HOUSTON(AP) Kobe Bryant scored 18 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, winning a contentious duel with Ron Artest, and the Los Angeles Lakers ended Houston's 12-game, home-court winning streak with a 102-96 win over the Rockets on Wednesday night.

Pau Gasol scored 20 points and Josh Powell added 17 for the Lakers, who overcame the absence of Lamar Odom to snap a three-game road losing streak. Odom, the Lakers' second-leading rebounder, served a one-game suspension for leaving the bench during an altercation in Monday's loss to Portland.

Reserve Von Wafer scored 20 points for the Rockets, who've lost all three meetings with the Lakers this season.

The Lakers led 75-72 when Bryant re-entered the game after a rest with 6:57 left. That's when things got interesting between him and Artest, the fiery forward who's one of Houston's top 1-on-1 defenders.

Only seconds after Bryant came in, Artest and Bryant faced off and exchanged words before referee Gary Zielinski quickly stepped in to separate them. Both stars got technical fouls before Wafer sank a 3-pointer to tie it at 76.

Artest and Bryant continued to shove each other as Luke Walton hit a jumper to give the Lakers the lead. Later, Bryant stripped the ball from Artest, but then missed a jumper with Artest defending.

Bryant got the final word.

He drove inside and converted a three-point play, then swished a 3-pointer after Artest tried to make a steal. That put the Lakers up 85-80 and Bryant held his follow-through and glared at the crowd before trotting down the court.

Aaron Brooks swished a 3-pointer, got fouled by Derek Fisher and hit the free throw before Artest stole the ball from Bryant and Wafer scored again to give the Rockets a brief lead.

But Bryant then drove past Yao Ming for a layup, then hit a tough fadeaway over Artest to put the Lakers up 92-86. After the second basket, Bryant gave a finger-wag to the Rockets' bench - seeming to mock Houston center Dikembe Mutombo's signature gesture after a blocked shot.

Bryant put away the game when he leaned into Shane Battier and hit an off-balance jumper with 38.5 seconds left. Battier was called for a foul and Bryant hit the free throw for a 95-88 lead.

Bryant and Artest continued to jaw at each other down to the final buzzer, even with the outcome already decided.

Artest went 4-for-16 from the field and scored 11. Yao also struggled, scoring 16, but giving away four of Houston's season-high 23 turnovers.

The Lakers broke a 24-all tie with 10-3 burst in the second quarter. The Rockets, averaging only 14 turnovers per game, coughed up 10 in the first 15 minutes.

Yao went to the bench for a rest with 8:50 left in the first half, and the Rockets mounted a 14-0 run.

Trevor Ariza's jumper with 3:54 left in the half ended the Lakers' 5-minute scoring drought. Artest hit a pull-up jumper and Wafer swished a 3-pointer before Yao returned with 2:12 remaining in the half.

Artest drove for a layup, drew contact and converted the three-point play to give the Rockets a 51-40 halftime lead, Houston's biggest to that point.

Bryant had only six points and two turnovers in the first half.

Notes: The teams shot a combined 7-for-39 from 3-point range. ... The Lakers scored 16 points in the second quarter, a season low. ... Before the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson called Odom's suspension "unfortunate, but probably warranted.'' ... The Rockets went 13-for-15 from the free throw line after going 20-for-35 (a season-low 57 percent) in Monday's 97-95 win in Denver.

A month ago, the Houston Rockets were dealt a severe blow as Tracy McGrady was ruled out for the season. That knee injury, however, hasn't slowed Houston at all, and Ron Artest is a big reason why.

The Rockets hope their "team" mentality - and a return home - can help them improve to 12-2 since losing the seven-time All-Star when they host the slumping Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

McGrady underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee last month after chronic pain caused him to miss 17 of the first 52 games. The Rockets (42-23) managed to win 11 of those contests without the swingman, and they've already matched that total since he last played in a 124-112 loss at Milwaukee on Feb. 9.

Houston won its third straight Monday, 97-95 at Denver behind 22 points from Artest.

"We're going to win together or lose together," Artest said. "I'm not winning this thing by myself. (Yao Ming's) not going to win by himself. You're either going to win with your team or lose with your team. It took a lot of years to understand that. But that's how it's going to be."

Artest has been instrumental in spurring the Rockets' impressive run, averaging a team-high 20.4 points while shooting 48.5 percent in starting all 13 games for McGrady. Prior to the stretch, Artest averaged 15.8 points on 38.4 percent from the floor in 39 games.

The Rockets, second in the Southwest Division and third in the Western Conference, hope the veteran swingman can continue his hot play as they look to extend their season-high home winning streak to 13 in a timely meeting with the NBA-leading Lakers (50-13).

Houston, though, has dropped both of this season's matchups against Los Angeles, including 105-100 at the Toyota Center on Jan. 13. Artest missed that game with a sprained right ankle.

The Lakers have dropped three of their last five with all of those defeats coming as the visitor. They seek to avoid a season-high fourth straight loss away from home after scoring a season-low 38 first-half points in Monday's 111-94 defeat at Portland.

"We have to respect our opponent and play them like they're Boston or Cleveland," forward Lamar Odom said. "They play us like we're a tough team, or one of the best teams in the league, so why not play against every team like that? It would be smart for us to do."

Despite their recent troubles, the Lakers lead the conference with a 21-9 road record.

Kobe Bryant, one of the league's top scorers with 28.0 points per game, is looking to rebound from a sub-par shooting performance. He went 11-for-29 (37.9 percent) and scored 26 against the Trail Blazers after averaging 34.2 points on 48.7 percent shooting over the previous three games.

Bryant's averaging 34.7 points over the last six games against the Rockets.