Highlights in Houston

The reeling Lakers have lost four straight after being dispatched by the Rockets in Houston on Wednesday night. L.A. was beaten 109-99 at Toyota Center as the pesky Rockets held off Kobe Bryant’s 27 and a season high 22 points from Lamor Odom. The Lakers haven’t lost four consecutive games since April 2007. The struggling defending champions are now owners of a 5-4 road record and 13-6 overall. Houston improved their dismal season start to 6-12. Kevin Martin led the Rockets in points and Shane Battiers knocked down back-to-back three pointers to carry them to victory with less than three minutes in regulation.
Martin finished with 22 points and was a flawless 10-10 at the charity stripe. Luis Scola added 14 points for Houston, who shot just over 50% from the field. Odom bucketed 25 points and had 11 boards in the loss as L.A. snapped a three game winning streak over Houston. The Lakers outscored the Rockets in the first quarter and maintained a three point advantage into the break. Martin had 20 points, and Battier 11, in the second half to lift the Rockets. Houston trimmed their deficit to two points by the end of the third stanza. Kyle Lowry, the former Villanova point guard, contributed with a game high 10 assists.
The Lakers missed their last seven shots and were overpowered 33-21 in the final quarter. Lowry’s pass to Battier with 2:05 remaining resulted in a tie ball game. Battier sunk the downtown shot for a 97-97 score, and struck again on the next Rockets’ possession to pull Houston ahead by three. Battier was fouled inside a minute to play and drilled three free throws for a six point home advantage. The Lakers shot just 33% in the second half. They failed to score again after Bryant drained a pair of free throws in L.A.’s 22% shooting fourth quarter. Pau Gasol, the fluid power player, came down with a left hamstring pull and was limited to just eight points for the Lakers. Houston’s bench outscored L.A.’s in the first half, and the Rockets’ defense clamped down to taunt Gasol and Bryant the remainder of the contest to earn the win. For the ailing home team, Wednesday was finally a happy highlight.

Parting Points: Duke looks dominant with their flamboyant freshman, Kyrie Irving.

I like this athletic kid, Jordan Hill for the Rockets. For starters, he shares his name with a terrific singer.

Song of the day- “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana