Bryant Doesn’t Miss This One

HOUSTON —  Another legal hearing behind them, a knee examination ahead, the Laker season maintained its pace another day, a breathtaking victory replacing a staggering loss.

They went again to the last shot, from 15 points back, a jumper by Kobe Bryant and a pair of free throws by Derek Fisher putting them ahead, Cuttino Mobley’s 25-foot miss at the horn keeping them there.

With Bryant among them again after attending pretrial proceedings for two days, the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets, 96-93, Wednesday night at Toyota Center. It was their third victory on a four-game trip that had been memorable for Tuesday’s collapse in Atlanta, a game Phil Jackson apparently laid at the feet of Devean George, a one-time starter who played only the last 9.8 seconds against the Rockets.

The Lakers can hardly get all of their players on the floor at the same time. When they do, they can hardly get them all playing well at the same time. But, on the court for the second time in 25 hours, with Tuesday’s disappointment still fresh in their legs, and despite their inability to stop Yao Ming, the Lakers appeared to retake their post-All-Star-break momentum.

“This was just a big game,” Bryant said. “I was happy to be back. They were happy to have me back.”

Bryant scored 18 points, the last two from 22 feet with 31.7 seconds left, over Yao’s fingertips. After a Yao miss from about the same distance on the other end, Fisher chased the rebound, caught it and was fouled. He made both free throws, the Laker lead was three, and the Rockets failed to score in their final possession.

The Lakers have won eight of 10 games, all since the All-Star Game, all since their loss here Feb. 11, just before the break. The two losses have come by a total of three points, by a field goal to the Sacramento Kings and a free throw in Atlanta.

On the eve of Karl Malone’s doctor appointment, the Lakers lost Horace Grant to a sore hip and groin. Their tallest backup center was Brian Cook, who goes 6 feet 9. Standing beside Yao, he looked too small to ride the bumper cars. So, Yao scored an easy 33 points. Shaquille O’Neal scored 28, despite missing 11 of 13 free-throw attempts, and had five blocked shots.

In any event, O’Neal versus Yao has become a fair fight, at least, though foul trouble for both limited their straight-up play. Rocket Coach Jeff Van Gundy threw Kelvin Cato at O’Neal for long periods, and Jackson nudged power forwards at Yao, and in the fourth quarter O’Neal scored 11 points and Yao scored eight.

“He got me with a couple of knick-knack fouls and that hurt my aggressiveness,” O’Neal said. “I wanted to come out real, real aggressive, but the foul trouble hurt me.”

Nearly every one of O’Neal’s misses was wide right, or the Lakers might have won with some ease. He made three free throws in 17 attempts over two games, which was not lost on Van Gundy, who had his players foul O’Neal quickly.

“He was persistent, though,” Jackson said.

“I don’t know,” O’Neal said. “I’ll figure it out one day.”

Ultimately, needing to win to cleanse their consciences of their loss in Atlanta, the Lakers won from the perimeter. They made five of their six three-point tries in the fourth quarter, two by Luke Walton, one each by Gary Payton (14 points in 34 minutes), Fisher and Kareem Rush. The Rockets missed all four of theirs, including Mobley’s, with O’Neal closing on him.

Bryant clenched his fist and grinned. His jumper, balky for 47 minutes, had given them a lead. He had 13 assists, a season high, and eight rebounds.

The night before, waiting for his teammates in a Houston hotel, he’d turned on his television and seen the score: Hawks 94, Lakers 93. He wondered what had happened since he left them Sunday night, everything going so well.

“I was shocked when I saw the score,” he said. “I wanted to see the highlights to see what happened.”

Then it was gone, and the Rockets were before them.

“I felt fine,” Bryant said. “That’s how I’ve been playing that last however many games. The same way.

“That’s my time right there. That’s when the team allows me to make those kinds of shots. What I shot before is pretty much irrelevant.”

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Center Stage

Breaking down the meetings involving Shaquille O’Neal and Houston’s Yao Ming:

*--* Jan. 17, 2003 at Houston -- Rockets, 108-104 (OT) Min. Reb. Ast. Blk FGM-A Pts Yao 38 10 3 6 5-14 10 O’Neal 47 13 4 0 13-26 31 March 26, 2003 at Houston -- Lakers, 93-89 Min. Reb. Ast. Blk FGM-A Pts Yao 30 10 2 2 3-13 6 O’Neal 44 5 2 3 16-26 39 Dec. 25, 2003 at Staples -- Rockets, 99-87 Min. Reb. Ast. Blk FGM-A Pts Yao 30 8 2 2 8-14 18 O’Neal 41 10 2 3 5-12 22 Feb. 11, 2004 at Houston -- Rockets, 102-87 Min. Reb. Ast. Blk FGM-A Pts Yao 37 11 1 1 10-21 29 O’Neal 41 9 4 4 5-12 24 March 3, 2004 at Houston -- Lakers, 96-93 Min. Reb. Ast. Blk FGM-A Pts Yao 37 8 1 1 13-21 33 O’Neal 39 7 1 5 13-18 28

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Note: O’Neal sat out two meetings between the teams in the 2002-2003 season because of injury.