Lakers 100, Knicks 94: Kobe Bryant poured in 34 points as host Los Angeles held off New York for its fifth straight win.

Metta World Peace scored 16 of his 20 points in the second quarter and Steve Nash had 16 points and 11 assists in his second game back from a leg injury as Los Angeles moved back to the .500 mark for the first time since it was 8-8 on Nov. 30. Dwight Howard added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Carmelo Anthony's 34 points led the Knicks, who led by as many as nine points in the third quarter. J.R. Smith added 25 in a reserve role but missed the potential game-tying 3-pointer from the left sideline with 32 seconds remaining.

Bryant's 13 first-quarter points - punctuated by a running floater as part of a three-point play in the final moments of the period - guided the Lakers to a 25-23 lead. Consecutive 3-pointers from Steve Novak and Smith put the Knicks ahead early in the second but Artest took over later in the period, knocking down three 3-pointers - the last coming with 1:09 remaining and lifting Los Angeles into a 51-49 halftime advantage.

The Knicks came out of the break on fire, with an Anthony wide-open 3-pointer capping a 10-0 run that gave New York an eight-point advantage. The Lakers chipped away for the remainder of the quarter to go into the fourth trailing 78-77, and Bryant connected on back-to-back shots to cap an 8-0 run that gave Los Angeles a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Knicks didn't commit their first turnover until there was 7:40 remaining in the second quarter and finished with 10 for the game. They came into the day averaging a league-low 10.8 turnovers. ... Knicks C Marcus Camby made his return after missing the previous 14 games with plantar fasciitis. Camby had four points and four rebounds in eight minutes. ... The game featured four of the six oldest current players in the NBA: New York F Kurt Thomas (40), Knicks PG Jason Kidd (39), Camby (38) and Nash (38).