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 Even so, the swingman expressed sincere pride in performing as
part of the supporting cast surrounding star guard Kobe Bryant.
Lakers forward Wesley Johnson converted a crucial three-point play
with 43.2 seconds left to fuel a stunning rally as Los Angeles beat
the Houston Rockets 98-92 Wednesday night at Toyota Center.
One night after winning in Atlanta for their first road victory, the
Lakers (3-9) closed Wednesday's game with a 12-1 run. The late surge
surprised the Rockets, who played without center Dwight Howard
(strained right knee).
Johnson pushed the Lakers in front to stay with a transition basket
after he stole the ball from Rockets guard James Harden. Johnson
scored through a Harden foul, and his free throw gave Los Angeles a
94-92 lead.
 Bryant scored a game-high 29 points and added seven assists and five
rebounds. Young, who missed the season's first 10 games due to
ligament damage in his right thumb, provided complementary offense
at key moments, tallying 16 points in 28 minutes off the bench.
"I can't take all the credit. I can take some of it," Young said
with a laugh. "It's all about a team effort and, really, we've just
been playing hard and playing together. It's a coincidence that I
came back and gave us a little spark."
Harden, who scored the last Houston basket with 2:42 remaining,
finished with 24 points and seven assists. After his 20-foot,
step-back jumper gave Houston a 91-86 lead, the Rockets (9-3) missed
three shots and committed two turnovers, both by Harden, to cap
their collapse.
"Silly mistakes on my end," Harden said. "I turned the ball over a
couple of times. They did a great job of bringing their five-man
(Jordan Hill) up to get the ball out of my hand a little bit. I
think three possessions in a row we didn't execute like we needed to
to win the game."
Said Lakers coach Byron Scott: "We just tried to get the ball out of
his hands as much as possible the last minute or so. Offensively, we
got some breaks, made some shots, got to the free-throw line, and
defensively is where we won the game."
Hill added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Forward Kostas Papanikolaou scored a career-high 19 points off the
Houston bench, while guard Patrick Beverley chipped in 15 points,
four rebounds and two blocks.
Harden sank two free throws with 6:09 left for a 83-82 Houston lead.
His three-point play with the shot clock winding down extended that
lead to four 57 seconds later. Then, following a driving layup by
Bryant, Harden picked the pocket of Lakers forward Carlos Boozer and
threaded a pass to Papanikolaou, who converted a layup through a
foul. Papanikolaou hit the free throw to increase the lead to 89-84
with 4:22 left.
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The Rockets hit half of their 10 3-point attempts in the first
quarter and carried a 23-21 lead into the second, where they shot
4-for-9 from behind the arc but failed to extend their lead after
Bryant warmed up.
Bryant finished 5-for-5 in the second quarter via his usual array of
breathtaking shot-making. His 18-foot, step-back jumper pushed the
Lakers in front 42-40 with 4:36 left in the half, and his baseline
jumper knotted the score at 47-47 with 2:19 remaining. Then, with
3.7 seconds before the intermission, Bryant beat Rockets forward
Trevor Ariza off the dribble for a layup that cut the deficit to
51-49.
The Lakers repeated that flurry in the fourth, adding stifling
defense to their winning mix.
"They outplayed us," Ariza said. "They played harder than we did
down the stretch."
NOTES: Rockets C Dwight Howard was a late scratch because of a
strained right knee. Howard also missed the Rockets' previous home
loss to the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 8. ... Lakers G Jeremy Lin
returned to Houston on the heels of an impressive game, 15 points
and 10 assists Tuesday night at Atlanta. Lin spent two inconsistent
seasons with the Rockets before being traded to Los Angeles during
the offseason. ... Houston coach Kevin McHale said that Rockets F
Terrence Jones isn't close to a return from left leg nerve
inflammation. Jones missed his eighth consecutive game Wednesday.
... The return of Lakers F/G Nick Young should alleviate some of the
offensive burden heaped upon Lakers G Kobe Bryant. While Bryant led
the NBA in scoring at 27.4 points per game through Tuesday, he had
taken 27 more shots and missed 34 more attempts than Knicks F
Carmelo Anthony, who ranked second in both categories. Bryant shot
10-for-28 Wednesday.
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