Chris Paul left the court on a stretcher and suffered a concussion in the New Orleans Hornets' 96-81 victory over the host Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday.

The four-time All-Star lost the ball in the third quarter driving into the lane as he was defended by Ramon Sessions and Samardo Samuels. As Paul tried to retrieve the ball, he hit his forehead on Sessions' right shoulder and immediately fell to the court. Paul stayed on the floor as trainers from both teams attended to him.

Paul, who was moving his legs and feet, was placed on a flat board and a brace was put on his neck. Players from both teams surrounded him. He was wheeled to the locker room and gave a thumb up to the crowd as he left the court. He was taken to Cleveland Clinic for precautionary tests, then rejoined the team for its flight to Chicago. He will miss Monday's game.

David West scored 23 points, and Paul had 13 points and 11 assists in 26 minutes.

Lakers 99, Spurs 83

At San Antonio, Kobe Bryant scored 26 points and Pau Gasol had 21 as Los Angeles embarrassed NBA-best San Antonio for its seventh consecutive victory.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 14 points. He was their only starter in double figures.

The Lakers trail the Spurs by 6 1/2 games in the West, and coach Phil Jackson conceded before tipoff it was unlikely they'd catch up. But they can take satisfaction in emphatically ending San Antonio's franchise-record home win streak at 22 games.

Bulls 87, Heat 86

At Miami, Derrick Rose scored 27 points and Luol Deng capped an 18-point effort with two free throws that put Chicago ahead for good, as the Bulls handed Miami its fourth straight loss.

Carlos Boozer scored 12 and Joakim Noah added 11 for the Bulls, who moved a game ahead of Miami into outright possession of second place in the Eastern Conference and beat the Heat for the third time this season.

LeBron James scored 26 points, Chris Bosh added 23 and Dwyane Wade had 20 for the Heat. James and Wade both missed shots that would have won it for Miami in the final 8 seconds.

Celtics 89, Bucks 83

At Milwaukee, Paul Pierce scored 23 points, and Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 11 rebounds to lift Boston over Milwaukee for their fifth straight win.Boston remained three games up on Chicago atop the Eastern Conference.

With the game tied at 82-82, Boston's Big Three came through. Ray Allen hit a 17-foot jumper, Garnett made an 11-foot fadeaway jumper while being heavily defended and Pierce converted a three-point play with 18 seconds left to seal it.

Brandon Jennings scored 23 points for the similarly short-handed Bucks, who have lost 12 of the last 16.

Grizzlies 104, Mavericks 103

At Dallas, Zach Randolph made a high-arching 17-footer with 0.3 seconds left to lift Memphis over Dallas.

The Grizzlies erased an 18-point deficit shortly before halftime, then polished off the comeback with a wild finish.

Memphis went ahead with 14.3 seconds left when Shane Battier caught a blocked shot under the basket and flicked in a reverse layup. Then Dallas - which had won eight straight and 18 of 19 - went back ahead when Dirk Nowitzki made a jumper over Battier from the foul line with 3.1 seconds left.

Knicks 92, Hawks 79

At Atlanta, Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points and Landry Fields added 15 as New York easily beat Atlanta.

Carmelo Anthony, who was poked in the eye in the first quarter and later hit in the head in the first half, finished with 14 points, his lowest total since New York acquired him in a February 22 trade.

Josh Smith scored 17 and Kirk Hinrich added 15 for Atlanta, which has lost two straight and three of four.

Thunder 122, Suns 118, OT

At Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook had 32 points and 11 assists, and James Harden matched his career high with 26 points as Oklahoma City overcame an off night by NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant to beat Phoenix in overtime.