Who will spur their teams during the doldrums of the season as we approach the All-Star break?

Lakers 105, Rockets 100

With Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest sidelined with injuries, the Rockets have to turn to Yao Ming to be the catalyst for offensive production. Regardless of the Asian influence, Yao deserves an All-Star bid and he showed why with 19 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.

Who else would step-up and provide the Rockets with the right-cross to their jab that they're used to? Tuesday Night it was Von Wafer and his 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting.

Well if Ming stepped up and he was accompanied overachiever Wafer then what happened?

"The Black Mamba," Kobe Bryant.

Bryant's 33 points in the victory helped him break away from the pack in the MVP race, and possibly close the gap on LeBron James.

The Lakers have been facing their own adversity too. Due to Jordan Farmar's long-term injury, Derek Fisher was forced to play 39 minutes, all without committing a turnover.

Lamar Odom, who has been fighting a knee injury that he sustained last week, was able to provide clutch play down the stretch in the fourth quarter.

Kobe even had a band-aid over his right eye.

With the road win over Houston, the Lakers have won 10 of their last 11 games. Things will continue to get harder before they get easier, however.

On Jan. 14, they go into San Antonio. On the 16th and 19th, the Lakers host Eastern Conference titans Orlando and Cleveland.

The meeting with the Cavs will be especially exciting as it is their first of the season.

Houston will be missing their two wings for one to three more weeks. In that time they could slip to ninth in the playoff hunt behind Dallas.

One game note: everybody's favorite finger-wagging' diplomatic center Dikembe Mutombo logged his first four minutes of the season. He was 2-for-2, finishing with four points and one rebound.

Cavilers 102, Grizzlies 87

So, did Bryant close the MVP gap on James?

Does 30 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, and a block answer your question?

James notched his second triple-double of the season, which happens to be his second in January. Uh-oh, I smell another Player of the Month Award coming, all it will take is a win over the Lakers this month.

Is it any coincidence that both of LeBron's triple-doubles have come in the absence of Zydrunas Ilgauskas?

Doubtful, with the Cavs' center out for the month, James knows he needs to hit the glass harder and create more for his teammates on offense.

A decisive victory over Memphis should be routine for one of the NBA's top teams. The Cavs will have to sustain their high from the Celtics victory into January matchups with New Orleans, the Lakers, Portland, Utah, and Orlando.

Nuggets 99, Mavericks 97

The Mavericks rallied behind Dirk Nowitzki's 44 points to come back in the second half, but it wasn't enough to get past the Nuggets' team effort.

Josh Howard is out with a sprained wrist, and the Mavericks were desperately searching for a wing scorer. Jason Terry, Jose Juan Barea and Antoine Wright shot a combine 8-of-29, a lousy 27 percent from the field.

Carmelo Anthony's replacement, J.R. Smith, wasn't any better, shooting 1-of-14 from the field, but the rest of the team chimed in at 50 percent.

The biggest hero for Denver was Chris "Birdman" Anderson. Anderson double-doubled in 22 minutes with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He also added two emphatic swats and three steals against the Mavs.

Bobcats 80, Pistons 78

Don't look now but the Bobcats are 5-5 over their last 10 games. Their most recent victim was the Detroit Pistons, who earned their identity from now-Charlotte coach Larry Brown.

The Bobcats used staunch defense to keep the Pistons close, then finished the game with a 9-0 run, including a Raymond Felton buzzer-beater for the victory.

The Pistons' starting five is finally healthy, but got just six points from the bench.

The Bobcats are missing rookie spark-plug D.J. Augustin, but Felton willed the Bobcats through with a game-high 23 points.

Suns 107, Hawks 102

No Al Horford in the lineup left Shaquille O'Neal only Zach Pachulia to dispose of on his way to 26 points and 10 rebounds. It was Shaq's 14th double-double on the season and third straight.

Hey, what happened to the out-of-shape, uninspired, injury-ridden center I was told about?

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