Kobe, Lakers survive late surge by Rockets

Houston, trailing 93-66 with 9:45 left in the final frame, went on an exciting 26-1 burst and cut it to 94-92 with 1 1/2 minutes remaining. That would be as close as the Rockets would get, though, as Kwame Brown finally broke Los Angeles’ scoreless drought and ended the rally with a tip-in for a 96-92 edge with 57 seconds left.

Steve Novak then missed a three-pointer that would’ve brought the Rockets to within one, but Smush Parker drilled a jumper and Maurice Evans dunked to seal the win for the Lakers.

Houston’s comeback was the largest in franchise history and they did it without Lamar Odom, who sprained his right knee in the first quarter after landing awkwardly following his shot. Odom remained in the game until the Lakers called a timeout 90 seconds later and was then taken to a hospital for an MRI.

Luke Walton scored 18 points and dished out seven helpers for Los Angeles, which has won three straight. Parker finished with 14 points and Brown had 12 for the Lakers.

Yao Ming poured in 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting and Luther Head donated 21 points for Houston, which had a two-game winning streak snapped. John Lucas netted 13 points and Juwan Howard posted 10 points in defeat.

The Rockets led by as many as 10 in the first quarter on Head’s reverse layup and finished the frame with a 25-21 edge.

Los Angeles, though, trailing by seven with 2:48 left in the second, went on a 13-3 run and took a 54-51 lead into the locker room.

The Lakers started the third with a 14-4 scamper, capped by three-pointers from Brian Cook and Parker for a 68-55 advantage. Then, Vladimir Radmanovic nailed a layup with 1:08 remaining and Los Angeles opened up a 20-point lead.

The Rockets were outscored in the quarter, 30-13.

Game Notes

Radmanovic finished with 10 points off the bench...Los Angeles shot 48 percent from the field while Houston finished 45 percent shooting.