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Lakers beat Rockets; Yao has double-double
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-09 14:11
HOUSTON - Kobe Bryant was stunned to find so many gaps in the Houston
Rockets' defense.
Once the shock wore off, Bryant took advantage,
scoring 32 points and dishing out a season-high nine assists as the Lakers
snapped a four-game losing streak with an 89-78 victory Wednesday night.
"I started coming off the pick and roll and I was so wide open," said Bryant,
who went 13-for-29 from the field. "It really threw me off at first. It's been
two months since I've been that wide open."
And when Bryant wasn't burning the Rockets, Brian Cook was. Cook added 27
points and 10 rebounds one night after scoring a season-high 28 in the Lakers'
102-87 loss at Dallas.
"A lot of other teams just focus on Kobe," Cook said. "I just hang around on
the weak side and nights like tonight, Kobe gives it up."
Rafer Alston scored 16 and Yao Ming added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the
Rockets, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
"We got too comfortable with ourselves with the winning streak," McGrady
said. "It's very disappointing to come home and have an outing like this, myself
included."
Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy ripped his team's effort after the game. He said
the Rockets were equally lackadaisical in their shootaround.
"How little we put in the game, from the start of the day to the end of the
game, was totally uninspiring," Van Gundy said. "We went through the motions,
but didn't even fake it very well."
The game drew 18,291 fans — a season high at the Toyota Center — but those
hoping to see a 1-on-1 duel between Bryant and All-Star Tracy McGrady left
disappointed.
McGrady had only 11 points on 5-for-18 shooting. He went 1-for-6 from 3-point
range and also had seven assists, four rebounds and two turnovers.
McGrady is 19-for-63 in Houston's last three games.
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