The Lakers are 12-1 since losing Andrew Bynum to a knee injury, and Nuggets coach George Karl believes we should entertain the idea that they are better without the center.

"Don't you have to make the statement that maybe they're better without Bynum?" Karl asked reporters on Thursday.

"Why do we always say Bynum? How many games has he played for this team? I like Bynum. I think he's a great player. But sometimes you can have too much talent out there and it can kind of be confusing."

Andrew Bynum has started using a stationary bike, riding an elliptical machine and doing squats with his lower legs.

He hasn't started running yet, but he is much more optimistic about returning this season in the wake of last year's season-ending knee injury.

"It feels fine, very little pain," Bynum said Thursday. "The swelling's all the way down. I'm optimistic. I just hope it keeps going the way it's going now."

The Lakers are 12-1 since Bynum went down on Jan. 31.

While he is showing progress, Bynum isn't sure of when he'll be able to return.

"I have no idea," he said. "Right now, all I know is it feels good to me and I think I'll be able to at least come back and contribute.

"It's cool because when I come back in, they'll all be jelling together and I'll just have to work my way back."

Thursday night's action wasn't exactly dramatic, but it did alter the landscape of the NBA with the Cavaliers losing Ben Wallace to a broken leg and the Lakers continuing their dominance.

- Houston 93, Cleveland 74

Team FIC Differential: Rockets +27.3, Cavaliers -27.3

The Rockets (37-21) baffled the Cavaliers (44-12) on Thursday night with incredible defense. Yao Ming led with 28 points and 8 rebounds, Von Wafer scored 19 points off the bench, and Luis Scola contributed 14 points and 9 boards in the win. Houston hit 49% of their shots at the Toyota Center, while limiting Cleveland to just 33% on the night. LeBron James had 21 points on 7-for-21 shooting, Zydrunas Ilgauskas posted 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Maurice Williams added 21 points, 4 boards and 4 assists in the loss. The Cavaliers lost Ben Wallace for four-to-six weeks in the loss after he suffered a broken right leg.

Game FIC Scores

Yao Ming, Houston ? 15.5

Luis Scola, Houston ? 14.0

Maurice Williams, Cleveland ? 13.8

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland ? 11.5

- L.A. Lakers 132, Phoenix 106

Team FIC Differential: Lakers +48.2, Suns -48.2

The Lakers (48-10) won their sixth consecutive game on Thursday night with a dominant win over the Suns (32-25) at STAPLES Center. Lamar Odom led with 23 points and 9 rebounds, Kobe Bryant posted 22 points and 8 assists, and Jordan Farmar turned in 12 points, 6 boards and 5 dimes off the bench. Los Angeles shot a blistering 57%, while outrebounding Phoenix by seven. Leandro Barbosa had 18 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, Shaquille O?Neal tallied 12 points and 7 boards, and Jared Dudley poured in 13 points and 8 rebounds. Steve Nash missed the game, leaving Phoenix without two of their starters.

Game FIC Scores

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles ? 23.3

Lamar Odom, Los Angeles ? 22.5

Jared Dudley, Phoenix ? 13.8

Grant Hill, Phoenix ? 13.4

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.

It is also used to rank players and to determine their ?Reina Value.?
Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

There was only one All-Star MVP trophy, but there were two winners, so who got to keep the hardware?

According to the Arizona Republic, Laker guard Kobe Bryant offered to let Suns center Shaquille O'Neal take home the trophy.  The league will create a duplicate for Bryant.

"He saw my boys were there," O'Neal said. "He saw how they were looking at it, so he was nice enough to say, 'Go ahead and take it.' "

Phil Jackson was asked if the Lakers had any desire to pursue Stephon Marbury.

"There's no desire on our part," Jackson said. "We're interested in the fact that here's a player in his prime years that's not playing and deserves a chance to play, but for us, it doesn't work."

For the first time this season, the Pistons are now below .500 after losing to the Heat on Tuesday night. In fact, the last time Detroit had a losing record was Nov. 17, 2006.

- Cleveland 94, Memphis 79

Team FIC Differential: Cavaliers +20, Grizzles -20

The Cavaliers (44-11) jumped out to a 22-point lead in the first half en route to a victory over the Grizzles (15-41) on Tuesday night. Mo Williams led with 18 points and 6 assists, LeBron James posted 15 points, 8 dimes and 5 boards, and J.J. Hickson added 10 points and 9 rebounds. Cleveland shot just 43% from the floor, but outrebounded Memphis by nine. Mike Conley had 12 points and 7 assists, Marc Gasol tallied 9 points and 9 rebounds, and Rudy Gay chipped in 13 points and 4 boards in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

LeBron James, Cleveland ? 14.8

Maurice Williams, Cleveland ? 13.4

Mike Conley, Memphis ? 12.2

Marc Gasol, Memphis ? 10.0

- Toronto 118, Minnesota 110

Team FIC Differential: Raptors +13.8, Timberwolves -13.8

The Raptors (23-36) erased a halftime deficit to record a much-needed win over the Timberwolves (18-38) at the Air Canada Centre. Chris Bosh starred with 26 points and 6 rebounds, Anthony Parker tallied 24 points, 7 boards and 6 assists, and Jose Calderon turned in 15 points, 13 dimes and 5 rebounds. Toronto hit 53% of their shots and outrebounded Minnesota by three. Randy Foye scored 25 points, Ryan Gomes posted 23 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and Mike Miller filled the stat sheet with 9 points, 12 boards and 9 dimes for the T?Wolves.

Game FIC Scores

Anthony Parker, Toronto ? 27.5

Ryan Gomes, Minnesota ? 21.6

Jose Calderon, Toronto ? 21.3

Mike Miller, Minnesota ? 19.8

- Miami 103, Detroit 91

Team FIC Differential: Heat +19.1, Pistons -19.1

The Heat (30-26) used a key third quarter run to knock off the Pistons (27-28) on Tuesday night. Dwyane Wade starred with 31 points, 16 assists and 7 rebounds, Udonis Haslem posted 10 points and 11 boards, and rookie Michael Beasley poured in 11 points and 7 rebounds. Miami outrebounded Detroit by ten, and hit 51% of their shot attempts. Allen Iverson had a team-high 22 points, Tayshaun Prince tallied 18 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, and Antonio McDyess added 17 points and 6 boards in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Dwyane Wade, Miami ? 27.9

Tayshaun Prince, Detroit ? 16.9

Antonio McDyess, Detroit ? 12.6

Jamario Moon, Miami ? 12.5

- Chicago 120, Orlando 102

Team FIC Differential: Bulls +38, Magic -38

The Bulls (26-31) hit 56% of their shots in an impressive victory over the Magic (41-15) at the United Center. Derrick Rose led with 22 points and 5 assists, Joakim Noah tallied 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Ben Gordon contributed 20 points and 5 boards in the win. Chicago outrebounded Orlando by six and turned the ball over just eleven times. Dwight Howard had 26 points and 12 rebounds, Rashard Lewis posted 10 points, 5 boards and 5 assists, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting.

Game FIC Scores

Dwight Howard, Orlando ? 17.5

Tim Thomas, Chicago ? 13.5

Joakim Noah, Chicago ? 12.6

Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando ? 7.8

- L.A. Lakers 107, Oklahoma City 93

Team FIC Differential: Lakers +17, Thunder -17

The Thunder (13-44) made a late run, but couldn?t come all the way back against the Lakers (47-10) on Tuesday night. Kobe Bryant starred with 36 points and 5 assists, Pau Gasol posted 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 dimes, and Lamar Odom turned in 8 points and 8 boards. Los Angeles drilled 52% of their shots, while Oklahoma City outrebounded the Lakers by fifteen. Kevin Durant starred with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, Jeff Green tallied 10 points and 9 boards, and Kyle Weaver chipped in 16 points and 4 rebounds in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City ? 23.6

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles ? 20.4

Pau Gasol, Los Angeles ? 16.8

Kyle Weaver, Oklahoma City ? 12.1

- Houston 98, Portland 94

Team FIC Differential: Rockets +16.7, Blazers -16.7

The Blazers (35-21) made a late run, but weren?t able to compete a comeback against the Rockets (36-21). Ron Artest had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Luis Scola tallied 15 points and 11 boards, and Yao Ming added 15 points and 8 rebounds in the win. Houston outrebounded Portland by six, while turning the ball over just ten times. Brandon Roy had 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, LaMarcus Aldridge posted 21 points and 8 boards, and Travis Outlaw scored 15 points off the bench on 7-for-14 shooting.

Game FIC Scores

Ron Artest, Houston ? 17.0

Luis Scola, Houston ? 16.8

Steve Blake, Portland ? 12.3

Brandon Roy, Portland ? 10.0

- San Antonio 93, Dallas 76

Team FIC Differential: Spurs +34.2, Mavericks -34.2

The Spurs (38-17) jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter and never looked back against the Mavericks (33-23). Tony Parker starred with 37 points, 12 assists and 5 rebounds, Kurt Thomas posted 10 points and 15 boards, and Michael Finley turned in 16 points and 5 rebounds. San Antonio turned the ball over just nine times, while limiting Dallas to just 34% shooting. Josh Howard had 19 points and 6 rebounds, Dirk Nowitzki tallied 14 points and 10 boards, and James Singleton contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds in thirty-four minutes of quality action.

Game FIC Scores

Tony Parker, San Antonio ? 22.8

Kurt Thomas, San Antonio ? 19.5

James Singleton, Dallas ? 13.5

Jason Kidd, Dallas ? 8.3

- Phoenix 112, Charlotte 102

Team FIC Differential: Suns +12.3, Bobcats -12.3

The Suns (32-24) outlasted the Bobcats (22-35) in a hard fought contest at US Airways Center on Tuesday night. Steve Nash had 22 points and 5 assists, Shaquille O?Neal tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Jason Richardson scored 20 points against his former team. Phoenix hit 52% of their shots, but did turn the ball over nineteen times. Boris Diaw starred with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, Raja Bell tallied 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting, and Raymond Felton chipped in 14 points and 9 dimes in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Boris Diaw, Charlotte ? 29.3

Shaquille O?Neal, Phoenix ? 17.4

Raja Bell, Charlotte ? 15.4

Jason Richardson, Phoenix ? 13.8

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.

It is also used to rank players and to determine their ?Reina Value.?
Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

The Orlando Magic?s Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers? Pau Gasol today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Tuesday, Feb. 17, through Sunday, Feb. 22.

Howard averaged 25.5 points, a league-best 15.0 rebounds and 4.3 blocks in leading the Magic to a 3-1 week. Howard led Orlando in scoring twice and in rebounding in all four games. His 45-point, 19-rebound, eight-block effort in a 107-102 win over Charlotte on Feb. 17 marked the first time a player tallied 40-plus points, 15-plus rebounds and five-plus blocks in a game since Shaquille O?Neal on March 23, 2001 as a member of the Lakers. The 45 points also marked a career high for Howard.

Gasol won his second straight Player of the Week Award after guiding the Lakers to a perfect 4-0 mark. Gasol averaged 20.3 points on .635 shooting from the field, 10.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.0 blocks. In a 96-83 win over Atlanta on Feb. 17, Gasol recorded his third career triple-double with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. The next night, Gasol tallied 24 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the Lakers? 129-121 win at Golden State.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant scored 28 points against the Timberwolves on Sunday night, pushing him past Elgin Baylor on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Bryant now occupies 20th place on the NBA's career scoring list.

The Lakers have an open roster spot after trading Chris Mihm to the Grizzles, and haven't ruled out the possibilty of adding a veteran down the stretch.

"We keep that for a reason," Jackson said Friday.

"If there's a hole or something in your team and you feel like you can support that, it's always nice to have that option."

Mikki Moore was released by the Kings this week, while Robert Horry hasn't played in the NBA this season.

"Robert's been contacted by teams, but I'm not saying who I heard it was from," Jackson said.

The Lakers topped the Hornets on Friday night, ending the team's NBA-record streak of thirteen consecutive overtime wins.

Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 39 points in the overtime period, leading Los Angeles over New Orleans, who hadn't played an overtime game this season.

Their streak began back in December 2005.