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Inactives
Lakers: Pau Gasol
Houston: Chase Budinger, Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady

Starters
Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum
Thunder: Aaron Brooks, Trevor Ariza, Shane Battier, Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes

Phil Jackson Pregame
Jackson offered good news on Gasol: that the Spaniard would likely go through Thursday's limited practice (practices are always shorter after back-to-backs) and is a possibility to play on Friday. Even if he doesn't, it's clear that Gasol (hamstring) has improved considerably. Jackson reiterated his thought from last night that it was important for L.A. to get contributions from the bench tonight, as he didn't want his starters playing too many more than 35 minutes.

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First Quarter
9:11 In Games 4 and 5 of L.A.’s Western Conference Semis matchup with Houston, the Rockets barely seemed to miss from the field, and so it was at the start of the game with three consecutive buckets. L.A. was scoring too, however, including six points from Bryant that made it 9-8 Rockets. It was no surprise that off the ball, there wasn’t any love lost between the two teams (it wasn’t exactly a Royal Rumble, but there was some jostling to say the least, including matching technicals for Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza).

5:18 After Bynum missed a wide-open layup and the Lakers failed to get to Shane Battier in transition (resulting in a made triple), a “Wait-you-have-to-be-kidding” expression popped onto Phil Jackson’s face, and a timeout ensued. Jackson looked like Pedro Martinez after Hideki Matsui launched a two run bomb off him around the same time at Yankee Stadium.

1:12 The all-to-easy storyline in this game was how Artest looked in purple and gold, and Ariza in red and white. In Round 1 at least, the first quarter, Artest draped himself to Ariza to the tune of 1-for-5 shooting from Trevor, while scoring five points himself. Meanwhile, L.A. got some nice minutes from bench players Josh Powell, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic, closing the quarter on a 12-6 run to tie the score when Powell hit a triple. J-Peezy dropped his first triple last season in Game 1 of the NBA Finals (you know, to get L.A. to 100 points? Remember?), and if both he and Lamar Odom are burying threes it’s a little egregious.

Second Quarter
8:42 Jackson, perhaps looking to spark the second unit further, had taken Bryant out to end the first quarter and put him in with Bynum and three subs – Powell, Brown and Farmar – to open the second. It worked, as L.A. opened a 31-25 lead after Brown’s reverse layup. Brown only hung in the air for nine seconds before dropping in the shot (less than his average).

6:56 After opening the quarter strong, the Lakers relaxed a bit and Houston took advantage, reeling off eight quick points to grab the lead back. “Happy,” “enthused” and “satisfied” were not words to describe Jackson’s demeanor at that juncture.

3:47 It’s almost impossible for the Lakers to get too lethargic with Bryant on the floor. Case in point: with ball movement lacking on offense, Bryant charged inside after a miss, grabbed the offensive board and stuck it back in to bring the Lakers within three after Houston extended its lead to five. Though the Lakers seemed in control of the game when they wanted to be, Houston stuck around with pure effort, even taking a four-point lead into the half behind three offensive boards and putbacks from Carl Landry, who led the Rockets with 14 points in the second quarter alone.

Third Quarter
10:45 Artest hit his second three of the game (only the third for the Lakers) as he continues to improve from beyond the arc after a slow start to the season. Last year, he was a 40 percent shooter from distance. In unrelated news, Artest told me his favorite wrestler is the Ultimate Warrior, an opinion I fully endorse. Flair was the best, but Warrior my favorite.

5:11 Aaron Brooks’ second three of the quarter gave Houston a five-point lead before Bryant’s turnaround J gave him a game-high 21 points. Much like the first half, L.A. looked great on certain possessions and disinterested on others. Meanwhile, I realized that Derek Fisher’s arms are twice as big as those of Brooks. Literally.

2:00 Luke Walton hit a jumper after Jordan Farmar nailed his first shot attempt, an open three, to put L.A. up by two for the first time in the period. However, Ariza hit his first three of the game (he had missed his first five) to put the Rockets back on top.

Fourth Quarter
8:25 Artest easily backed Landry under the hoop before turning to make a layup, getting the Lakers to within three after Houston had jumped to a seven-point lead. On the previous possession, Bynum had scored in the paint to reach a 14-point, 12-board double-double, not to mention five assists to match his career high.

4:08 Bynum continued to do good work on the glass, grabbing his 14th board to send L.A. the other way, as Bryant scored his 29th point to bring the Lakers within one. Still, the Lakers were like a pitcher with only a fastball, not able to hold on at the other end as Chuck Hayes snuck back door for a layup.

0:30.0 Wow. A huge story line in just one play, as Artest pulled up from the top of the key to nail a triple after Houston tried to close in on Bryant. That broke a tie and put L.A. up 92-89. But on the ensuing play, who else but Ariza, who was effectively swapped for Artest, to hit a triple at the other end to tie the game. It was only Ariza’s fifth field goal in 18 attempts, but the shot was all net. It had come with 14 seconds left, allowing the Lakers the last shot, but Bryant lost the ball out of bounds (Lakers kept possession) when Ariza was joined by Landry in a double-team, and L.A. didn’t get a shot off after inbounding with 0.09 left. Translation? Overtime.

Overtime
1:30 Bryant wasn’t missing much late in the game, scoring again over Battier on back-to-back possessions to get to a game-high 41 points after he added the and-1 free throw on the second jumper. Mamba mode.

0:00.9 Derek Fisher, who hadn’t scored a point all game, stripped Trevor Ariza to seal a one-point lead for the Lakers that had been obtained when Bynum sunk 1-of-2 free throws. For the second-straight night, an OT win for L.A.

POSTGAME NUMBERS
A numerical summary of the contest:

5 Assists for Andrew Bynum, matching the career high he set against Denver in November of 2008. Bynum was also terrific on the glass with 17 boards, and hit the game-winning free throw.

6 Rockets in double figures, including each starter and sub Carl Landry. Artest, Odom, Bynum and Bryant each hit double digits for L.A., while Josh Powell scored seven points in nearly 12 minutes off the bench.

9 Turnovers for the game the Lakers, just a tad better than 26 against Oklahoma City.

16 Shots missed by Trevor Ariza, to five makes as L.A. forced him to put the ball on the floor – a weakness – for the majority of the game.

37.5 L.A.’s first half shooting percentage, helping the Rockets keep a 48-44 lead.

98 Times Kobe Bryant has scored at least 40 points in a game, after another 41 on this evening. He had hit No. 97 on Sunday against Atlanta.