Lakers feel Rockets' glare
HOUSTON 104, LAKERS 92
Houston's 104-92 victory is its 22nd in a row and moves the Rockets a game ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference.
HOUSTON -- Pau Gasol wandered around the locker room with a long metal crutch under each arm and athletic tape wrapped thickly around his swollen left ankle, symbolic of the Lakers' overall health in the Western Conference.
They stumbled against the Houston Rockets and tumbled out of first place in the West, limping across the finish line of a 104-92 loss that was fairly close until the lopsided final few minutes Sunday at Toyota Center.
Kobe Bryant scored 24 points on erratic 11-for-33 shooting, and there was the ever-familiar part of the program where the Lakers got toasted by another point guard.
Rafer Alston scored a career-high 31 points and made a career-best eight three-point shots on 11 attempts, merely the beginning of the problems facing the Lakers the rest of their trip. They play Dallas on Tuesday, which means plenty of Jason Kidd, and Utah on Thursday, which translates to a lot of Deron Williams.
"At best, even if Pau was here, this was a difficult road trip," Coach Phil Jackson said. "We'll see what our team is made of. We'll see what the guys can do in this situation."
The Lakers (45-21) find themselves a game behind the Rockets (46-20) and in second place in the West after becoming the latest statistic in Houston's 22-game winning streak. The only streak longer in league history was the Lakers' 33-game run in 1971-72.
The Lakers also got a lesson in small ball from the Rockets, who improved to 10-0 since Yao Ming was sidelined for the season because of a foot injury.
Alston blistered the Lakers with several open three-pointers -- "Threes have to be contested," Jackson said gruffly -- and reserve guard Bobby Jackson had 19 points in 20 minutes, including a three-pointer from the left corner that effectively ended the game, giving the Rockets a 96-86 lead with 3:22 to play.
The Lakers have been pilfered by point guards in recent games, be it Beno Udrih, T.J. Ford, Chris Paul and now Alston.
All along on Sunday, Bryant just couldn't find any rhythm.
He played every minute until being lifted with 56 seconds to play and was bothered by Rockets forward Shane Battier pretty much the entire time.
Bryant made six of 17 shots in the first half and five of 16 in the second half, including two of 10 in the fourth quarter. He said his shot was "flat."
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