Lakers Get By Houston

The Lakers escaped with a narrow 114-106 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets Tuesday Night at Staples Center while Andrew Bynum sat out with a sore knee.

Even with the devastating injury to Yao Ming, the Rockets were competitive the whole game. The Lakers barely played any defense and gave up numerous offensive rebounds, especially to Luis Scola. Kevin Martin took advantage of this poor D and dropped in 30 points and was on fire the whole night.

But LA made up for the lackadaisical defense on offense. Role players like Steve Blake and Shannon Brown chipped in offensively hitting open shots and finishing in traffic. Kobe Bryant, Pau, and Lamar filled the void left by Bynum with great offensive performances. Kobe- 32 pts, 11 asts Gasol- 26 pts, 16 rebs Odom- 20pts 20 rebs

Highlight of the Game: Shannon Brown steals the ball from Courtney Lee at midcourt and dribbles to the basket for a one-handed jam. The dunk wasn't as impressive as how quickly the crowd got up on their feet, excitedly jumping up and down even before Shannon Brown elevated to the rim.

Player of the Game: L.O. He played an efficient and productive ball game with a 20-20 night. He did miss the game-winner in regulation , but hit clutch shots and grabbed key rebounds. He made everyone forget that Drew was injured.

Notes: 3 year anniversary of the Pau Gasol involving Kwame Brown a.k.a. "Stone Hands" Lakers get first overtime win of the season

Next Game: Thurs vs. San Antonio Spurs 1st Western Conference 40-8 (Last Game: L @ Portland) When asked about the upcoming matchup against the Spurs and the Lakers' 1-5 record against the elite NBA teams, all Kobe had to say was, "We'll be ready."