HOUSTON 107 L.A. LAKERS 105
Toney Douglas had a season-high 22 points and Greg Smith added a career-best 21 to help the Houston Rockets overcome a tough outing by James Harden and rally for a 107-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
The Lakers had a 13-point lead with less than 10 minutes to go. But Houston used two big runs, including a 9-2 spurt capped by a three-pointer from Douglas, to take its first lead of the game - 100-99 - with about 2 1 /2 minutes left.
Dwight Howard made three free throws after that, but a bucket by Smith and four free throws by Houston put the Rockets back on top 106-102. Kobe Bryant hit a three-pointer with 13.3 seconds left to cut the lead to one.
Bryant fouled Douglas and he made one of two free throws with 8.8 seconds left. The Lakers had a last chance, but Bryant missed a three-point attempt before Metta World Peace missed a layup to give Houston the win.
Harden finished with 15 points, but entered the fourth quarter with just eight points after shooting 2 of 18 through the first three quarters.
Bryant led the Lakers with 39 points and Howard had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Los Angeles led by 13 before Houston used a 14-4 spurt to close the gap to 94-91 with five minutes left. The Lakers had six turnovers and missed five shots in that span. Bryant finally got Los Angeles going again with a free throw and a bucket to make it 97-91.
The win is Houston's fifth in the last six games and drops the Lakers to 3-5 under new coach Mike D'Antoni.
The Lakers were playing without forward Pau Gasol, who sat out because of tendinitis in both knees. Antawn Jamison started in his place and had 15 points and nine rebounds.
"You miss him a lot," Bryant said of Gasol.
"He's a dominant player. He's an excellent passer, an excellent post player and an excellent shooter. We're missing a lot."
A 9-0 run by the Rockets, which included five points from Carlos Delfino, got them within 75-68 with about four minutes left in the third quarter.
The Lakers led 83-73 entering the fourth quarter.
The Rockets scored six straight points to get within seven points with 10 minutes left in the third quarter. The Lakers answered with a 7-2 run to push the lead to 67-55 with about eight minutes left in the quarter.
Houston cut the lead to six points with a three-pointer by Delfino early in the second quarter before the Lakers used a 10-3 run to extend their lead to 46-33 about five minutes before halftime.
WIZARDS 105, HEAT 101
WASHINGTON - His feet soaking in a tub of ice, his eyes scanning a box score, LeBron James chuckled a bit at the notion that his Miami Heat might learn something from a surprising setback against the Washington Wizards.
"Nah, man, there's not no lesson. This ain't a lesson for us. We just lost," James explained.
The Wizards won 105-101 behind Jordan Crawford's 22 points - and despite James' triple-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Wizards doubled their victory total this season. They improved to 2-13, earning their second win in the past three games.
