Los Angeles  - The league-leading Los Angeles Lakers tweaked their roster Saturday, dealing little-used Serbian forward Vladimir Radmanovic to the Charlotte Bobcats for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown, a pair of young, unproven players.

It marks the second straight campaign with an in-season trade for the Lakers (40-9), who last week lost starting center Andrew Bynum for at least two months with a torn knee ligament. En route to the 2008 NBA Finals, they dealt Brian Cook to Orlando for swingman Trevor Ariza.

Los Angeles - Emotionally drained and physically fatigued, the Boston Celtics got their second wind and blew past their opponents.

Paul Pierce scored 26 points, Ray Allen added 22 and the defending NBA Champion Celtics pulled away for a 110-100 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

"It was a big win," Pierce said. "I thought we were mentally and physically drained coming into this game, especially after the tough loss. It took us a while, but this team continues to find ways to win."

Los Angeles  - Jason Kapono of the Toronto Raptors is aiming to shoot his way into the record books as only the third player to win the Three-Point Shootout Competition three consecutive times.

Kapono faces All-Star reserves Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers), Rashard Lewis (Orlando Magic), along with Mike Bibby (Atlanta Hawks), Roger Mason (San Antonio Spurs) and Daequan Cook (Miami Heat) in the competition on February 14 as part of NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, Arizona.

Los Angeles  - Dirk Nowitzki probably will never like visiting Miami. On Saturday, he was a very rude guest.

Nowitzki was unstoppable, making 12-of-14 shots en route to 30 points Saturday night as the Dallas Mavericks rolled to their ninth consecutive victory over the Miami Heat,
111-96.

Jason Terry added 20 points for Dallas, which has not lost to Miami in the regular season since March 26, 2004. However, the Mavericks dropped four straight games to the Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals, squandering a 2-0 series lead and a championship.

Los Angeles  - The Orlando Magic turned a good day into a better one.

Dwight Howard powered for 22 points with 18 rebounds, Turkish sharpshooter Hedo Turkoglu had 19 points with 11 rebounds, and the Magic dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second half for a 99- 88 victory on Thursday night, in a showdown between Eastern Conference powerhouses.

"Tonight, we played our game," Howard said, "We shot with confidence. We played inside and out and everybody locked in. We made sure we played good defence and made them make tough shots. That's what we have to do."

Los Angeles  - Spaniard Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers is officially an All-Star again.

Gasol was named to the Western Conference for the second time in his career on Thursday, as the NBA announced the list of 14 players chosen by the coaches as reserves for the All-Star Game, to be played on February 15 in Phoenix, Arizona.

"I think it's something that gives me a lot of pride and it's an honour to be part of that game," said Gasol, who played in the 2006 mid-season showpiece as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.