.

Bobcats 104, Knicks 87

At Charlotte, N.C., Wallace scored 17 of his career-high 42 points in the fourth quarter and the Bobcats pulled away from New York, which went more than 11 minutes without a field goal bridging the third and fourth quarters.

Raymond Felton added 16 points and 10 assists, including two alley-oop feeds to Wallace, as the Bobcats won for the 12th time in 19 games.

Clippers 110, Bulls 98

At Los Angeles, Elton Brand had 26 points and eight rebounds, and the Clippers (23-22) pulled away in the final 3 1/2 minutes to move above .500 for the first time in almost two months.

Pistons 113, Nets 89

At East Rutherford, N.J., Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and Detroit set a team record by making 27 consecutive free throws.

Chauncey Billups added 18 points, including 12 on perfect shooting from the free-throw line, and Chris Webber had 17 as the Pistons won for the fifth time in seven games and snapped the Nets' two-game winning streak.

Hawks 115, Warriors 94

Joe Johnson, hoping to be picked as a reserve for the All-Star game, scored 33 points to lead host Atlanta, which went 8-7 in January for its first winning month in almost three years.

76ers 89, Hornets 78

Andre Iguodala scored 22 points and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 15 rebounds for visiting Philadelphia, which ruined Chris Paul's return from a sprained ankle.

Kings 100, Timberwolves 98

At Minneapolis, Kevin Martin had 28 points and the go-ahead jump shot with 16.6 seconds left, helping struggling Sacramento avoid another road defeat.

Mavericks 95, Grizzlies 94

At Memphis, Tenn., Dirk Nowitzki overcame a tough shooting night with 26 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter. Mike Miller led the Grizzlies with 32 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter.

Rockets 112, Sonics 102

Tracy McGrady scored 36 points to help Houston win its fourth straight and hand Seattle its franchise record-tying 14th consecutive road loss.

Ray Allen had 36 points for Seattle, which hasn't won a road game since Nov. 22.

Trail Blazers 100, Nuggets 91

At Portland, Ore., Zach Randolph had 26 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, and the Trail Blazers handed Denver its fourth straight loss.

The Nuggets were without Allen Iverson, who sprained his ankle in the Nuggets' 105-101 loss to Charlotte on Monday.

Magic 98, Bucks 73

At Orlando, Fla., Hedo Turkoglu scored 17 points and Tony Battie added a season-high 15 as the Magic stopped a three-game losing streak.

Mo Williams scored 23 points for Milwaukee, which dug itself a 29-point hole early in the game and has lost 13 of 15.