Odom’s Near Triple-Double Powers Win Over Rockets

Stepping into the void left by the injured Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom led the Los Angeles Lakers over the visiting Houston Rockets, 88-79 at Staples Center. Odom’s near triple-double (17 points, 19 rebounds, 9 assists) helped propel the Lakers to their league leading 28th victory of the season. He was a demon on the boards as he recorded his third straight double-double in a row. Both teams sputtered on offense as the Rockets misfired badly from behind the arc connecting on just 4-23 for 17.4%. The Lakers fared only slightly better (2-10 for 20%) but got enough help from Andrew Bynum (24 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals) and Kobe Bryant (22 points on 9-23, 3 rebounds, 3 assists).

Former Laker Trevor Ariza (12 points on 5-14, 8 assists, 3 rebounds) had another tough shooting night although he did manage two exciting slam dunks on dribble drives to the hoop. Speedy point guard Aaron Brooks (18 points on 7-16, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals) also found the going much more difficult than the previous meeting when he scored a career high 33 points in a Rockets win back in November. Back-up forward Carl Landry (19 points, 6 rebounds) single-handedly kept the Rockets in the game while the Rockets managed to convert only 40% from the field and 65% from the free-throw line.

Whereas Kobe had a difficult time from the field, the Lakers were still able to maintain the lead from start to finish although the Rockets never let the Lakers run away with the win. The Rockets trailed only 41-33 at halftime and continually battled back to within a couple of baskets, but were never able to get a hold of the lead. Ron Artest (7 points on 3-11, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot in 33 minutes) finally made it back into game action after missing the past five games due to dizziness caused by a concussion that he suffered over ten days ago. Although the Lakers were not able to sustain their offensive prowess like their previous contest against the Mavericks, they were able to keep up their defensive intensity on a night when their shots were simply not falling.

The bench in particular was able to keep the Rockets at arms distance as they actually increased a slim 4th quarter lead to a more comfortable, 71-63 advantage. But the Rockets capitalized on numerous (20) Lakers turnovers and chipped away at the lead once again, trimming it down to 73-71 with 3:50 left. Luis Scola’s (15 points, 4 rebounds) trey after an LO three-point play kept the Rockets close, but scores by Kobe and Bynum gave the Lakers an 80-73 advantage with under two minutes to play. Kobe’s left-handed turnaround in the paint, followed by LO’s pair from the line finally secured the win.