LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant bounced back quickly from the flu and became the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 23,000-point plateau.

Bryant showed no lingering effects from being sick two days earlier, scoring 34 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' surprisingly close 105-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder last night.

He obviously enjoys reaching such career milestones.

"It's always fun whenever you talk about the history of the game," Bryant said. "It's always a tremendous honor."

With fans chanting "MVP," Bryant — 30 years, 171 days old — made a free throw with 5:13 left in the second quarter, bouncing the ball off the front of the rim, then the backboard and in. He joined 20 others in league history who've reached that lofty mark.

Wilt Chamberlain was formerly the youngest at 30 years, 176 days. He still ranks as the fastest to 23,000, reaching it in 606 games, while Bryant, who came straight from high school to the NBA, reached it in his 917th game.

Pau Gasol had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 12 points and a season-high 18 boards for the Lakers, just back from a 6-0 trip they concluded with wins against Boston and Cleveland.

Kevin Durant scored 31 points, his fifth 30-point game in a row, and had 10 rebounds in the loss. Russell Westbrook had 17 points and nine rebounds.

PACERS 96, CAVALIERS 95: LeBron James scored 47 points, but his foul with 0.2 seconds left on an alley-oop play, allowed Danny Granger to make the first for two free throws to break a 95-all tie as host Indianapolis handed Cleveland its first two-game losing streak of the season.

Spurs 108, Nets 93: Tim Duncan had 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Matt Bonner scored 13 of his 22 points in the opening 5 minutes of the third quarter to help visiting San Antonio beat New Jersey for the 13th straight time.

Mavericks 118, Kings 100: Josh Howard and Antoine Wright each scored 23 points, and Dirk Nowitzki had 21, leading host Dallas past Sacramento, which became the first NBA team guaranteed to have a losing season with 29 games remaining.

Nuggets 99, Heat 82: Chauncey Billups scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, Carmelo Anthony finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, and visiting Denver swept the two-game season series with Miami for the fourth consecutive year.

BULLS 107, PISTONS 102: Ben Gordon converted the go-ahead four-point play, during a game-ending 17-2 run that helped host Chicago rally from a 100-90 deficit in the final 3 1/2 minutes. Detroit played without Allen Iverson, who had the flu.

Hawks 111, Wizards 90: Joe Johnson scored 22 points and host Atlanta raced to a 9-1 lead and pushed the margin as high as 22 points in the second quarter to beat Washington, which has won back-to-back games only once this season.

RAPTORS 110, TIMBERWOLVES 102: Joey Graham scored 24 points, reserve Jason Kapono added 18 and visiting Toronto rallied past Minnesota, which played the first game of the rest of its season without center Al Jefferson (torn ACL in right knee).

Warriors 144, Knicks 127: Stephen Jackson had 35 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and Jamal Crawford added 21 points against his former teammates as host Golden State rolled past New York for its third straight home victory.