Lakers get big win in Houston thanks to Kobe's 18 in 4th

What do you get when you try to elbow Kobe in the face and trash talk him? Ron Artest had his answer. After an altercation between the 2 all stars, Kobe scored 18 of his 37 points in the last 6 minutes and the Los Angeles Lakers ended Houston's 12-game home winning streak with a 102-96 victory.

Kobe: “He should’ve known better than that. I kicked his butt tonight. We've had some battles in the past and he's gotten the best of me a few times. Tonight, I got the best of him."

Sure he did. Bryant scored 31pts (11/17 FGS) in the 2nd half as L.A outscored the Rockets 62-45. Gasol had 20pts and J.Powell added 17pts and 9rbds. His big game was just what the Lakers needed with Lamar out. Odom will be back tonight vs the Spurs.

The Lakers shot 50% from the field but played terrific defense too. Houston had 25 turnovers and shot an ugly 5/28 behind the 3pt line.

Note: Kobe is the NBA 3rd leading scorer with 28.1pts..Lebron is #2 with 28.2pts