Bryant leads LA Lakers with 36 points

Forward Pau Gasol, center, of the Grizzlies battles for a rebound with Tony Parker, right, of the Spurs in the conference playoffs at SBC Center in San Antonio, Texas, Monday. PHOTO: AFP

Phil Jackson wanted flow and aesthetic and all the stuff that makes a basketball purist smile, and for on a pleasant downtown Los Angeles evening, he got just about everything he wanted Monday.

Kobe Bryant brought the aesthetics, and the Lakers found a more fluid game amid the Houston Rockets' defensive pressure, and this first-round playoff series apparently won't be moved to the Eastern Conference after all.

The Lakers' 98-84 rout at Staples Center was everything that Game 1 was not. The Lakers shot 45.3 percent, everyone scored in bunches and Jackson was left smiling.

Other a playoff career-low seven points from Shaquille O'Neal, there was little to concern the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant was assertive and effective, scoring 36 points, including 17 in the third quarter, when the Lakers got their first double-digit lead. Karl Malone got his touch back, scoring 17 points and finishing with eight rebounds and four assists.

Yao Ming led the Rockets with 21 points but never got rolling when the game was still close. Jim Jackson scored 19 points, and Steve Francis 18.

Kobe Bryant of the Lakers celebrates their 98-84 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, Monday. PHOTO: REUTERS

The Lakers have not lost a seven-game series after leading 2-0 since the 1969 Finals, which ended in a 4-3 loss to the Boston Celtics. Since then, they have won 25 in a row after taking the first two games.

Fears a series mired in grabbing, hacking, lousy shooting and low scores proved unfounded, to the Lakers' great delight. They passed the 72-point barrier -- their high point of Game 1 -- with two seconds left in the third quarter, when Bryant hit three free throws.

Bryant fouled by Cuttino Mobley as he sprinted down the sideline, and referee Joe DeRosa called it a shooting foul -- perhaps the longest continuation play since Larry Johnson's in the 1999 Finals.

Houston Jeff Van Gundy, whose New York Knicks benefited from that infamous call, was aghast at this one, wrinkling his face. When Bryant sunk the free throws, the Lakers had a 74-64 lead to take in the final period.

The lead grew to 13 points on a Kareem Rush 3-pointer, then 16 points as he hit another, for an 85-69 edge with 8:12 to go.

Bryant the second half in clear attack mode, taking six shots in the first five minutes, missing four of them. But the seventh was worth waiting for.

With Kelvin Cato standing between him and the basket, Bryant leapt high and hard, turned away from the basket and, as he collided back to back with Cato, flipped the ball up over his head with his right hand. From his seated position on the court, Bryant looked back, watched the shot drop through, then rose and shook his index finger several times.

But before any of that, Jackson and Van Gundy reignited their personal rivalry, and a holdover from their Eastern Conference days, when Jackson's Chicago Bulls annually tortured Van Gundy's Knicks.

Jackson Sunday afternoon's media session to expound on the peculiarities of referees and the permissive stance the Game 1 crew took toward physical play. Van Gundy was incredulous.

"I don't have to look at the calendar to know it's spring coming on summer with Phil complaining about the officiating," he said before tipoff. "You know what I mean -- that's been like a right of passage every spring.

"And it's interesting, his team shoots more free throws, I'm going to guess, [for] 80 percent of his career. But it's those damn Lakers always getting screwed."

Houston 46-44 at halftime, as both teams rediscovered their shooting touch.

Shaquille O'Neal blocked Yao Ming's first two shots on the game's first possession, and swatted away two Maurice Taylor attempts in the fourth quarter as the Lakers turned a comfortable lead into a blowout.

Derek Fisher hit both 3-pointers he attempted in the first half, giving him 124 in his playoff career and tying him with Michael Cooper as the Lakers' all-time postseason leader.

All of the Lakers' injured regulars played, and a couple even thrived. Fisher's defense against Steve Francis was sturdy, and his 11-point night included body-sacrificing driving layup against Jim Jackson that he converted for a three-point play in the fourth quarter. The strained groin never was an issue.

Karl Malone got more comfortable on his sprained right ankle and showed none of the hesitation that fed a 3-for-14 night in Game 1. He hit his first shot of the game, a 16-footer from the right side, and had 10 points and five rebounds by halftime. He finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

Spurs 87, Grizzlies 70

The San Antonio Spurs went on a 14-0 run early in the final period, and their defense held Memphis without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes in a 87-70 win Monday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

Tony Parker led San Antonio with 27 points, and Tim Duncan scored 14 of his 23 in the second half. Robert Horry added 14 points for the Spurs, who shut down Pau Gasol in the second half to win their 13th straight game.

Game 3 is Thursday night at Memphis.

Memphis, which trailed by 11 at halftime, made its push to open the third quarter. Mike Miller, held scoreless in Game 1, scored nine quick points, and a pair of free throws by Stromile Swift cut the difference to 55-54.

Robert Horry made two 3-pointers and a putback, and Parker hit his fourth 3-pointer to put the Spurs ahead 68-59 after three quarters. Memphis didn't get its next basket until Bonzi Wells had a putback with 5:02 remaining in the game to make it 82-62