Kobe Bryant has season-high to keep Lakers in playoff contention; starless Miam Heat roll Washington Wizards Kobe Bryant is leading his team towards the playoffs. KOBE Bryant scored a season-high 47 points and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled closer to a playoff berth with a 113-106 victory over the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. The Lakers moved a game up on the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Portland, missing the playoffs for the second straight season, has lost nine straight, the most since an 11-game skid in the 2005-06 season. Rookie Damian Lillard led the Blazers with a career-high 38 points. Pau Gasol had 23 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, while Dwight Howard added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers. Bryant was 18 of 18 from the free throw line. The Lakers finish the season off with three games at home, all against playoff-bound teams: Golden State, San Antonio and Houston. Miami Heat guard Ray Allen stepped in the absence of the big three, scoring a game high 23 points against the Washington Wizards. EARLIER, defending NBA champions Miami Heat, playing without their big three stars, clinched this season's best NBA record and home-field advantage in the play-offs with a 103-98 away victory over the Washington Wizards. Ray Allen scored 23 points to lead the Heat, who were missing LeBron James due to a sore right hamstring, Dwayne Wade with a knee bruise and ankle sprain, Chris Bosh with the flu and Udonis Haslem with a sore right ankle. The Heat set a new team record for victories in a single season with 62 and ensured they will finish atop the San Antonio Spurs, the leaders of the NBA Western Conference, for the top playoff seed. At 62-16, Miami had already clinched the top Eastern Conference mark. Rashard Lewis scored 17 points for the Heat, while Shane Battier added 15 points and Mike Miller had 14 points and eight rebounds for Miami. The Wizards, led by A.J. Price's 23 points and 17 from John Wall, saw their nine-game home win streak snapped. Washington's season record fell to 29-50 and AFP