L.A. Lakers 105, Houston 107
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Officials: #56 Mark Ayotte, #17 Joe Crawford, #33 Zach Zarba
Houston, Texas (Sporting Alert) — Toney Douglas and Greg Smith combined to score 43 points off the bench to lead the Houston Rockets to a 107-105 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Toyota Center on Tuesday night.
Douglas finished 22 points and Smith added 21 in the win for the Rockets, which outscored the Lakers 34-22 in the fourth quarter.
James Harden had a double-double of 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, Carlos Delfino also added 15 and Chandler Parsons scored 13 for the Rockets to improve to 9-8 on the season.
The Lakers (8-10) collapsed again in the final quarter, with Metta World Peace even missing a late lay-up that would have tied the game, after grabbing the offensive rebound from a Kobe Bryant missed three-pointer.
Bryant scored a game high 39 points to lead the Lakers, but missed a late three-point attempt.
The Lakers entered the fourth quarter leading 83-73, but saw that advantage quickly erased, despite the efforts of Bryant.
Coach Mike D’Antoni said his team’s problem was its late defensive breakdowns, as the they now dropped two of the last three games.
The head coach still believes things are looking better, stating: “We’re closer than people may think.”
Dwight Howard finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, but was but he was 8-of-16 from the free throw line, while Antawn Jamison contributed 15 points and nine boards in the defeat.
