The Lakers were almost undone by one of their former draft picks, Von Wafer, a second-rounder in 2005 who spent one unremarkable season with the team before being free to go wherever the NBA winds took him.
But Wafer, who also played for the Clippers, Denver and Portland, not to mention two Development League teams, scored a career-high 23 points against the Lakers, making three of four shots from three-point range.
Luckily for the Lakers, they also had a guy who could make a three-pointer.
Still, the Rockets had a chance to tie the score, inbounding the ball near their basket after a timeout with 7.5 seconds left and trailing, 103-100.
All they could muster was Yao Ming's 16-foot attempt with 1.8 seconds left -- read: not a three-pointer -- that wouldn't have mattered much even if it had gone in.
It didn't, and the Lakers were victorious, raising their road mark to 11-4.
"It's a good game for us to have, particularly after having a lot of home games," Bryant said.
"We just seemed to hang in there. We had a lot of patience, a lot of poise. We kept it close and were able to steal it."
The Lakers are 7-1 in the second game of back-to-back situations, though tonight's game in San Antonio won't be easy.
"Now it's time to go to another tough environment," Bryant said, "and see if we can make the game a little less exciting."
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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com
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Tonight's game
LAKERS AT
SAN ANTONIO
6 PST, Channel 9, ESPN
