Kanter reaches career-best as Jazz beat Lakers

LOS ANGELES

Utah Jazz forward Enes Kanter of Turkey (0) looks on as Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) reacts after getting charged with a technical foul during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, in Salt Lake City. AP photo

Turkish center Enes Kanter had a career-high 17 points in addition to eight rebounds as the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 103-99 on March 18.

Replacing Al Jefferson, who missed the game for personal reasons, rookie Kanter shot 6-for-7 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds in 23 minutes as the Jazz handed the Lakers just their second home loss since Christmas on March 18.

Paul Millsap scored 24 points and Alec Burks, another rookie, had 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Jazz, who snapped the Lakers’ five-game winning streak while winning three straight games of their own for the first time in two months.

NBA scoring leader Kobe Bryant had 15 points on 3-for-20 shooting for the Lakers, punctuating his horrific night by missing a tying 3-point attempt in the waning seconds.

“You have nights like this every now and then,” Bryant was quoted as saying on the NBA website. “I couldn’t make a shot.”

Andrew Bynum had 33 points and 11 rebounds while making 12 of his 14 shots for Los Angeles, which had won 19 of its last 20 games at Staples Center since losing its season opener to Chicago.

Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and Chris Bosh added 23 points as the Miami Heat beat the Orlando Magic 91-81 to extend their home winning streak to 13 games.

LeBron James finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals for the Heat. His pass with 3:46 left made it past two Magic defenders and set up Bosh for perhaps the clincher, a three-point play that stretched Miami’s lead to 84-73. Dwight Howard finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando. Quentin Richardson was 5 for 7 on 3-pointers for a 15-point night for the Magic, who split four games with Miami this season, both teams going 2-0 at home.

Turkish forward Hidayet “Hedo” Türkoğlu had just two points, four rebounds and three assists for the Magic.