DENVER — For all the pundits who figure the Lakers and Spurs are the only teams to worry about in the West, the Denver Nuggets served notice last night that they deserve to be talked about, too.

J.R. Smith scored 22 points and hounded Kobe Bryant all night and the Nuggets beat cold-shooting Los Angeles 90-79 to end to end a nine-game losing streak against the Lakers.

The Nuggets got solid performances from reserves Smith and Chris Andersen, who tied a career high with seven blocks, pulled down 12 rebounds and chipped in 11 points, and their defense was, to a man, absolutely outstanding.

The Lakers, who brought the NBA's best record (48-10) into town when they checked into their hotel at 4 a.m., had their second-worst shooting night since the franchise moved to Southern California nearly a half century ago from Minneapolis — 29.8 percent.

"That was a garbage game, no doubt about it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I wish we could repay the fans some money for that game. Neither team played very well, but they played better than us."

The Lakers, who saw their six-game winning streak snapped, were on pace for their worst shooting night when Jordan Farmar's breakaway layup with 5.1 seconds left allowed them to beat the old low-water mark of 29.4 percent set against Utah in 2004.

It was the only shot the Nuggets didn't contest all night.

"It's been a long time," Denver coach George Karl said. "They've beaten us, they've hurt us, they've dominated us."

At long last, the tables finally turned.

"Tonight, we (played) as active and as intelligent of a defensive game as I think we've played all year long or maybe ever since I've been here," Karl said.

WIZARDS 113, BULLS 90

With President Barack Obama courtside, last-place Washington embarrassed the First Fan's hometown team, beating visiting Chicago. For the first time all season, the Wizards had eight double-figure scorers, and Antawn Jamison led the way with 27 points and 11 rebounds. John Salmons scored 25 for Chicago, but no one else added more than 11.

SUNS 133, RAPTORS 103

Shaquille O'Neal scored 45 points in his biggest offensive performance in six years, powering host Phoenix over Toronto. A week shy of his 37th birthday, O'Neal made 20 of 25 shots in the 49th 40-point game of his career but first in four seasons. He hadn't scored this many since he got 48 for the Los Angeles Lakers against Boston on March 21, 2003.

CELTICS 104, PACERS 99

Stephon Marbury scored six points during a fourth-quarter run, Ray Allen added 30 points and Rajon Rondo matched a career high with 17 assists to lead host Boston over Indiana.

76ERS 108, KNICKS 103

Thaddeus Young scored 23 points for visiting Philadelphia and blocked Chris Duhon's layup attempt with 30 seconds left to help preserve the win.

TRAIL BLAZERS 102, TIMBERWOLVES 82

Brandon Roy scored 19 points as Portland rolled to the win. Rudy Fernandez added 18 points for the Blazers, who snapped a five-game road losing streak.

HAWKS 91, HEAT 83

Joe Johnson scored 24 points and Al Horford had 21 points and 22 rebounds to help host Atlanta expand its lead to 2 1/2 games over Miami in the Eastern Conference.

HORNETS 95, BUCKS 94

Tyson Chandler tipped in a missed shot with 3.3 seconds left to give host New Orleans a win over Milwaukee, saving the Hornets after they blew a 17-point lead with four minutes left.

MAVERICKS 110, THUNDER 108

Dirk Nowitzki scored 17 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and host Dallas overcame a 12-point deficit late to beat Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City played most of the game without Kevin Durant, who sprained his right ankle and left the contest with 4:21 remaining in the first quarter.

CAVALIERS 97, SPURS 86

LeBron James had 30 points and 14 rebounds as visiting Cleveland beat San Antonio. James was 12 of 23 from the floor in 32 minutes. He also had four assists after being shutout in that category Thursday for the first time in his career.

KINGS 98, CLIPPERS 86

Kevin Martin scored 20 points as host Sacramento built an early lead and cruised past Los Angeles.

PISTONS 93, MAGIC 85

Richard Hamilton had 31 points and six assists in his return to the starting lineup as visiting Detroit ended its eight-game losing streak.

BOBCATS 112, WARRIORS 109

Raymond Felton had 26 points and nine assists and Boris Diaw made a key 3-pointer down the stretch as visiting Charlotte beat Golden State.