Rockets 109, Lakers 99
Shane Battier scored 11 of his 17 points in the final three minutes and Kevin Martin finished with 22 points as the Houston Rockets surged past the Los Angeles Lakers 109-99 on Wednesday.
Luis Scola chipped in 14 points and nine rebounds and Kyle Lowry had 10 assists for Houston, which outscored the Lakers 33-21 in the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles led by as much as 91-84 after Matt Barnes knocked down a pair of free throws with 7:01 remaining. But the Rockets chipped away, knotting it at 97-97 on Battier’s 3-pointer with 2:51 left and taking the lead when Battier drilled another from beyond the arc on the next possession.
Kobe Bryant pulled the Lakers back within a point on two free throws but Battier drained another jumper.
Trailing by three points with under a minute left, Derek Fisher fouled Battier on 3-point attempt and he converted all three free chances to put the game away.
Bryant finished with 27 points and Lamar Odom added 25 and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles, which has lost four straight games for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign.