Kobe Bryant plays well in Lakers’ loss to Rockets, 126-97

The Lakers finished their longest trip in seven years the only way they knew how.

They lost, of course.

Kobe Bryant couldn’t be blamed. He might have hit a triple-double had he played in the fourth quarter.

No, the Lakers fell to the Houston Rockets, 126-97, because of plenty of other reasons Saturday night — road fatigue, lousy defense, poor play by other young players.

Oh, and because they’re a really bad team with a numbingly awful 3-21 record.

The Lakers finished 1-7 on the 13-day trek, the lone victory coming against Washington on Dec. 2. It seemed like ages ago.

There was a thunderous reception for Bryant in Philadelphia, memorable ones in Washington, Detroit and Toronto too.

He enjoyed it all but was glad it was over.

“Yep,” he said Saturday in front of his locker. “Let’s go home.”

Too much losing.

Bryant had the best game to date in his 20th and final season, scoring 25 points and adding seven rebounds and six assists. He made more than half his shots (nine of 16) for the first time this season.

“I felt like my legs are finally starting to catch up. Better late than never,” he said. “The rhythm’s starting to come back a little bit. I just worked and continued to run and lift and just hoped for the best.”

While Lakers fans in attendance chanted his name midway through the fourth quarter, Bryant stayed on the bench with a towel draped over his back. He was talking idly with Metta World Peace.

He was done for the night. Coach Byron Scott told Bryant he was going to play the younger guys after the third quarter at Toyota Center.

Bryant came out with a pass-first demeanor. It was working.

Notably, he hit D’Angelo Russell in stride for a fastbreak basket and craftily fed Larry Nance Jr. for a dunk after appearing to go up for a shot.

Russell also played fairly well, though he started missing shots in the second half. He had 12 points on five-for-14 shooting and added four assists with three steals.

“His confidence level looks to be higher. He’s running the offense a whole lot better,” Scott said. “He has much better command of what we want to do on that end of the floor. He’s pushing the ball a lot better and making better decisions.”

The question, though, is whether Russell’s three-game run has happened because Jordan Clarkson has been sidelined by a sprained right ankle.

“You could have a little bit of a correlation to it,” Scott said. “But I still like what I’ve seen from him when Jordan was in there, when Jordan wasn’t in there.”

Russell started in Clarkson’s absence but would have continued coming off the bench had Clarkson been healthy enough to play, which is likely to be the case Tuesday against Milwaukee. Clarkson went through some pregame workouts Saturday but was deemed not quite agile enough to play.

Bryant was accurate from three-point range (four for nine) and good in the post as well, successfully backing down Rockets players on a couple of occasions. He also moved fluidly in space, making some floating jumpers while going to his left.

Inexplicably, Bryant actually looked better on the second night of back-to-back sets this trip, of which there were three. He had 31 points at Washington, 21 at Toronto and then came Saturday.

James Harden had 30 points for the underachieving Rockets (12-12) and Dwight Howard had 18 points and 12 rebounds after scoring only four points in the previous game.

One Lakers fan held a sign that read, “Houston, we have a problem. We’re losing an All-Star. Thanks, Kobe.”

Despite Bryant’s solid outing, the Lakers have problems, too. Many of them.

Follow Mike Bresnahan on Facebook and Twitter @Mike_Bresnahan