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Gasol  scored 11 of his 24 points in the final quarter, grabbed 12 rebounds, and the visiting Lakers pulled away late to beat the New Jersey Nets 105-90 on Tuesday night.

 The versatile 7-foot forward was effective in place of injured centre Andrew Bynum (left knee) during his 35-minute stint, after being acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, in exchange for rookie Javaris Crittenton, centre-forward Kwame Brown, Aaron Mckie and two first-round draft choices.

 "I didn't expect to play that many minutes, but I was happy to take advantage of it," said Gasol, who shot 10-of-15 from the floor. "I just went out there and played and let my teammates guide me a little.

 "I'm happy when I win and playing with these guys is amazing."

   Impressed with his new teammate's performance, Kobe Bryant walked over to Gasol afterwards, smiled and said, "Te me gusta."

   Bryant had just six points on three-of-13 shooting - the first time in 93 games dating back to January 5, 2007 he failed to score in double figures. But the league's reigning two-time scoring champ was giddy thinking of what Gasol has brought to the Lakers.

 "This makes the game so much easier, you have no idea," he said. "We had some weapons before, now we just added a huge one to the team. We get (Andrew) Bynum back... there is a God."

   Derek Fisher matched his season-high with 28 points to pace the Lakers (31-16), who improved to 3-1 on their grueling nine-game road trip. Vladimir Radmanovic scored 16 points and Lamar Odom chipped in with 14 along with 15 rebounds.

 "For Pau to come in and perform the way he did after basically one day with the team is absolutely incredible," Fisher said. "He deserves all the credit."

   The Lakers led by four points midway through the final frame before going on an 8-0 run to take control. Gasol found Fisher for a jumper and Odom made two free throws. Gasol's basket and Fisher's driving layup, opened up a 95-83 advantage with 2:50 remaining as the visitors pulled away for their third straight road win.

 Vince Carter scored 27 points, Bostjan Nachbar had 19 with 10 rebounds for the Nets (20-28) who fell for the ninth time in the last 11 games.

 "If you're saying going into the game, Kobe's going to score six points, I'd say we'd have a pretty good chance of winning," Nets All-Star guard Jason Kidd said. "That just shows the type of player he is. If his shot isn't going, he found Gasol or whoever else.

 "Pau's played extremely well in this league. He's a guy who knows how to play, and he definitely brings an added weapon to the Lakers. He fits in pretty well with those guys."

   Elsewhere:    Cleveland Cavaliers 114, Boston Celtics 113    LeBron James scored 33 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds, and Daniel Gibson made a key steal in the final minute as the Cavaliers beat the league-best Celtics for the second time this season.

 Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 21 points with 10 rebounds while Larry Hughes scored 18 for Cleveland (27-10) which won for the ninth time in the last 11 games.

 Ray Allen scored 24 points, Rajon Rondo had 20 and Paul Pierce 19 for Boston (36-9), which played without All-Star forward Kevin Garnett (abdominal strain) for the fourth straight game.

 San Antonio Spurs 116, Indiana Pacers 89    Tim Duncan collected 19 points with 15 rebounds, and the Spurs dominated the second half, to hand the host Pacers their seventh straight setback.

 Danny Granger netted 16 points for Indiana (19-30) which was outscored 57-30 after intermission.

 Philadelphia 76ers 101, Washington Wizards 96    Andre Iguodala scored 20 points, Thaddeus Young had 17 and the Sixers went on a 17-0 run late in the final quarter to hand the Wizards their fourth straight loss.

 DeShawn Stevenson netted 19 points and Brendan Haywood had 18 for Washington (24-23) which was outscored 28-13 in the final frame. All-Star forward Caron Butler left in the third period after reinjuring a left hip flexor that sidelined him for three games last week.

 Milwaukee Bucks 102, Grizzlies 97    Mo Williams scored 32 points, including all 10 of Milwaukee's down the stretch, helping the short-handed Bucks end a three-game slide.

 Charlie Bell had 17 points while Charlie Villanueva finished with 16 and 16 rebounds for Milwaukee (19-30), which played without its top scorer Michael Redd (left knee strain) and Chinese rookie Yi Jianlian (right shoulder).

 Mike Miller had a season-high 32 points, while Rudy Gay added 21 in Memphis' (13-35) fourth straight loss.

By Paul Levine, dpa