Halftime: Lakers 41, Rockets 33

The Lakers had their best defensive first half of the season tonight. limiting the Houston Rockets to 33 points on 35.9 percent shooting. Their previous best was Nov. 28, when they held the New Jersey Nets to 34 points. This was a better effort since the Rockets are a credible team and the Nets are not. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Lamar Odom had a team-leading 13 points despite playing with a stomach ailment. Former Lakers forward Trevor Ariza had another rough homecoming, scoring only five points on 2-for-8 shooting. Carl Landry led Houston with 13 points.