Toney Douglas scored a season high 22 points, while Greg Smith had a career high 21 points to guide Houston Rockets past Los Angeles Lakers 107-105 Tuesday night.
Smith added nine assists to help the Rockets make a comeback, after they were trailing in the first two quarters.
James Harden, who had only eight points in first three quarters, scored 15 points, six assists and chipped in with a career-high 10 rebounds.
"We had a lot of guys struggle, but our bench was good," Houston interim coach Kelvin Sampson said. "There is a lot to be said about ... having guys on the bench that you trust that can come through.
"Toney Douglas, Greg and Carlos (Delfino), those three guys are special. They were tough for us tonight."
The Rockets bench proved strong in Tuesday's game. Los Angeles reserves could add only 20 points, whereas their Houston counterparts scored 59.
"That's going to be key, and that's only going to make us more dangerous," the Associated Press quoted Douglas as saying.
For the Lakers, top scorer Kobe Bryant scored 39 points and grabbed six rebounds, whereas Dwight Howard added 16 points and chipped in with 12 rebounds.
The Lakers missed their forward Pau Gasol, who was out because of knee injury.
"You miss him a lot," Bryant said of Gasol. "He's a dominant player. He's an excellent passer, an excellent post player and an excellent shooter. We're missing (him) a lot."
The Lakers started off well, scoring 30 points against the Rockets' 22 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, they again outscored their opponents 28-23. The Rockets were trailing by 13 points in the first half, but they fought back.
In the third quarter, Houston had 28 points, while the Lakers could score only 25. The Lakers started the fourth quarter with a lead 83-73, but during last 10 minutes Houston were the far better side.
Lakers led the Rockets by 13 points with 10 minutes left, but the Rockets then went on a 9-2 run. Just after that, Douglas shot a three-pointer to help his team take one point lead with a little over two minutes left.
Then the Lakers' Howard hit three free throws, but with Smith's bucket and Houston's four free throws, the Rockets again led 106-102, which they never relinquished.
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