LAst Night's Action: Hoops Happy

Lakers 112, Rockets 101 - With the Rockets up by 21 points at halftime, it took a determined Lakers two extra periods to walk away with a victory. Kobe scored almost half of the team's points with 53. Yaozah! Looks like Houston forgot to read LAist.

Trailblazers 109, Clippers 99 - The Clippers continue to stink on the road. Despite the return of two injured starters (Sam Cassell and Corey Maggette), they fell to just 1-7 outside of the Staples Center (tack on another road loss when they "visited" the Lakers).

Elsewhere - USC men's hoops scored more than double Bethune-Cookman. The unranked Trojans play second fiddle the their highly ranked crosstown rival, but their defense is one of the best in the country. Sound familiar? Maybe they're thinking about a basketball version of this shirt.

AP photo by Chris Pizzello.