Kobe Bryant

Bryant scores 53 points as Lakers beat Rockets 112 101 in double overtime

Down 21 points after poor shooting and 13 turnovers in the first half, Kobe Bryant still believed the Los Angeles Lakers could win.

It just took longer than he expected.

Bryant scored a season-high 53 points in a 112-101 double-overtime victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

The Lakers trailed until the final 1{ minutes of regulation, then squeaked out a back-and-forth first overtime before scoring the first nine points of the second OT to pull away.

``I felt like the game was ours, as funny as that sounds,'' Bryant said. ``When I have that type of sensation, you kind of fall into a trap, kind of sit back a little too much because you feel like you're never out of it.''

Bryant got it going, resulting in his 13th career game of 50 or more points. This one came against Yao Ming, who led the Rockets with 35 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high eight blocked shots.

``I don't know about if he imposed his will,'' Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said about Bryant. ``He imposed his skill, I know that.''

Bryant made 14 of 16 free throws, added 10 rebounds and eight assists in the Lakers' first overtime game of the season.

``We had a couple baskets here and there from other guys as we went along, but I had to go to Kobe to get accomplished what we had to do in a win,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Smush Parker added 17 points for the Lakers, including two consecutive baskets on assists from Bryant that helped force the first overtime.

``We buckled down and played some defence. That's all it took,'' Parker said. ``It's a big victory for us, fighting from 21 points down without one of our best players on the team.''

Tuesday night, the Lakers blew most of a 27-point lead before handing the Rockets their second home loss of the season, 102-94. Lamar Odom sprained his knee in that game and will be out at least a month.

Rafer Alston had 19 points and 10 assists for Houston, which was without Tracy McGrady for the third consecutive game because of back spasms. The Rockets are 0-3 since he went out.

Bryant's first basket of the second overtime was a driving, one-handed dunk over the 7-foot-6 Yao, then Parker hit a 3-pointer and the Lakers led 104-99.

``It felt great for me,'' said Bryant, who sprained his right ankle recently. ``It confirmed for me that my legs are back because that's in the second overtime. Playing long minutes, I'm still able to get to the basket and explode.''

Bryant added three more points in the 9-0 spurt for a 108-99 lead before Alston scored Houston's lone basket in the final five minutes.

``No matter how many points Kobe Bryant scored, we killed ourselves by turning the ball over, missing help on defence and missing defensive assignments,'' Alston said. ``The quality of shots we started to take at times was uncharacteristic of us.''

The Rockets dissolved in misses and miscues trying to salvage a game they led by 21 points in the first half. Alston had two turnovers and Yao was scoreless as Bryant kept hitting right to the end of his game-high 54-minute performance.

Still, Bryant was impressed with Yao.

``He's really come of age,'' he said. ``There's not too many big guys that can shoot the ball. He can turn both shoulders and get off a good shot, an incredible free-throw shooter, defensively, he had eight blocks. He's something.''

Yao picked up his fifth foul in the first overtime, and later complained about the officiating after getting to the free throw line six times in the game.

``They (the referees) were letting their big guys keep pushing me. I would say Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum fouled me 10 times. That's not fair,'' he said.

``I know I'm big, but that's not my fault. They let them have two hands pushing on my back and keep pushing while I'm shooting the ball. I wish the league or somebody can help with this and look at the film. They don't let me do that, so why do they let them do it?''

The teams traded baskets in the first five-minute overtime. Yao answered Bryant's running jumper with a short one of his own for a tie at 99 with 56 seconds left.

Alston lost control of the ball in the backcourt, but regained it and got it upcourt to Yao, who missed a 14-footer with 2 seconds left.

On the Lakers' final play, Luke Walton inbounded to Bryant, who also missed a 14-footer at the buzzer, forcing the second overtime.

As good as the Lakers were in the third quarter _ outscoring Houston 25-13 to get within six _ they were erratic in the fourth, getting close, then missing shots that would have put them in front.

Houston went on a 9-0 run, including five in a row by Bonzi Wells, that boosted its lead to 13 points.

The Lakers closed to 81-74 on a three-point play by Parker and Bryant's basket, then Bryant missed on two straight possessions. They trailed 81-78 before Brown missed three consecutive free throws and Yao ran off four in a row.

``We got upset with ourselves, but we never panicked,'' Walton said. ``We got guys that don't give up on this team.''

Yao fouled Bryant, who made both for an 85-81 deficit with three minutes remaining. Bryant went to the line again, made both and fed Parker for a three-pointer from the right corner that gave the Lakers their first lead, 86-85 with 1:34 remaining.

Luther Head's reverse layup put the Rockets back in front before Bryant assisted on Parker's layup, then went to the line in place of Brown and hit a free throw for an 89-87 lead.

Yao tied the game on a turnaround jumper with 28 seconds to go.

Bryant missed a 15-footer from the right side with four seconds left. Brown fouled Head and Houston got the ball out of bounds. Shane Battier inbounded, but Alston turned the ball over and Brown stole it, putting up a desperation shot that missed at the buzzer to force the first overtime.

Bryant scored 17 points in the second quarter, but he couldn't help the Lakers avoid season lows for points in a half (35) and field-goal percentage (34.2). They trailed 53-35 at the break.

``We didn't have any rhythm. It was gross,'' Walton said.

The Lakers scored a season-worst 10 points in the first quarter, when they committed nine turnovers and shot 20 per cent.

Notes: The Lakers are 10-3 when Bryant scores 50 or more points. He had 52 against Utah on Nov. 30. ... The Rockets fell to 9-33 overall without McGrady in the lineup. He remained at the team hotel to receive treatment, but is expected to play sometime during the road trip that ends next Friday in San Antonio, a team spokesman said.

Kobe Bryant's 34 points, eight boards helps Lakers drown Spurs 106 99

The Lakers hit San Antonio with a third quarter the high-flying Spurs won't soon forget.

Kobe Bryant had 34 points and eight rebounds, Lamar Odom just missed a triple-double, and Los Angeles took command in the third period en route to a 106-99 victory over the Spurs on Sunday night for its fifth win in six games.

``I think that's the best defensive quarter I've played in as a Laker,'' said Odom, in his third season with the team. ``It was just effort, energy, rotating, talking. We got our hands on so many passes. That was the difference tonight.''

Odom had 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and Luke Walton added 17 points for the Lakers (14-6), who snapped San Antonio's four-game winning streak and handed the Spurs just their third loss in 11 road games this season.

The Lakers trailed by five points before outscoring the Spurs 24-6 in the last five minutes of the third period for an 83-70 lead, and they were on top the rest of the way. Odom scored nine points and Bryant and Walton added five each during the spurt.

``We had an inspirational third quarter that carried us,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``There are some things we learned tonight that I think as a team helped us grow up a little bit.''

Jackson wouldn't identify what those things were.

``I thought the Lakers' pressure was great in the second half and we folded under that pressure _ absolutely folded. End of story,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

The Spurs were outscored 37-22 in the third period despite making 9-of-14 shots including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. That's because they committed nine of their 19 turnovers, leading to 19 Los Angeles points.

``They played good defence and we didn't play solid offense,'' San Antonio's Tony Parker said. ``We lost the game in the third quarter. We tried to make a comeback in the fourth, but it was too late because it's always hard to get a lot of stops in a row.''

Bryant showed no ill effects of a sprained right ankle that caused him to sit out the Lakers' 106-95 victory over Atlanta on Friday night.

``It's a little sore right now,'' he said. ``All in all, it felt great.''

Regarding the game, Bryant said: ``For us to stifle them in the third quarter, that should give us a lot of confidence. Defensively, we really swarmed them. We played with a lot of poise. You have to have that against a team like San Antonio.''

Manu Ginobili came off the bench to lead the Spurs (15-6) with 23 points. Parker added 21 points and nine assists, Tim Duncan had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Bruce Bowen scored 16 before fouling out with 21 seconds left.

Kwame Brown scored all 11 of his points in the second half and Smush Parker added 10 for the Lakers, who shot 48.9 percent and outrebounded the Spurs 42-33. San Antonio lost despite shooting 51.4 percent including 52.2 per cent (12-of-23) from three-point range.

Duncan scored four points during a 10-3 San Antonio run that trimmed the Lakers' lead to three points midway through the fourth quarter. But that's as close as the Spurs would get.

A basket by Brown gave the Lakers a six-point advantage, and Brown blocked a shot by Parker, leading to a three-point play by Walton that made it 99-92 with 2:46 left.

Then, Duncan was called for a technical foul after being tied up by Bryant, whose free throw with 2:21 to play put the Lakers up by eight.

The Lakers turned the ball over twice in the next minute, but the Spurs couldn't take full advantage as Duncan missed two free throws and Parker missed another pair down the stretch.

Notes: Bowen scored all but two of his points in the first nine minutes. ... The Lakers have played the most home games (15), won the most home games (12) and played the fewest road games (five) in the NBA. Starting with a game Tuesday night in Houston, they play eight of their next 10 and 22 of their next 34 on the road. ... The Spurs have an 8-3 record against the Lakers in the last 11 games between the teams. ... Lakers F Vladimir Radmanovic, who sprained his right ankle Saturday in practice, sat out his first game of the season. ... The Spurs had their five-game winning streak against the Lakers at Staples Center snapped. ... When the Spurs beat the Clippers 111-82 on Friday night in San Antonio, it marked the first time in franchise history that they've won three straight games by 20 or more points. ... The Lakers are 3-0 without Bryant this season after going 6-12 without him during the past two years.

Kobe Bryant scores 21 points to help Lakers beat Pacers 101 87

Kobe Bryant wore a concerned expression as he hobbled around the Lakers' locker room.

The Lakers had just beaten the Indiana Pacers 101-87 on Monday night, playing nearly half the game without their leader. Although Bryant was listed as day-to-day with what coach Phil Jackson called a moderate sprain of the right ankle, he wasn't so sure.

``It should be a lot worse, the way I came down on it,'' Bryant said. ``I'm happy that I feel the way I feel right now. I don't know about Wednesday.''

The Lakers return to action Wednesday night against the New Orleans Hornets.

Bryant scored 21 points before being injured early in the third period, with the Lakers leading 65-46. Indiana got as close as seven points late before the Lakers, led by Kwame Brown, outscored the Pacers 11-4 to finish the game.

``It's always about the next day,'' Bryant said. ``Tonight was about staying on top of it. The hardest part is keeping the tape on because the ankle swells up and the tape keeps it from swelling. So I'm in for a painful long night.''

Bryant got an offensive rebound and missed an off-balance shot before landing on Indiana centre Jeff Foster's right foot. Bryant was helped off the court before walking to the dressing room without assistance. He came back to the bench a couple minutes later, but didn't return to the game.

As Bryant sat on the bench, he tested his ankle and then used a large elastic band to keep it loose. He didn't ice it and didn't seem to be in pain.

``I said to Phil, 'If you need me, I'll go back in.' And he knows what that means because typically I would just run right up to the scorer's table if I'm ready to go,'' Bryant said. ``I would have had to go out there and limp. But if I needed to go out there to be a threat or knock down a couple of jumpers, I could have done it.''

X-rays on Bryant's ankle were negative.

``I didn't even know he landed on my foot. I just saw him fall,'' Foster said. ``When I came out, I asked, 'Did he land on my foot?' and someone said, 'Yeah.' I thought he would come back. But they were kicking our butts, so there was no reason for him to come back in.''

Brown scored 17 points for the Lakers and Lamar Odom had 15 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with 1:46 remaining.

Jermaine O'Neal led Indiana with 18 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 1:55 left. Sarunas Jasikevicius added 16 points and Danny Granger scored 15 for the Pacers.

The Lakers shot 51.3 per cent to Indiana's 43.3 per cent, and outrebounded the Pacers 41-28.

The win was the third straight for the Pacific Division-leading Lakers, while the Pacers dropped their third in a row in the finale of a six-game road trip.

``We've got to get better fast because just because we're going home doesn't mean that it's going to cure itself,'' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

The Lakers led 60-44 at halftime and by as many as 22 points in the third quarter before six straight points by Granger and a basket by Jasikevicius made it 85-75 early in the final period.

Neither team scored for more than three minutes until layups by Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic extended the Lakers' lead to 14 points with 5:18 left.

The Pacers battled back, getting three straight baskets from O'Neal to make it 90-83 with 3:11 remaining. But that was as close as they would get. Three baskets by Brown and a three-point play by Smush Parker put the game away.

Notes: The Lakers are 11-0 against the Pacers at Staples Center including three wins in the 2000 NBA Finals since the facility opened in 1999. ... The Pacers are 5-8 in an NBA-high 13 road games this season. ... The Lakers have played 12 home games _ second-most in the league behind Golden State's 13. ``It's OK,'' Jackson said of a schedule that has the Lakers playing 15 of their first 20 games at home. ``Ask me at the end of February, before the All-Star game, after we catch up.'' ... The Pacers (9-10) haven't won more than two in a row or lost more than three straight this season. ... Both of the Lakers' losses at home have come to Eastern Conference teams _ Detroit and Milwaukee. ... Lakers F-C Brian Cook came down with a case of vertigo Monday, causing him to miss his sixth straight game. ... Former Pacers star Reggie Miller, the 12th-leading scorer in NBA history, watched the game from a courtside seat. ... Indiana's Maceo Baston finished with a career-high 10 points _ all in the first half.