Updated Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 12:46 AM
DALLAS — Andrew Bynum had 19 points and 14 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers hit the halfway point of their season with a 96-91 victory over the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Bynum had a huge smile on his face when he grabbed a rebound of his own miss and was fouled trying to go back up with 5:29 left. He made both free throws to break an 82-all tie and finally put the Lakers (20-13) ahead to stay after 13 ties and 10 lead changes.
Pau Gasol had 24 points for the Lakers, while Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher each had 15.
Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Mavericks (21-13), who played their final game before the All-Star break.
Ex-Laker Lamar Odom, now with the Mavericks, was excused from the game to attend to a family matter.
Knicks rout Hawks
NEW YORK — Jeremy Lin had an easy night ahead of his toughest opponent yet, and the New York Knicks tuned up for their trip to Miami by beating the Atlanta Hawks 99-82.
Lin had 17 points and nine assists, sitting out most of the fourth quarter in a rare game during his remarkable run that the Knicks needed little from him.
Thomas ties record
WASHINGTON — Former Huskies star Isaiah Thomas scored 16 of his 18 points after halftime as the Sacramento Kings beat the Washington Wizards 115-107.
Thomas, making his fourth consecutive start, made 8 of his last 12 shots and has scored 78 points as a starter, tying Otis Birdsong (1977) for the most points scored by a Kings rookie in his first four starts.
Notes
• Monta Ellis hit an 20-foot fadeaway jump shot with one second left as the Golden State Warriors beat the host Phoenix Suns 106-104. Ex-Husky Nate Robinson had 14 points, five assists and three steals for Golden State.
• Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, Kevin Durant added 28 and the host Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Boston Celtics 119-104 for its 11th straight win at home.
• Former Sonic Luke Ridnour hit a floater in the lane at the buzzer, capping the host Minnesota Timberwolves' comeback from 16 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Utah Jazz 100-98.
• Chris Paul scored a season-high 36 points and Blake Griffin added 27 as the host Los Angeles Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets 103-95 to snap a two-game skid.
• The Portland Trail Blazers are pursuing free-agent center Joel Przybilla.
• New Jersey Nets forward Kris Humphries missed the game against the Orlando Magic with a calf injury. Nets forward Shawne Williams had surgery to repair an old fracture and remove two small bone fragments in his left foot. He will miss the rest of the season.
• Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson will miss the All-Star Game because of tendinitis in his left knee. Boston guard Rajon Rondo will replace Johnson.
• New York Knicks rookie Iman Shumpert pulled out of the slam-dunk contest with an injury and will be replaced by Utah's Jeremy Evans.
• Former NBA player Javaris Crittenton, out on bond on charges he killed a woman in an August drive-by shooting in south Atlanta, was jailed in Riverdale, Ga., after being pulled over for speeding and refusing to get out of his Porsche.
