By The Associated Press

Now the Los Angeles Lakers need to prove they can beat teams with winning records. The Lakers beat Miami 106-81 on Sunday night to extend their season-best winning streak to four games and move within three games of .500 (17-20), the closest they've been since Nov. 15.

Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, and Samaki Walker had a season-high 16 rebounds as the Lakers took command in the third quarter.

O'Neal added 15 points, Rick Fox scored 12 and rookie Kareem Rush had a career-high 11 for the Lakers, who shot 51.3 percent and outscored the Heat 56-31 in the second half.

Yet, even the three-time defending champions know they still have a long way to go before they begin thinking about a fourth.

The Lakers have beaten only five teams - Portland, Dallas, Utah, Orlando and Phoenix - with winning records. And they have a miserable 4-14 road record.

Their next two games are at New Orleans (20-19) on Wednesday night and at Houston (20-15) on Friday night.

"We have to play with a different presence," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We wouldn't be happy with a loss on this trip."

In other NBA games, it was: Toronto 105, Minnesota 91; Dallas 96, Los Angeles Clippers 90; San Antonio 81, Boston 80; Orlando 107, Philadelphia 105; Phoenix 107, Utah 99; Sacramento 106, Memphis 98; and Cleveland 87, Seattle 79.

Miami was outmanned from the start, with leading scorer Eddie Jones missing his fifth game because of a sprained right ankle.

The Heat shot 52.8 percent in the first half and 30.8 percent in the second in losing their sixth game in a row - a season high.

"Nobody likes to lose," said Miami coach Pat Riley, who coached the Lakers to four NBA championships in the 1980s. "We're going through a real hard period right now, our best players are hurt.

"I hope getting back to Miami, we can regroup, re-energize."

The Lakers put the game away by outscoring the Heat 30-11 in the third quarter for an 80-61 lead. Los Angeles shot 11-of-17 and Miami 5-of-19 in the period.

The Lakers scored 13 straight points at one stage late in the third quarter to go ahead by 21 points. Miami wasn't closer than 15 points after that.

Raptors 105, Timberwolves 91

At Toronto, Morris Peterson scored 20 points, and Rafer Alston had 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds in his second game with Toronto as the Raptors ended a 12-game losing streak.

Jerome Williams added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors, who won despite the absence of All-Star Vince Carter, who missed his 17th straight game with a strained right knee.

Kevin Garnett had 26 points and just three rebounds for the Timberwolves.

Mavericks 96, Clippers 90

At Los Angeles, Steve Nash scored 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 23 as Dallas won its sixth straight and improved the league's best road record to 13-3.

Neither team led by more than three points for much of the fourth quarter period until the Mavs scored seven straight points to take the lead for good.

Spurs 81, Celtics 80

At San Antonio, Stephen Jackson made a long 3-pointer with 9.6 seconds left to cap a game-ending 8-0 run.

With the Spurs trailing 80-78 with 15 seconds remaining, Jackson inbounded the ball in San Antonio's end and then got it back for a 25-footer, his only basket of the second half.

After Jackson's basket, Paul Pierce's 17-foot jumper from the wing bounced off the side of the rim as time expired.

Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 21 points and Jackson added 18. Pierce led Boston with 25 points.

Magic 107, 76ers 105

At Philadelphia, Tracy McGrady had 34 points and Mike Miller scored 27 as Orlando handed Philadelphia its sixth straight loss.

Allen Iverson had 32 points for Philadelphia. The 76ers have lost 14 of their last 18.

Suns 107, Jazz 99

At Phoenix, Stephon Marbury scored 38 points - 22 in the second half - and Shawn Marion added 31 as the Suns won their 10th home game in a row.

Rookie Amare Stoudemire scored nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter when the Suns pulled away to beat Utah for the first time in three tries.

The Suns outscored Utah 19-9 over the final 2:34 to win for the 14th time in their last 18 games.

Kings 106, Grizzlies 98

At Sacramento, Calif., Peja Stojakovic scored a season-high 30 points and had eight rebounds as the Kings won for the fifth time in six games.

It was the 10th straight loss for the Grizzlies in Sacramento, where they have lost 15 of 16 times in franchise history.

Cavaliers 87, SuperSonics 79

At Seattle, Ricky Davis scored 22 points as Cleveland snapped a 15-game losing streak against the SuperSonics.

The SuperSonics, who have lost five in a row and nine of their last 11, scored just eight points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-14 shooting to match the franchise record for a quarter.