Lamar Odom to play for Lakers in Houston

HOUSTON — So much of the script was new and unusual, as if it had been ripped apart during a tumultuous writers' meeting.

But there remained a solitary constant.

Kobe Bryant again unfurled a memorable fourth quarter, scoring 13 points and putting a final dent in the Houston Rockets with a late, long three-pointer in a 105-100 victory Tuesday at Toyota Center.

Bryant had been shooting poorly, to say the least, but there he was with 27.4 seconds left, making a 27-footer over Shane Battier as the shot clock wound down, the final three of his 33 points as the Lakers won the first of back-to-back games in Texas.

Sporting a white bandage over his right eye, the result of a four-stitch wound after a collision with Dwyane Wade two days earlier, Bryant was the face of the Lakers -- banged up but not knocked out.

It was a well-known ending after an unusual plot twist for the Lakers.

They didn't blow any large leads. Nor did they blow anybody out.

Instead, they never led by more than two, and trailed by as many as nine, going into the fourth quarter.

It was a patient victory, particularly for Bryant, who made only eight of 23 shots through three quarters.

"I got some pretty good looks and I knew what the defense was doing. It was just my responsibility to put the ball in the hole," said Bryant, whose 32 shots were a season high. "When the fourth quarter came around, I had to focus even more to put the ball in."

So that final three-pointer, the one that gave the Lakers the lead for good, 102-100, must have just rolled smoothly off his fingertips?

"That last shot felt like it was off left, and it went in," he said. "Go figure."

The Lakers (31-6) figured to be in for a rough night with three players out, though the Rockets also had plenty of aches and pains.

Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest and reserve guard Luther Head all sat out because of various injuries, more than countering the Lakers' injury list of Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic.

Lamar Odom had 10 points and four assists after missing three games because of a bone bruise. He also found a way to categorize Bryant's last shot.

"If you're going to be the best on the planet, we expect him to be amazing and awesome, and that's what he is," Odom said. "So I guess we're spoiled because we expect those kinds of shots to go in."