Lamar Odom produced a solid performance to help the Los Angeles Lakers survive a ragged offensive outing in beating the Houston Rockets 88-79 on Tuesday.
Despite missing practice a day earlier through stomach pain, Odom filled in for the injured Pau Gasol and nearly posted a triple-double with 17 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists.
Center Andrew Bynum had a team-high 24 points and Kobe Bryant added 22, including several key fourth-quarter plays, as the defending NBA champions ground out a fourth straight win.
“The guy who was pretty sick and unable to practice for us ended up being the star of the game,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters. “He had a terrific game. He knew we were at a deficit without Pau [Gasol].”
Carl Landry scored 19 points off the bench and Aaron Brooks chipped in 18 for the Rockets who suffered a second straight defeat.
Trailing for a majority of the game, Houston rallied to reduce the deficit to just two points with 3:55 left, but Bryant answered with an assist on a three-point play and a jumper before Bynum made a hook shot to push the lead back to 80-73.
Gasol missed the contest for Los Angeles after straining his left hamstring in Sunday’s win against the Mavericks. He missed the season’s first 11 games with an injury to his right hamstring and will again be sidelined.
While playing without one starter, the Lakers welcomed back Ron Artest, who had missed the previous five games following a fall at his home over Christmas.
Artest struggled to 3-for-11 shooting as did the rest of the offense, who committed 20 turnovers with Bryant also struggling through a 9-for-23 shooting performance.
Houston again showed a knack for playing Los Angeles tough, having pushed the Lakers in a seven-game series last season in the Western Conference semi-finals.
BOBCATS 113, BULLS 108
In Charlotte, North Carolina, the hosts held off a fast-finishing Chicago to notch a third straight win.
Gerald Wallace scored 32 points and Stephen Jackson and Flip Murray added 25 each for the Bobcats in a fast-paced game that saw both teams shoot 51 percent.
Derrick Rose and John Salmons missed potential game-tying three-point attempts in the closing seconds for the Bulls, who gave up seventh place in the Eastern Conference to the Bobcats despite wiping out a 13-point second-quarter deficit.
In other games it was:
• Grizzlies 109, Trail Blazers 105
• Suns 113, Kings 109
• Pacers 97, Magic 90
• Mavericks 98, Pistons 93
• Nuggets 123, Warriors 122
• Wizards 104, 76ers 97
• Bucks 98, Nets 76
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