Kobe Bryant scores 40 to lead Lakers to volatile 111-98 victory over Rockets, tying series 1-1

Kobe’s 40 helps Lakers top Rockets in testy Game 2

LOS ANGELES — Two ejections. A handful of technical fouls. One bloody cut on Derek Fisher’s shaved head. Oh yeah, the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets actually played some basketball, too.

Kobe Bryant scored 40 points, Pau Gasol added 22 points and 14 rebounds and Los Angeles won a rough-and-tumble Game 2 111-98 on Wednesday night to even the Western Conference semifinal series.

“It was a good physical game. The intensity is elevated because a lot is at stake,” Bryant said. “It’s good for us.”

Ron Artest, one of two players ejected in the game, scored 25 points and Carl Landry added a career playoff-high 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who overcame a 14-point deficit in the first half only to trail most of the second.

The series resumes Friday in Houston.

Emotions boiled over in the second half, with Fisher and Artest getting ejected and technical fouls assessed to Bryant, Artest, Luis Scola, Luke Walton and Lamar Odom, who had 11 rebounds.

“It’s the playoffs,” Bryant said, “this is what it’s about.”

Artest was sent off the court by referee Joe Crawford with 6:57 remaining in the game after he pointed across the court at Bryant and made a gesture near his throat. Artest complained that he was elbowed in the throat by Bryant under the basket.

“We are playing basketball, there is a lot of contact taking place,” Bryant said. “If you are going to be physical you have to expect to get physical back.”

But Bryant didn’t think Artest deserved to be ejected for what he called “good playoff basketball.”

Neither did Artest.

“I knew I was going to get a technical foul. The point was to let the refs know this guy was elbowing me,” he said. “I know I went over there with no punches, no shoves to the face, just a confrontation. I’m not retaliating, I’m done with that.”

In the final 30 seconds of the third quarter, Scola, Odom and Walton all were hit with technicals after they jawed at the Lakers’ end of the court.

“Lamar went to the hole and he’d come down. Scola was tugging his jersey even more to pull him down,” Fisher said. “That’s why Luke and I stepped in.”

Moments later, Fisher was called for a flagrant foul when he collided with Scola, who was setting a pick, as the Rockets brought the ball up the court.

Scola fell to the court and Fisher received a bloody cut on his head near his right ear. Scola made both free throws and Houston retained possession.

Fisher said he wasn’t retaliating for the earlier incident.

“I knew they were going to run a high screen roll and we had a foul to give,” he said. “My intent was to run through the pick hard. I don’t agree with an ejection, but I understand Joe’s position and wanting to get the game under control. Hopefully there won’t be any suspensions involved.”

There was sideline drama, too. Houston’s Von Wafer was escorted to the locker room at the end of the third quarter after he was seen exchanging words with coach Rick Adelman.

“That’s a team situation,” Adelman said.

Houston’s Yao Ming finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds after picking up three fouls in the first half.

“We fight back,” Yao said. “Everybody played very physical and try to control the tempo.”

In between the whistles and walkoffs, there was basketball.

The Lakers opened the fourth quarter on a 13-9 run that pushed their lead to 99-86. The Rockets closed to 99-90 on a 3-pointer by Aaron Brooks, but Bryant scored five straight points and Houston didn’t threaten again.

At Boston, Rajon Rondo had 15 points, 18 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the playoffs, and Eddie House scored a career high-shattering 31 points as the Celtics evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series at a game apiece.

Dwight Howard had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Rashard Lewis had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who stole Game 1 and home-court advantage on Monday night despite blowing almost all of a 28-point lead.

Rondo had 12 assists without a turnover at the half and finished one short of his career high. The only time the 6-1 point guard has had more than 18 assists was the triple-overtime Game 6 of the first-round series against Chicago in which he played 57½ minutes.

Ray Allen scored 22 points and Kendrick Perkins had 16 points and nine rebounds for the defending NBA champions.

Game 3 is Friday night in Orlando.