Lakers climb over Rockets

Once again, the Lakers showed how well they could play on the road.

But they also showed how quickly it could all fall apart.

Tracy McGrady sat out the second half, and the Lakers almost did too, recovering just in time to hang onto the remnants of an 18-point lead and beat the Houston Rockets, 93-90, on Wednesday at Toyota Center.

It was a victory, undeniably, but also an escape.

Houston made a woeful 23 of 39 free throws (59%), including seven of 15 in the fourth quarter, prompting Coach Phil Jackson to pinpoint exactly how the Lakers won.

“Free-throw defense,” he said dryly.

Almost everybody involved acknowledged it was a strange game, a bizarro night in Houston. The postgame mood in the Lakers’ locker room even felt like a loss.

The Lakers took a surprising 18-point lead in the second quarter and still led at halftime, 61-49, right after McGrady left with a sprained right elbow after running into Luke Walton on a drive. McGrady will probably be out at least a week.

With McGrady and his 29-point average gone for the night, the Lakers would win easily, coasting to a 25-point victory.

Maybe on another night.

The Lakers were frigid on offense in the second half, scoring 32 points on 10-for-31 shooting (32.3%).

What they didn’t have in skill, they made up for in luck.

Houston looked as if it was shooting free throws from 25 feet away and also failed to convert an unusual play that could have sent the game to overtime.

Yao Ming, who had 26 points, missed a free throw on purpose with 1.4 seconds left, grabbed the picture-perfect bounce off the front of the rim, and fed Rafer Alston for a three-point attempt as time expired. It bounced away, taking Houston’s chances with it.

That Yao was on the free-throw line in the first place was a source of amusement for the Lakers. With the Rockets down, 93-88, Jordan Farmar was called for a foul underneath as Yao hit a layup.

“First of all, I was surprised Dick Bavetta made that call, but then not when I thought about it for a second and then you know, just to make it a game,” Jackson said. “That’s typical.”

Said Kobe Bryant: “That was ridiculous. Jordan Farmar? I don’t even think Yao saw him.”

The second-half stat sheet will not be seen in a frame any time soon in the Lakers’ offices. Lamar Odom had two points in the half before fouling out with 2:01 to play. Bryant had 12 after scoring 18 in the first half. Kwame Brown, Ronny Turiaf and Walton combined for four points in the final 24 minutes.

“We just had nothing to go to in the second half,” Jackson said.

The Lakers had plenty of fire in the first half.

It brought to mind their 21-point early-season victory in Phoenix, when they were flying up and down the court, their spacing perfect, their passes finding each other perfectly and their shots falling.

The first half was so unexpected after a 15-point loss in San Antonio the previous night that Bryant playfully bumped Jackson as they entered the locker room at halftime. The two then shared a private laugh.

The Lakers made 22 of 42 shots (53.7%) in the first half, seven of 12 from three-point range, and managed to put a lid on McGrady, who made only three of seven shots. Yao was also a non-factor on offense, making three of 11 shots in the half.

But the Lakers managed to collect themselves, barely, after frittering away what was once a 54-36 lead.

Houston took an 83-81 lead, briefly, on Yao’s 10-foot fadeaway with 5:43 to go.

But Bryant answered with a 20-footer, Derek Fisher hit two free throws and Bryant added two more to re-establish a four-point edge.

“It’s one of those games where if you lose them, they really hurt,” Odom said. “We walked out of here with the most important thing -- that’s the ‘W’.”

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com