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Lakers reserves earn champions tense opening win
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-10-27 17:20
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LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Lakers were indebted to bench players Shannon Brown and Steve Blake as they launched their NBA championship defence with a nail-biting 112-110 win over the Houston Rockets Tuesday.
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 Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant celebrates their win against the Houston Rockets during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, California October 26, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]
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Brown knocked in four three-pointers and fellow guard Blake slotted three, the last of them with just 18.8 seconds left on the clock, as the Lakers came from 15 points behind.
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Kobe Bryant, although not at his best after having off-season surgery on his right knee, scored 27 points for the Lakers while Spanish forward Pau Gasol added a game-high 29. Brown ended up with 16 points and Blake finished with 10.
Guard Kevin Martin top-scored with 26 points and Aaron Brooks contributed 24, including four of six three-pointers, for the Rockets who led throughout the second and third quarters.
Yao Ming, who missed all of last season because of a fractured bone in his left foot, contributed 11 rebounds and nine points for Houston after playing only 23 minutes.
The evening began on a high note for the Lakers when last season's team and coaching staff were presented with diamond-encrusted gold championship rings.
Veteran forward Ron Artest, who joined the team before last season, then urged the sellout crowd to look upwards as the 2009-10 NBA championship banner was unveiled in the Staples Center rafters, sparking frenzied applause.
Early-season rust
With the ceremony over, both teams displayed early-season rust but the Rockets, helped by three three-pointers from Brooks, took advantage of poor Lakers defense to race into a 33-26 lead after the first quarter.
Los Angeles, initially struggling with their outside game, trailed by 15 when Brooks knocked in another three-pointer late in the second period before a Bryant jumper and two free throws trimmed the deficit to 62-51 by half-time.
Gasol and Bryant, finally gelling superbly on offense, sparked a rousing Lakers fightback in the third quarter which ended with guard Blake scoring two three-pointers for Houston's lead to be cut to 82-77.
Two free throws by Matt Barnes off the bench levelled the score at 86-86 early in the fourth period before a Barnes drive for a finger-roll layup put the Lakers ahead for the first time since the opening quarter.
Brown coolly knocked in a three-pointer to give the home team a 91-86 cushion before adding two more in a dizzying 21-second sequence to send the partisan crowd into a frenzy.
Leading 99-91, the Lakers inexplicably lost control at both ends of the court as the Rockets began to claw their way back to set up a thrilling finale.
Houston will visit the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, while the Lakers are next in action against the Suns in Phoenix on Friday.