Bynum leads Lakers past Mavs, 96-91

NBA: Andrew Bynum had 19 points and 14 rebounds as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers hit the halfway point of their season with a 96-91 victory over the defending champion Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

Bynum had a huge smile on his face when he grabbed a rebound of his miss and was fouled trying to go back up with 5:29 left. He made both free throws to break an 82-all tie and finally put the Lakers ahead to stay after 13 ties and 10 lead changes.

Pau Gasol had 24 points for the Lakers.

• Lin, Knicks easy winners: Jeremy Lin had an easy night ahead of his toughest opponent yet, and the New York Knicks tuned up for their trip to Miami by beating the visiting Atlanta Hawks 99-82.

Lin had 17 points and nine assists, sitting out most of the fourth quarter in a rare game during his remarkable run that the Knicks needed little from him.

They visit Miami tonight in their final game before the All-Star break.

• Thunder stay hot at home: Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, Kevin Durant added 28 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the visiting Boston Celtics 119-104 for their 11th straight win at home.

• Ridnour beats buzzer, Jazz: Luke Ridnour hit a floater in the lane at the buzzer, capping Minnesota’s comeback from 18 points down in the fourth quarter as the host Timberwolves beat the Utah Jazz 100-98 at Minneapolis.

BCS talks still in early stages

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Before there will be significant changes to college football’s postseason and how to determine a champion, there are plenty of options to be considered. Conference commissioners who run the Bowl Championship Series are just getting started on that.

The 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director spent two days meeting with BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock at a hotel at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. They are scheduled to meet there again March 26.

In a joint statement posted on Facebook before they had emerged from their meeting room, the group said it had a self-imposed deadline of “sometime this summer” to decide what changes to propose.

Els beats top seed; Woods rallies for win

MISCELLANY: Luke Donald won’t be playing the 18th hole at Dove Mountain this year, either.

Donald, so dominant in winning the Match Play Championship last year that he closed out every match before the 18th hole, became only the third No. 1 seed to lose in the opening round on another predictably crazy day in Marana, Ariz.

Ernie Els, who only got into the 64-man field when Phil Mickelson took his family on a ski vacation, delivered the biggest shocker in the first round with a 5-and-4 victory.

Tiger Woods had to rally to beat Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

Woods had to play left-handed in one of his three journeys into the desert. He trailed the Spaniard with four holes to play, and both of them looked beatable. That changed when Woods drove the par-4 15th green to win with a two-putt birdie, won the 16th with a par and then closed out the Spaniard with an 8-foot par putt for a 1-up win.

• Temple looks to rejoin Big East: Temple and the Big East are talking about the Owls rejoining the conference as soon as next season. The Big East has a vacancy next season now that West Virginia is being allowed to leave immediately for the Big 12.

Syracuse rallies for 28th victory

COLLEGE MEN: Scoop Jardine scored 15 points to help No. 2 Syracuse overcome a 13-point first-half deficit and beat visiting South Florida 56-48 at Syracuse, N.Y.

Kris Joseph had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Orange (28-1, 15-1 Big East), who matched school records for most regular-season and conference victories – both set in 2009-10.

• Spartans keep Big Ten lead: Keith Appling and Brandon Wood both scored 13 points to key No. 6 Michigan State’s 66-61 victory over host Minnesota at Minneapolis, helping the Spartans (23-5, 12-3) keep their hold on first place in the Big Ten.

• Shockers clinch title: Joe Ragland scored 14 points to lead No. 19 Wichita State to a 68-55 victory over host Illinois State at Normal, Ill., to clinch the Missouri Valley Conference championship. Wichita State (25-4, 15-2) has won seven straight games.