BEIJING, Feb. 2 -- 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 on his return from a suspension, leading Los Angeles to a 111-98 victory on 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 LA!" 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 National Basketball Association games, it was: Raptors 119, Wizards 109; Jazz 97, Spurs 93; Bobcats 104, Knicks 87; Magic 98, Bucks 73; Hawks 115, Warriors 94; Pistons 113, Nets 89; Mavericks 95, Grizzlies 94; Kings 100, Timberwolves 98; 76ers 89, Hornets 78; Rockets 112, SuperSonics 102; Trail Blazers 100, Nuggets 91; and Clippers 110, Bulls 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 December 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 tomorrow 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."

In 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.

In 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.

At Charlotte, North Carolina, 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.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)

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