Sports

CLEVELAND — Cleveland beat Atlanta 109-97 on Saturday in a reprise of last season’s NBA Eastern Conference finals, and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was ejected for making contact with an official.

The Cavaliers took control midway through the first quarter and quickly built a double-digit lead en route to a victory that built their lead in the Central Division while dropping the Hawks out of top spot in the Southeast.

Among other games, San Antonio continued their strong home form by beating Memphis and New York ended their long run of losses to Houston by beating the slumping Rockets.

Cleveland’s Kevin Love scored a season-high 25 points and LeBron James added 19 in the first game against Atlanta since the Cavaliers swept the Hawks in the East finals last season.

Hawks coach Budenholzer was given a technical for arguing a call in the second quarter, and stepped onto the floor where he bumped referee Ben Taylor and was ejected.

San Antonio made it six straight home wins by downing Memphis 92-82, with Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker scoring 19 and 18 points respectively.

After conceding the opening score of the game, the Spurs led throughout.

Neither team had their starting power forward. LaMarcus Aldridge was a late scratch with a sprained left ankle, his first missed game with San Antonio. Memphis’ Zach Randolph was in uniform, but did not play in his second straight game due to right knee soreness.

New York ended a run of 11 consecutive losses to Houston — and ten straight defeats in the Texan city — with a 107-102 victory.

Kristaps Porzingis had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks who have eight wins before the end of November, whereas last season they didn’t get their eighth win until late January.

James Harden had 24 points and 10 assists for the Rockets, who have lost six of seven.

Detroit’s Marcus Morris missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer, and that allowed Washington to hang on for a 97-95 road victory.

The Wizards had the ball and a two-point lead with 9.2 seconds left, but Otto Porter was called for a five-second violation on the inbound attempt. That gave Detroit a last chance, but Morris missed.

Nene scored 18 points and Porter added 17 for Washington, which got 51 points from bench players compared to just 15 by Detroit’s reserves.

Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 20 points and nine assists.

Indiana made it five wins from six by routing Milwaukee 123-86, with C.J. Miles scoring a season-high 21 points for the Pacers.

Sacramento went on a 22-2 scoring run late in the third quarter to take over the game and set up a 97-91 win at Orlando, with DeMarcus Cousins having 29 points and 12 rebounds.

Miami survived a major scare from winless Philadelphia, needing a 19-2 run in the fourth quarter to escape with a 96-91 victory against a 76ers team that dropped to 0-14 and which has lost 24 straight dating back to last season.

OAKLAND, California — The Golden State Warriors moved within one victory of matching the best start in NBA history by beating Chicago 106-94 on Friday and improving to 14-0.

Stephen Curry scored 27 points for the Warriors, who will match the record with victory at Denver on Sunday. The Nuggets blew a 17-point lead on their home court and lost to Phoenix.

Dallas extended their winning streak to six by beating Utah, and closed within half a game of Southwest Division leader San Antonio.

The Jazz missed a chance to go top of the Northwest Division and remained half a game behind Oklahoma City, which were beaten at home by New York.

Golden State’s Harrison Barnes added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors in a game featuring 18 lead changes and 17 ties.

The league’s last undefeated team ran its franchise-record home winning streak to 26 games by beating Chicago; the last visiting team to win at Oracle Arena during the regular season, back in January.

Golden State equalled the 1957-58 Celtics as the only defending champions to win their initial 14 games.

Jimmy Butler had 28 points for the Bulls.

Dallas’ Deron Williams scored a season-high 23 points against his old team as the Mavericks beat Utah 102-93.

Dirk Nowitzki had 19 for Dallas, going 8 of 12 from the field and making all three of his 3-point attempts.

Gordon Hayward scored 22 points for the Jazz.

New York hung on for a 93-90 win against fast-finishing Oklahoma City.

The Thunder rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Dion Waiters’ potential tying shot rattled out at the buzzer.

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and Arron Afflalo added 14 points for the Knicks.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 34 points, but the NBA’s No. 3 scorer made just 11 of 29 shots and went 2 of 10 on 3-pointers.

Phoenix’s Brandon Knight scored a career-high 38 points as the Suns overran Denver and won 114-107.

The Suns trailed most of the game, but went ahead early in the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run

Knight scored 17 points in the fourth to lead the comeback, while Eric Bledsoe finished with 22.

Rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay had a career-high 26 points for the Nuggets.

Memphis notched a fourth straight win by defeating struggling Houston 96-84.

Mike Conley scored 26 points, while Marc Gasol had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the Grizzlies.

James Harden led the Rockets with 22 points, but missed six of his seven shots from beyond the arc. The Rockets have lost five of their past six, going 1-1 since Kevin McHale was fired and J.B. Bickerstaff took over as interim coach.

Detroit ground out a 96-86 victory at Minnesota, which briefly threatened a fourth-quarter rally, but remained winless at home.

Andre Drummond had 21 points and 11 rebounds while Marcus Morris contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons.

Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points for the Timberwolves, who have a 0-6 record on home court this season.

New Orleans recorded only its second victory of the season by defeating San Antonio 104-90, with Anthony Davis having 20 points and 18 rebounds in his return from a sore shoulder.

Portland ended a seven-game losing skid by downing the Los Angeles Clippers 102-91, with Damian Lillard scoring 27 points, including three late 3-pointers.

Toronto’s Kyle Lowry had 25 points to lead the Raptors past the Los Angeles Lakers 102-91, ending a run of three losses.

Boston shot 62 per cent in the first half and ran away from Brooklyn in the second quarter when they went 18 for 21 from the field to set up a 120-95 win.

Charlotte swept past Philadelphia 113-88 to drop the 76ers to 0-13 and extend their losing streak over this season and last to 23 games.

GENEVA — FIFA’s ethics committee has asked for sanctions against Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini after finishing investigations into their alleged financial wrongdoing.

FIFA president Blatter and UEFA president Platini now face bans of several years at full hearings before FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert, likely in December.

The ethics court investigation chamber said Saturday it will not reveal what sanctions it requested due to “privacy rights and the presumption of innocence”.

“The adjudicatory chamber will study the reports carefully and decide in due course about whether to institute formal adjudicatory proceedings,” the separate judging chamber said in a statement.

The case centres on a $2 million payment of FIFA money Blatter approved for Platini in 2011 — three months before a FIFA presidential election — as backdated salary. Platini was employed by Blatter as a presidential adviser from 1998-2002.

Both men deny wrongdoing, though they acknowledge there was no written contract.

Blatter and Platini, whose campaign for the FIFA presidency is stalled by his legal troubles, were suspended by the ethics committee on October 8 pending the full verdicts.

Both are challenging their interim 90-day bans at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which is expected to fast-track their cases.

The full charges of unethical conduct against Blatter and Platini could include conflicts of interest.

Both were members of the FIFA executive committee in 2011 when the payment was arranged without their colleagues apparently knowing of the deal.

FIFA audit panel chairman Domenico Scala also suggested that accounts may have been falsified if the $2 million allegedly owed to Platini was not booked in the financial reports from 2002 to 2011.

Recently judged FIFA ethics cases suggest Blatter and Platini face bans of at least seven years.

Former FIFA vice president Chung Mong-joon of South Korea was banned for six years last month for a range of charges which did not include financial corruption. His misconduct cited by the ethics committee included failing to cooperate with investigators and breach of FIFA confidentiality rules.

Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the former Chile federation president, was banned for seven years in July in a case that focused on his work leading technical inspections of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidders.

Blatter and Platini can appeal any ethics committee sanctions to the FIFA appeals committee and CAS.

Both want their cases finally resolved ahead of the FIFA election on February 26.

Blatter has said he wants to leave FIFA with a dignified exit after 40 years by hosting the election congress in Zurich.

Platini’s eligibility as a candidate to succeed his former mentor Blatter is dependent on not being banned and passing an integrity check which is on hold during the ethics proceedings.

Switzerland’s attorney general has also opened criminal proceedings against Blatter for suspected criminal mismanagement of FIFA money, over Platini’s $2 million and the undervalued sale of Caribbean TV rights for the World Cup.

Swiss federal authorities are treating Platini  as “between a witness and an accused person”.

HOUSTON — James Harden scored 45 points, including all nine for Houston in overtime, as the Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 108-103 on Wednesday after firing coach Kevin McHale earlier in the day.

Corey Brewer made an off-balance 3-pointer to force overtime and Harden took over from there, finishing with 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals as the Rockets capped an emotional day at the Toyota Centre.

It almost ended with a fifth straight loss before Brewer made his shot with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 99.

Just hours after McHale was fired, the Rockets played much of the game with sloppy mistakes and dreadful shooting. Interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, son of longtime NBA coach Bernie Bickerstaff, served in his first game as head coach.

The Blazers dropped their seventh straight, their worst losing streak since closing 2012-13 on a 13-game skid. Damian Lillard led Portland with 23 points.

San Antonio’s Tony Parker scored a season-high 25 points as the Spurs never trailed in beating the Denver Nuggets 109-98 for their sixth straight victory.

Kawhi Leonard added 20 points, Tim Duncan had 12 and LaMarcus Aldridge 11 for the Spurs, undefeated at home after five games. Patty Mills was 3 for 6 on 3-pointers in scoring a season-high 17 points.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points for Dallas and Wesley Matthews had 18 as the Mavericks erased an 18-point, first-half deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics Boston 106-102 for their fifth consecutive win.

Zaza Pachulia had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks. Deron Williams added 16 points, including consecutive key baskets.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 19 points.

In Philadelphia, Paul George scored 34 points and C.J. Miles added 20 to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 112-85 rout of the winless 76ers.

T.J. McConnell scored 16 points for Philadelphia, which dropped to 0-12 while setting a season high with 31 turnovers.

The 76ers are within five losses of matching last season’s franchise-worst start and six defeats from tying the NBA record, set by the 2009 Nets, for longest losing streak to begin a season. Philadelphia opens a six-game road trip on Friday in Charlotte.

It was the 76ers’ 22nd loss in a row dating to last season, four from equalling the NBA record they already share with Cleveland.

The Chicago Bulls downed the Phoenix Suns 103-97 for their fourth victory after Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 32 points.

Pau Gasol added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Kirk Hinrich scored 14 as former Phoenix guard Aaron Brooks had 12 points as Chicago ended the Suns’ three-game winning streak.

Bulls guard Derrick Rose sat out with a sore left ankle.

In other games, Paul Millsap scored 23 points as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Sacramento Kings 103-97, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110-103, the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Brooklyn Nets 116-111, the Orlando Magic had a 104-101 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Utah Jazz downed the Toronto Raptors 93-89.

MADRID — The biggest game of the year has arrived in Spain, filled with doubts over the presence of one of its biggest stars and surrounded by security concerns prompted by the attacks in Paris.

Real Madrid and Barcelona will play at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday in the first clasico of the season.

Authorities are promising unprecedented security measures because of what happened in France last week, but it remains unclear whether Barcelona’s Lionel Messi will be fit to play following a long injury layoff.

Messi returned to practice this week, nearly two months after tearing a ligament in his left knee, but the club is yet to say whether he will be available.

“Messi can change the game and he’s done incredible things in previous clasicos,” Barcelona striker Luis Suarez said. “But it depends on the doctors and what they think is best for him. He has looked good while training with us over the last few days but it’s an injury that could take a sudden turn for the worse.”

Messi is the all-time leading scorer in the clasico with 21. Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 15 goals, is guaranteed to start for Madrid.

Here are other things to watch for:

Increased security

Spanish authorities have declared the game a high-risk event and announced they will double the police presence at the Bernabeu.

Nearly 1,500 private security agents will be working during the game, and at least 1,000 national police officers.

Security zones will be implemented outside the stadium, keeping those without tickets or credentials away from the 81,000-capacity venue.

Fighting for the lead

Barcelona have a three-point lead over Real Madrid going into the match, but a loss will drop the Catalan club to second in the standings on goal difference.

Madrid had been in front until its first loss of the season at Sevilla two weeks ago.

“I don’t think we’ll have won the league if we go six points ahead of them,” Suarez said. “It’s still too early to say who is going to win it. The league is going to be a long one, and Atletico [Madrid] will be up there, too, so this game won’t decide anything.”

Third-place Atletico, which play at Real Betis on Sunday, are one point behind Madrid, and four behind Barcelona.

Attacking power

Suarez and Neymar have been carrying the load for Barcelona in Messi’s absence. The South American duo have 20 of the team’s 23 goals since Messi was injured.

Neymar scored five in the last three Barcelona games, while Suarez found the net three times.

Ronaldo has scored in each of the last three clasicos and scored at least one in a clasico in the last five seasons.

Karim Benzema has also done well against Barcelona in recent years, especially when at the Santiago Bernabeu, where he’s scored in the last four clasicos.

Real Madrid arrive with the league’s best attack with 26 goals, one more than Barcelona.

Injury woes

Madrid should have back goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who has missed action since the beginning of the month because of a muscle injury.

Sergio Ramos, who has been nursing a shoulder injury, also should be fit. The defender has yet to miss a clasico, having started in all 20 of them in his career with Madrid.

Benzema was not 100 per cent guaranteed to play after coming off a long layoff because of an injury and a sex tape controversy that led him to be briefly detained in France.

It remained unclear whether Barcelona would be able to count on midfielder Ivan Rakitic, who has been recovering from a muscle injury.

Worldwide attention

The Spanish league said the clasico will be broadcast on large screens in Dubai, Shanghai, Miami, and a Spanish military base in Lebanon. The league organised the events abroad as part of its push to expand the brand internationally.

ZURICH — Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter and European soccer chief Michel Platini have lost their appeals against provisional 90-days bans by the global football body's ethics committee, FIFA said on Wednesday.

Blatter and Platini, who had been favourite to take over in February's FIFA presidential election, were suspended on October 8, engulfed by a deepening corruption scandal as the sport faces criminal investigations in Switzerland and the United States.

The decision by the FIFA Appeal Committee, which rejected the appeals "in full", was a further blow to Frenchman Platini's hopes of standing on February 26 because the electoral committee has said his registration will not be processed while he is suspended.

The former France captain and coach, who is not allowed to campaign or engage in any football-related activities until his suspension is lifted, said he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the next step in the process.

"Michel Platini has full confidence that the CAS will restore all his rights," said a statement issued by his spokesman. "Meanwhile, he remains a composed and determined candidate for the FIFA presidency.

"The decision comes as no surprise. It was expected by Michel Platini and his lawyers," added the statement. "It confirms that FIFA, through its internal bodies, is conducting a one-sided, unfair and biased investigation against Michel Platini, repeatedly violating his right to defend himself.

"Despite his repeated requests, at no time has Michel Platini been able to put his case to the judges, which is simply outrageous."

Review case

If Platini wins his appeal at the CAS, the electoral committee has said it would review his case but, even then, there is no guarantee that he would be able to stand in the election as it would depend on the timing.

Buffeted by a series of scandals over the last few years, FIFA was thrown into turmoil in May by the US indictments of 14 football officials, including two FIFA vice-presidents and sports marketing executives for alleged corruption.

Blatter, who has been at the head of FIFA since 1998, also faces criminal investigation in Switzerland over a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.1 million) payment from FIFA to Platini. Both men have denied wrongdoing.

The payment was made in 2011 for work which Platini had completed nine years earlier, the Swiss attorney-general's office has said, adding Platini was considered to be "between a witness and an accused person".

FIFA's Ethics Committee has said it hopes to have completed the full investigation into Blatter and Platini in time for a final decision to be made on their cases by the end of their 90-day suspension period.

Both men could then face much longer bans if found guilty of contravening FIFA's code of ethics which, in Platini's case, would mean he also loses his position as UEFA president.

Five candidates have been accepted for the presidential election and the job of rebuilding the sport's beleaguered governing body.

They are HRH Prince Ali, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France, UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino of Switzerland and South Africa businessman Tokyo Sexwale.

Infantino entered the race a day before the deadline in late October and is expected to withdraw if Platini is allowed back in.

AMMAN — Week 7 of the 64th Jordan Professional Football League kicks off Thursday with Wihdat aiming to retake the lead from Shabab Urdun, who play Jazira.

Week 6 matches were postponed amid the downpour that left streets and stadiums flooded two weeks ago. The Jordan Football Association has now rescheduled matches so Week 6 will be played ahead of the conclusion of Leg 1. 

Shabab Urdun now lead the standings following their beating of Sarih (1-0) and Faisali (3-0). Wihdat trail by one point after they lost 1-0 to rivals Faisali, as well as, Hussein Irbid. They next play Sarih hoping to jump back as leaders. 

Hussein play Ramtha, who are now third after they beat Jazira 1-0. Kufrsoum, who lost to Ahli 1-0, next play newcomers Asala.

Ahli are now sixth ahead of their match against Baqa’a and That Ras, who are fourth, play Faisali.

The league had a one-week break to allow the national team’s regrouping for Group B qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup. Jordan beat Malta 2-0 in a friendly, but lost to Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in the crucial qualifier and lost its Group B lead.

So far this season, Jordan Cup titleholders Faisali beat League titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to win the 33rd Super Cup. It was a much-needed win for Faisali after a disappointing 7th place finish the league last season as runner-up and third places went to Jazira and Ramtha. 

League Standings 

(Last week’s position in parenthesis) 

AMMAN – Jordan lost its return game with Kyrgyzstan in Group B of the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifiers. 

A goal in the 48th minute by Anton Zemlianuhin was enough to give Kyrgyzstan a win over Jordan and its third win in the group. 

The 1-0 defeat to the Central Asian and with Australia easing to  4-0 win over Bangladesh, Jordan is now second on the table with 13 points, followed by Kyrgystan with 11 points. 

Australia, the 2014 AFC Asian Cup holders, lead the table with 15 points. Jordan and Australia still have two games each. Kyrgyzstan played a game more than Jordan and Australia. 

Jordan will play Bangladesh at home on March 24 and Australia in an away match on March 29.  

The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.

Celtics guard Avery Bradley scored 21 points off the bench and the Celtics turned a pair of back-breaking runs into a 111-95 victory over the struggling Houston Rockets at Toyota Centre on Monday.

Fellow guard Isaiah Thomas added 23 points and six assists as Boston (6-4) erased what was once a 15-point deficit with a 15-0 blitz late in the second quarter, a spurt that included eight points from Bradley.

Boston put the game on ice by closing the third quarter with another 15-0 run, turning a 72-68 lead into an 87-68 runaway entering the fourth.

Forward Jae Crowder added 16 points for the Celtics, whose ball-hawking halfcourt defence set the tone for the staggering momentum swing.

Boston scored a whopping 39 points off 22 Rockets turnovers and ran Houston (4-7) ragged with 22 fast-break points and 16 steals.

“One thing that we’ve been working on since the beginning of the year is being able to finish on the break as far as making the right play, if it’s a finish or making the next pass,” Bradley told reporters.

“I feel like we’re doing a good job with that.”

The Rockets forward Trevor Ariza paired 19 points (on 4-of-10 three-point shooting) with nine rebounds but had four turnovers. Houston guards James Harden (16 points) and Ty Lawson added four turnovers apiece.

Houston appeared inspired early, particularly defensively, harassing the Celtics into a series of miscues and hurried shots beginning with the close of the first quarter.

The Rockets carried that surge into the second, opening a 42-27 lead with a 14-3 run capped by an Ariza three-point play and a transition basket by Lawson following a Corey Brewer steal.

However, the Celtics maintained contact, first with an 11-2 spurt that cut the deficit to 44-38, and also after the Rockets rebuilt their lead to 53-40 with their first devastating run.

Forward Amir Johnson started the push with a transition dunk at that 2:45 mark, and Bradley capped it with a three-pointer.

“We’re hanging our head,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “Things aren’t going our way and we hang our head. We haven’t put together really good basketball all year long.”

Celtics guard Marcus Smart recorded team highs in rebounds (nine), assists (six) and steals (five), and posted a game-high plus-30 despite 1-for-11 shooting.

Boston, which entered the contest fourth in the NBA in defensive rating, has won five of six and claimed its first victory in Houston since March 19, 2010.

“We didn’t defend very well the first 15 minutes and then we defended for about 24 straight,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “We really defended in that time.”

ATLANTA — Atlanta’s Paul Millsap missed on a couple of late attempts and the Hawks were beaten 97-96 by Utah on Sunday, missing a chance to extend their NBA Southeast Division lead.

Derrick Favours scored 23 points and Rodney Hood added 20 for the Jazz, who closed within a game of Northwest leader Oklahoma City, which was comfortably beaten at home by Boston.

Toronto was another division leader to lose, falling at in-form Sacramento, while Charlotte defied a fourth-quarter rally by Portland.

Atlanta’s Millsap had a season-high 28 points but failed to hit the rim on a 3-point attempt in the final minute and missed a 12-footer at the buzzer.

Point guard Jeff Teague sat out with a sore ankle, leaving the Hawks without their second-leading scorer.

Utah took a seven-point lead on Alec Burks’ runner with 2:20 remaining.

Boston’s Marcus Smart scored a career-high 26 points to help the Celtics beat Oklahoma City 100-85.

Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for Boston, which shot 48 per cent and outrebounded the Thunder 47-34.

Smart also guarded Russell Westbrook effectively. He was part of a collective effort that held the reigning scoring champion to 5-for-20 shooting. Westbrook still scored 27 points and carried a larger load with Kevin Durant out with a hamstring injury.

Westbrook had posted triple-doubles in his previous two games but finished this one with just five assists and four rebounds.

Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins scored 10 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Kings past Toronto 107-101 and to a third straight win.

Rudy Gay had 26 points and Omri Casspi added 14 for Sacramento, which won despite committing 20 turnovers that led to 20 points.

The Kings outscored the Raptors 14-2 over the final 3:22 — including the final 11 points of the game.

DeMar ReRozan scored 24 points for Toronto.

Charlotte’s Nicolas Batum scored 33 points and Al Jefferson added 29 in a 106-94 victory over Portland.

The Hornets led 71-45 at halftime and by 29 points midway through the third quarter but the  Trail Blazers sliced that gap back to six points with 2:58 remaining.

Charlotte responded with an 8-0 run that sealed victory.

Damian Lilliard had 23 points for Portland, which lost its fifth straight.

New York’s Carmelo Anthony had 29 points and 13 rebounds to help the Knicks beat New Orleans 95-87.

Memphis’ Jeff Green scored a season-high 21 points and Mike Conley matched his season-high with 20 points to lead Grizzlies past Minnesota 114-106.

Los Angeles Lakers won their second game and avoided falling to 1-9 for the first time in team history by defeating Detroit 97-85, with Kobe Bryant contributing 17 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

Guard Jordan Clarkson also had 17 points for Los Angeles (2-8) as Bryant made just 6-of-19 shots from the floor but was effective in involving his teammates.

Guard Nick Young came off the bench to score 13 points for the Lakers, whose only other victory was over the Brooklyn Nets. Centre Roy Hibbert chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds.

Despite suffering a woeful start to the new season, the Lakers defeated the Pistons for the seventh consecutive time and the 10th time in the past 11 meetings.

Reserve guard Spencer Dinwiddie scored 17 points for the Pistons (5-5). Centre Andre Drummond extended his streak of double-doubles to 10 in a row with 17 points and 17 rebounds, but he and the Pistons saw their losing streak reach four games.

Los Angeles was clinging to a 78-74 lead after a dunk by Drummond on an alley-oop pass from Reggie Jackson with 7:28 remaining but the Lakers scored seven consecutive points, starting with a three-pointer by Bryant with 3:44 left.

That sealed the outcome as Detroit got no closer than eight the rest of the way.