Golden State Warriors (9-22) at Los Angeles Lakers (24-5), 9:30 p.m.

The surging Los Angeles Lakers will resume a five-game homestand tonight versus the Pacific Division-rival Golden State Warriors from the Staples Center.

Los Angeles opened the residency in fashion by ending Boston's franchise- record 19-game winning streak with a 92-83 victory on Thursday. Superstar Kobe Bryant notched 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Pau Gasol scored seven of his 20 points in the game's final three minutes of action.

Lamar Odom chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds for LA, which finished the game on a 13-2 run and improved to 15-1 at home this season, capturing the 12th straight victory at the Staples Center. Los Angeles has won three in a row overall and will also host Utah, Portland and New Orleans.

Lakers head coach Phil Jackson posted the 1,000th win of his illustrious career, becoming the fastest coach to attain the achievement.

Golden State is also coming off a big win versus Boston, as it recorded a 99-89 victory over the Celtics on Friday at ORACLE Arena.

Stephen Jackson scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and added seven rebounds and four assists for the Warriors, who erased a 12-point halftime deficit and outscored Boston 35-17 in the final frame. Jackson had missed the previous four games with a hand injury.

Marco Belinelli finished with 22 points for Golden State, which had lost seven of eight coming into the game. The Warriors will try to work on their 4-15 record as the visitor Sunday evening.

In injury news for Golden State, guard Jamal Crawford is questionable against the Lakers because of a strained left groin.

Golden State and Los Angeles split four meetings a year ago, but the Lakers have won 15 of the previous 18 matchups in the series. Los Angeles sports a 16-2 mark over the past 18 encounters with Golden State at Staples Center.
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Staying ahead of the pack won't be easy for Evans

LAS VEGAS -- Becoming champion is a goal every fighter in the UFC shares. Rashad Evans achieved that goal Saturday at UFC 92 with a third-round TKO of Forrest Griffin.

But if recent light heavyweight title fights are any indication, Evans' reign as champion could be brief. Evans, however, is a man on a mission. He plans to retain the title for a very long time.

To do so, he must stave off several of the best fighters in mixed martial arts. The light heavyweight talent pool is UFC's deepest, and its most recent titleholders have been unable to stay afloat long.

Griffin failed to make one successful defense of the belt. The man Griffin took the 205-pound title from, Quinton Jackson, held off just one challenger.

In such a talent-rich division, holding the title has become extremely difficult. As long as Evans wears that belt, he will find every challenge to be a tough one.

He wouldn't want it any other way. Evans shrugs off the short stints experienced by Jackson and Griffin; he expects his title reign to last a long time.

Who's to disagree? His skill-set measures up against anyone at 205 pounds. But top-level wrestling and boxing skills aren't what will keep Evans on top. His mind-set should take care of that.

"It's because of my focus," Evans told ESPN.com. "Getting the title was important, but it's not the end of the story for me. It's just the beginning."

Evans takes no one for granted and trains out of a camp -- Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, N.M. -- that always has him ready to succeed. The camp is loaded with top-level fighters.

"In Keith Jardine, I have the best training partners," Evans said. "He is one of the best fighters in the 205-pound weight class. Working with him and my other teammates, I'm sure they will keep me on my toes."

Teammates won't be the only ones keeping Evans on his toes. Early indications are his first title defense will come against a heavy hitter.

Undefeated Lyoto Machida's name is often mentioned when talk of title challenger comes up, but he has a tough fight Jan. 31 against another unbeaten fighter -- Thiago Silva.

The Machida-Silva winner could make a strong argument for a crack at Evans. Each has the talent to make life tough for Evans in the cage, but that might not be enough to land Machida or Silva the fight.

For all their skills, Machida and Silva lack name recognition. It gets worse for Machida: not only his he virtually unknown to casual MMA fans, his fighting style isn't pleasing to most hard-core observers.

Evans made his name by winning on big stages, against high-quality opposition and in front of millions of viewers. Love him or hate him, fight fans are familiar with Evans.

Add to the mix, Evans' ability to knock people out, and the UFC has a fighter it can build huge bouts around. All the UFC needs is an opponent unafraid to slug it out with him.

UFC president Dana White doesn't have to search far to find the ideal opponent. The best man to challenge for the title fought minutes before Evans did Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena -- Quinton Jackson.

By registering a first-round knockout of longtime nemesis Wanderlei Silva, Jackson proved the loss to Griffin did not diminish his will or ability to win. It was the third fight between these two, with Silva stopping Jackson the first two times.

Taking into account his loss to Griffin, recent legal troubles and a new training camp, many doubted Jackson could avoid a third setback to Silva. But a counter left hook put all those doubts to rest.

Jackson caught Silva flush and dropped him flat on his back. While Silva lay sprawled on the canvas, Jackson landed three more punches before referee Yves Lavigne stepped in.

Silva remained motionless for several minutes before being taken to Valley Hospital, minutes from the MGM Grand. That devastating knockout likely sealed a title match for Jackson.

Styles make fights and Evans-Jackson has knockout written all over it. The match already has White smiling.

"Right here, right now, Rampage Jackson makes the most sense to me," White said. "He's ready."

Jackson is physically ready, but part of him still wants a rematch with Griffin. To this day, Jackson believes he got a raw deal from the judges in July during UFC 86. He just can't get that loss out of his mind.

"I would like to get my title back," Jackson said. "That's why we do this, everybody wants to be champion; everybody wants to be the best.

"To be honest, I really want to fight Forrest. That's the fight that haunts me when I go to sleep. … I would like to get Forrest first, if I could."

Jackson might prefer a rematch with Griffin first, but he will sleep a lot easier if a title shot is offered to him. Besides, a rematch with Griffin will happen some time down the road.

Turning down fights isn't something Jackson is known to do. He will accept the title shot if an offer is made.

If Jackson needs something extra to increase his motivation, the champ is already calling his name.

When asked by ESPN.com, which light heavyweight he'd most like to defend his title against, Evans answered: "Rampage."

Evans is eager to fight and defeat the best challengers in his division. The best challenger right now is Jackson.

The champ wants Jackson first, and it is very likely the champ will get what he wants.

Franklin McNeil covers boxing and mixed martial arts for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.

Missing on Mississippi

NEW ORLEANS — Tracy McGrady walked back on the court with two minutes remaining and with no escape from another horrid shooting night in sight.

The game was close, but the Rockets’ chances were slim. With a sardonic sort of grin, he just shook his head incredulously, minutes from completing his 2-of-11 shooting night and seeming to already know where things were headed.

The Rockets had spent the night clanging their way around New Orleans Arena without ever quite letting the Hornets move beyond their reach. But they threw brick after brick down the stretch until the Hornets had little choice but to pull away for an 88-79 win on Friday, giving the Rockets their first losing streak since Nov. 6.

With 2:09 remaining, McGrady made two free throws, and the Rockets trailed by just 79-76. But with intensity lacking throughout, it seemed to be a fluke they could be so close, allowed to stay in the game only by the Hornets’ own struggles playing the second half of a back-to-back.

“I felt it looked like it was close, but we missed something there,” Yao Ming said. “We need more effort. We need more energy. I feel like we didn’t get out of Christmas, yet.”

Yao, swarmed by double teams, led the Rockets with 19 points and 12 rebounds. But between them, Rockets guards Rafer Alston and McGrady made three of 21 shots. Starting forwards Shane Battier and Luis Scola made five of 15.

The Rockets’ 36.1 percent shooting was their third-worst this season, but it seemed worse than even that when they went through the fourth quarter making just two of 14 shots, none in the final 8½ minutes. They missed their final nine shots of the game.

“I think we left it (the offense) back in Houston,” McGrady said. “I think we had some great looks, even down the stretch with the penetration and kicking it out. The offense just wasn’t there for us. You have nights when the offense isn’t there. Defensively, I thought we were pretty solid. We just couldn’t make any shots.”

In the past two games, McGrady has made four of 18 shots. After his four-point game on Tuesday in Cleveland, he said playing four games in five nights caught up to him and his sore left knee. On Friday, he said he felt “pretty good,” except when returning to the game after breaks.

The breakdown of the Rockets’ offense, however, was complete. After getting 26 assists in a stretch of four of five games, and then 25 assists in the next game, they had just 13 on Friday and said it was not the poor shooting that limited the assists totals as much as the poor passing hurt the shooting.

“I think we started out slow offensively,” Battier said. “We didn’t have the ball movement we had the last month. I think missed shots just magnify the lack of ball movement. When you have better ball movement and the ball is flying around, it seems those shots tend to go down for everybody.

“We were right there. It was a grind-out game, and it was there for us. We just didn’t make enough big plays.”

More than anything, they did not make enough — or any — big shots down the stretch.

Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry, who made eight of 11 shots between them, made the only two Rockets field goals of the fourth quarter. But coach Rick Adelman went back to his starters for the final six minutes, and McGrady cut the lead to three with 2:09 left.

The Hornets then pulled away. Guard Chris Paul, who had 26 points and 10 assists, found David West for a baseline jumper. Yao missed a baseline fadeaway and with 55.3 seconds remaining and Paul maneuvered to an open 20-footer for an 83-76 Hornets lead with 55.3 seconds remaining.

Moments later, though, West fouled McGrady shooting a 3 and McGrady put in all three free throws, prompting Adelman to call off the foul he had instructed the Rockets to take. The Rockets even got the missed shot they needed, but Tyson Chandler slapped the rebound back to Paul, forcing the Rockets to send Paul to the line where he clinched it.

Still, the Rockets found time to miss three more shots on their way off the floor.

“We have a (play) call,” Yao said. “We have everybody on the same page and organized. But still the quality of the screen, the quality of the penetration, the quality of the dribble, everything affects the quality of the shot, the last guy who takes the shot. It’s more than just missing shots. It’s everything.”

Like McGrady a half-hour before, he then just shook his head.

Celtics lose their way

Marco Belinelli hit a three-pointer, then another, and suddenly, the subdued home crowd began to erupt. The cheers grew louder, the clapping stronger. And suddenly the fans stood in Oracle Arena and delivered a rousing ovation.

The Warriors? Well, they delivered right back.

Anthony Morrow hit Stephen Jackson for an easy layup to make it a three-point game. Kelenna Azubuike drilled a three-pointer to make it a two-point game. Jackson hit a three to make it a one-point game.

And when Jackson bounced in another jumper midway through the fourth quarter, it was a one-point game again.

Only this time, it was in favor of the Warriors.

And it stayed that way.

Golden State scored its biggest win of the season with a 99-89 stunner over the Celtics on Friday, snapping a three-game losing streak and sending the NBA's best team to its second-straight loss.

"Just the way we drew it up," laughed Warriors coach Don Nelson, who was smiling after a game for the first time in weeks.

So it was that the road-weary Warriors returned to Oracle Arena to an atmosphere that brought back memories of their "We Believe" days. Golden State was playing its first home game since Dec. 15, in front of just its second sellout crowd of the season.

Jackson was back in the starting lineup after resting his injured left hand for four games, and the time off worked wonders. He led all scorers with 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting, while Belinelli added 22 points and matched Jackson with four assists.

Their swaggers spread quickly.

Big man Ronny Turiaf led a defensive surge that held the Celtics scoreless for more than four minutes down the stretch. And when Boston finally pulled within five points with less than two minutes left, it was unheralded C. J. Watson who shoved aside All-Star candidate Rajon Rondo and swished a jumper to seal the win.

"When we're playing good team defense and our shots are falling, we're hard to beat," said Jackson, who credited Turiaf's defense for the win. "Once we got going, we didn't stop."

The Celtics were coming off an emotional loss to Turiaf's former team, the Lakers, in Los Angeles, while the Warriors had a two-day Christmas break after returning from a weeklong road trip.

Paul Pierce had 21 points for the Celtics, who had quiet nights from Kevin Garnett (14 points, four rebounds) and Allen (seven points, two rebounds before fouling out) amid the din in Oracle Arena.

"Oh man, it felt good to hear the crowd like that," Jackson said. "It definitely brought back the playoff feeling and, hopefully, we can continue to give our fans games like that because they support us. It was just a big win for us."

The weary guard then cut his interview short.

"Excuse me, but I'm worn out right now. I'm so tired."

On Friday, so were the rest of the Warriors. Tired of losing.
A good run

NUMBERS GAME
12

Home games for the Warriors so far
20

Road games for Golden State
68

Player games lost due to injury or illness

Rematch sweet for Los Angeles

So much of it arrived all at once, blurring the distinction between what actually happened first - the return of the Los Angeles Lakers' defense or the appearance of Pau Gasol's offense.

There was no doubt, though, what happened in the end. A 19-game winning streak had come and gone.

The Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics, finally, 92-83, shutting them down completely in the final three minutes and ending a summer of self-doubt in front of an energized holiday crowd Thursday at Staples Center.

That the Lakers ended the longest winning streak in Celtics history was only part of the drama.

They stood chest to chest with the team that bumped them around in six games of the Finals. They out-defended the league's most daunting defense. They took a knockout effort from Kobe Bryant - 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists - and found someone to add to it, though it was doubtful it would be Gasol.

They played like teams are supposed to play in June.

"It was a good measuring stick for us to show how much we've progressed since the Finals," Bryant said. "I think we have gotten better. We added Trevor (Ariza) and Andrew (Bynum), who are healthy, we have a better defensive system and I think we're just a better ball club."

The teams were tied, 81-81, and Gasol was stumbling along, missing seven of 11 shots before driving the Lakers to an 11-2 run to end the game.

He hit a 15-footer from the right side, a running 7-foot hook shot and converted a three-point play on a long drive down the lane, giving the Lakers an 88-83 lead with 1:28 to play.

He also blocked two shots in the last three minutes, the first leading to a double-clutch reverse dunk at the other end by Ariza, giving the Lakers a 90-83 lead.

"I wasn't contributing the way I wanted to," said Gasol, who finished with 20 points, three rebounds and five assists. "I'm glad that I was able to get over the slow start for me."

Beforehand, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he didn't mention anything to the team about last season's Finals. He did tell reporters that the players probably remembered their embarrassing Game 4 effort at Staples Center in June, the one where a 24-point lead somehow turned into a loss.

The game was the first meeting between teams with so few losses this far into a season, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Kevin Garnett had 22 points for Boston.