Interim Houston coach Kelvin Sampson is always reminding his reserves that there will be some nights when the team’s stars will struggle and the Rockets will need them to pick up the slack.
Tuesday was one of those nights.
Toney Douglas had a season-high 22 points and Greg Smith added a career-best 21 to help the Rockets overcome a tough outing by James Harden and rally for a 107-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers…
The Lakers had a 13-point lead with less than 10 minutes to go. But Houston used two big runs, including a 9-2 spurt capped by a 3-pointer from Douglas to take its first lead of the game – 100-99 – with about 2 1/2 minutes left…
Harden finished with 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, but entered the fourth quarter with just eight points after shooting 2 of 18 through the first three quarters. Jeremy Lin also struggled offensively, going 2 of 8 for four points…
Bryant led the Lakers with 39 points and Howard had 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Rockets fouled Howard repeatedly in the last 3 1/2 minutes, gambling that sending him to the line would be better than allowing the Lakers to get the ball in Bryant’s hands.
Howard went 5 for 10 from the line in that stretch and was eight of 16 overall.
— Reported by Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press
