O'Neal, who turns 37 on Friday, won't call it a comeback. He says he never left - that he'd only been slowed by injury. Regardless, he hasn't had consecutive games like this in five years.

"Everyone doubts him, but we don't doubt him," said the Suns' Matt Barnes. "We know he can still carry a team."

O'Neal and the rest of the Suns withstood a 49-point performance by Bryant to beat Los Angeles for the first time in four tries this season. The Lakers, still with the best record in the NBA, have lost two in a row for only the third time this season.

Pau Gasol added 30 for Los Angeles.

"We're going through a period right now where everybody's just kind of tired," Bryant said. "It's that point in the season where we kind of hit it. The key for us is to snap out of it."

Despite going 6-2 since Alvin Gentry took over from the fired Terry Porter, Phoenix still trails Dallas by two games for the final playoff berth in the West. There is a crowd just above Dallas in the standings, with the Suns only 3 1/2 behind Houston for the No. 4 spot.

"It was a big win against the best team in the West," O'Neal said, "and now we have a tough road trip and we need to see if we can keep it going."

The Suns, without Steve Nash for the third game in a row because of a sprained right ankle, open a four-game, six-day road trip Tuesday night at Orlando.

After his big game Friday night, O'Neal has consecutive 30-point games for the first time since March 5-7, 2004. He's only the fourth player over 35 in NBA history to score at least 33 points in consecutive games; the others are Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Alex English.

"It's what I do," O'Neal said. "I've been doing it since 1992. If you don't believe it, Google me."

Bryant was asked if O'Neal reminded him of the Shaq of old.

"No, not quite," he said. "But he's playing extremely well, obviously. The thing is they're looking for him, they're going inside to him. Tonight, I mean, Pau is giving up 250 pounds (a bit of an exaggeration). There's really not much he can do in that situation and Shaq took advantage of it."

Bryant made 18 of a season-high 38 attempts in the 96th 40-point game of his career. He scored 17 points in a span of less than four minutes early in the second half.

Bryant had a tooth knocked out of place when he was hit in the mouth during his big third-quarter run.

"Don't ask me nothing funny. I'm not smiling," he said afterward. "It feels foul. It feels like I can't chew anything, like Roger Rabbit or something."

Cavaliers 88, Hawks 87

At Atlanta, LeBron James scored 26 points, including the winning free throw with 1.6 seconds left, to help the Cavaliers win their seventh in eight games.

Joe Johnson had 21 to lead Atlanta, which squandered a five-point lead in the final 1:42.

Mavericks 109, Raptors 98

At Dallas, Jason Kidd handed out 15 assists to become the fourth player in NBA history with 10,000 for his career, and Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mavs.

Kidd trails only John Stockton (15,806), Mark Jackson (10,334) and Magic Johnson (10,141) on the NBA career list.

Chris Bosh paced the Raptors with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

Pistons 105, Celtics 95

At Boston, Richard Hamilton had 25 points, Tayshaun Prince scored 15 and the Pistons won for the first time in six regular-season games against the Celtics.

Paul Pierce scored 26 for Boston and Glen Davis had 18 in place of injured Kevin Garnett.

Hornets 99, Nets 96

At East Rutherford, N.J., David West scored 32 points and Chris Paul made two key steals in the final minute to lead the Hornets to their fourth straight win.

Devin Harris and Vince Carter each had 26 points for the Nets. Harris also had 14 assists.

Rockets 105, Timberwolves 94

At Minneapolis, Yao Ming had 17 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks for the Rockets. Ron Artest added 23 points and Aaron Brooks 22 points and a career-high 10 assists.

Randy Foye scored 24 points and Craig Smith had 20 for the Timberwolves, who lost their sixth straight and fell to 1-8 since losing Al Jefferson to a torn ACL.

Pacers 100, Nuggets 94

At Indianapolis, Jarrett Jack had 28 points and eight assists and Troy Murphy had 22 points and 18 rebounds for to lead the Pacers.

Chauncey Billups led Denver with 27 points and seven assists. Carmelo Anthony scored 20.

Trail Blazers 102, Spurs 84

At Portland, Ore., Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge each scored 26 points, helping the Trail Blazers spoil the return of Tim Duncan to the Spurs.

Steve Blake added 15 for the Blazers, who won their ninth straight at the Rose Garden.

Jazz 112, Warriors 104

At Oakland, Calif., Mehmet Okur scored 23 points, Deron Williams had a season-high 20 assists and the Jazz won their eighth straight.

Corey Maggette had 27 points and Anthony Randolph a career-high 20 for the Warriors.