Bryant, Lakers Give Rockets an Overtime Shove

Lakers 92, Rockets 88

HOUSTON, April 25 -- The great ones are never afraid to fail, even in the face of defeat.

Los Angeles guard Kobe Bryant atoned for seven straight missed shots in the throes of a nail-biting finish by scoring the final five points in overtime to rally the Lakers to a stirring 92-88 victory and a 3-1 series lead over the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

His dazzling display of guile and fearlessness at Toyota Center came in a Western Conference first-round playoff game he entered with stomach discomfort and ended with his vision blurred after being poked in the eye by Houston guard Steve Francis in the fourth quarter. It also came after the resilient Rockets rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game, 81-81, on a 21-footer from Francis with 39 seconds left, then proceeded to take an 87-83 overtime lead with 2 minutes 24 seconds left.

"It's an adrenaline rush, it's addicting," said Bryant, talking about his penchant for staging such dramatic -- and victorious -- endings. "Sometimes it will go your way. Sometimes it won't. The key is to have the confidence to be able to shoot it and not be nervous. Just step up, trust your abilities and hope your shots go in."

Bryant's final daggers came after Lakers forward Karl Malone, who had a season-high 30 points and a team-high 13 rebounds, scored on a short jumper while being fouled by Rockets center Yao Ming with 1:27 remaining.

Yao (16 points, seven rebounds) fouled out on the play and, after Malone sank the free throw, Houston's lead shrank to 87-86.

On the ensuing possession, Bryant stole a pass from Jim Jackson (16 points, 20 rebounds), drove through three defenders, made the go-ahead layup then ran up court with his hand cupped to his ear, trying to hear any more boos from a crowd that had quickly gone silent.

After Francis sank one of two free throws to tie the game at 88, Bryant (18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) drove down the lane and, while being fouled by Maurice Taylor, dropped the backbreaking field goal, and later the free throw, that added to his lore and put Houston in the position of having to win three straight games to advance to the next round. Game 5 will be Wednesday in Los Angeles.

That the Rockets managed to be in position for such a riveting finish was an accomplishment in itself as they fell behind by 14 points in the third quarter after assuming a sheepish posture following some rough second-quarter play that ignited the Lakers' passion.

Behind Jackson, Yao, Cuttino Mobley and Francis, Houston battled back and actually had a chance to win in regulation, but Francis shot a 21-foot air ball with 3.1 seconds left. That was one of several plays the Rockets failed to make that could have evened the series.

"I thought we showed a lot of character," said Francis, who fouled out in overtime with a team-high 17 points and five turnovers. "They made some good plays down the stretch and we turned the ball over and that really hurt us in crucial situations."

While Bryant saved the Lakers, Malone carried them. He also instigated a near skirmish when he undercut Houston's Bostjan Nachbar on a breakaway layup attempt in the second quarter. Players from both teams jumped into a low-level fracas that was being controlled by the two healthy referees who marshaled the game for more than two quarters after referee Joey Crawford suffered a strained calf. Crawford returned in the third quarter.

The Lakers trailed by six points when Jackson made a technical free throw after Malone taunted Nachbar after the second-year player fouled Malone on a breakaway layup. But tempers never quelled and the Lakers seemed to benefit from the heightened emotions and played a controlled, physical style that allowed them to rally to a 45-41 halftime lead.

The tense tenor even carried over to the coaches. The Lakers' Phil Jackson and Houston's Jeff Van Gundy, longtime rivals since their days coaching the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks, respectively, got into a shouting match.

"He yelled down at me, his opinion, I guess, of where I was on the floor," Van Gundy said. "I gave my opinion back on his opinion. Don't try to take away from the game with some silly coaching sidebar. We ain't smokin' the peace pipe here anytime soon. But it's not about us, it's about our teams."

Note: Wizards forward Lonny Baxter was at the game to watch Francis, his former Maryland teammate.