Kobe Scores a Cool 52

The man is 7 feet 6 in sneakers, and Kobe Bryant turned the corner near the baseline and went after him anyway, basketball in his arms, rim in his eyes.

Shaquille O’Neal did not play for the Lakers, did not show up for the two-overtime rematch with Houston’s Yao Ming because of the pain in his toe or knee or both. That left Bryant and the rest of the Lakers to go it alone against the Rockets and Yao, not the best team in the West but the eighth best, enough of a challenge on Tuesday.

Not quite healthy himself, Bryant, who wore a black sleeve on his ailing right knee, scored 52 points, two on Yao’s rookie head, and the Lakers defeated the Rockets, 106-99, in 58 minutes Tuesday night at Staples Center. Bryant has scored at least 40 points in six consecutive games, at least 35 in 10 straight.

Walking off the court, he said to no one in particular about his knee: “It’s killing me.”

The Lakers won in all the little places where teams win games without 7-foot-1, one-named centers, and the season felt important two months from its conclusion, two months from a postseason they’re not a cinch to make.

With their mouths hung open and the sweat pooling at their feet, the Lakers went on an 11-1 run in the second overtime, from two points back to a 102-94 lead. The win ended the Lakers’ two-game losing streak and drew them to a tie with the Rockets for eighth place in the Western Conference, although the Rockets currently have the tiebreaker advantage by leading the season series, 2-1, with one game to play.

Bryant spent a lot of his game caressing his knee, and by the fourth quarter his limp was visible and raw. When he stood to re-enter the game after a short rest midway through the last quarter, the crowd cheered.

Unable to rest behind O’Neal’s brawn and with Bryant at times dragging his right knee behind him, the Lakers pressed their offensive habits and a rare defensive spirit.

But, then, there were times when that wasn’t enough.

Late in the third quarter Bryant spun around James Posey on the left wing, left Cuttino Mobley behind and rose up toward the basket, toward Yao, who a month ago blocked O’Neal’s first three shots in a game in Houston.

As the crowd gasped at the sight of Yao coming to greet Bryant, Bryant threw down the dunk, and the building went mad.

Regulation ended with Bryant’s 31st field-goal attempt, a 25-footer over Mobley that struck the front of the rim. Yao’s two free throws 8.3 seconds earlier had tied the score, 82-82. The Lakers scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and lost all of a 12-point lead in the final 7:36 of regulation.

Bryant scored all nine Laker points in the first overtime, the last two on a short turn-around jumper that tied the score, 91-91, with 19.7 seconds left. With that much time left, and Yao having fouled out 10 seconds earlier, Cuttino Mobley wound the clock near zero and then missed a 10-foot runner, which was blocked by Mark Madsen.

When Shaq-Yao II became Shaq-Toe II, Lakers-Rockets III went to a familiar place. Bryant and Steve Francis carried much of the action, Bryant scoring 19 points on 15 first-half shots. Francis missed his first four shots and 12 of his first 13, but drove the Rocket offense with three offensive rebounds and four assists in the first half

Only Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan had longer streaks of 40-point games in NBA history, and only Chamberlain and Jordan had longer streaks of 35-point games.

The Lakers made do with Samaki Walker at center and Phil Jackson started Robert Horry beside him, at power forward, and held his breath.

“It’s obvious it’s hard to see a guy you recognize as one of the more active big guys to play the game not be able to play the same activity level he’s used to,” Jackson said.

The alignment lasted a little more than six minutes. Walker held his own at times, but took two fouls defending Yao on the same mid-first quarter possession, and Walker and Horry switched assignments. Slava Medvedenko soon replaced Walker and the rotation was on, all hands on Yao, taking volunteers.

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*--* West Conference Top eight qualify for West playoffs. Division leaders seeded 1, 2. Houston is eighth by virtue of beating Lakers in two of three games: W L GB 1. Dallas 41 12 -- 2. Sacramento 37 18 5 3. San Antonio 37 16 4 4. Portland 34 18 6 1/2 5. Minnesota 33 21 8 1/2 6. Utah 32 21 9 7. Phoenix 30 23 11 8. Houston 27 25 13 1/2 9. Lakers 27 25 13 1/2 10. Golden State 24 29 3 1/2

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UP NEXT FOR LAKERS

TONIGHT AT UTAH

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FRIDAY VS. PORTLAND

7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net

SUNDAY VS. SEATTLE

6:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net