NBA: Houston 76, L.A. Lakers 74

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Tracy McGrady's layup with less than a second left lifted the shorthanded Houston Rockets to a 76-74 victory over the home-court Los Angeles Lakers.

McGrady scored 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds for Houston, while David Wesley added 18 points and Luther Head scored 16 for the Rockets, who have won six of their last seven games.

Juwan Howard had 10 points for Houston, which played without injured center Yao Ming, out with a sore toe. Also missing were injured guards Jon Barry, Rafer Alston, Bob Sura and Derek Anderson.

Kobe Bryant had 24 points and six assists to pace the Lakers, who had a three-game winning streak broken. Lamar Odom, who came into the game averaging 15.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists, ended with three points, seven rebounds and five turnovers on just 1-of-5 shooting.