Lakers Charge Right Past Rockets, 106-90

Things looked awfully Bullish for the Lakers at the Great Western Forum on Sunday, and not just because Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and, of course, Dennis Rodman were in the house.

Bullish, because the ground shook when the fastbreak cranked up and the lanes were filled with purple and gold.

Bullish, because the Lakers had open shooters everywhere, because most of their shots actually went into the basket, and because their defense was dynamic.

Bullish, because, after their 106-90 victory over the Houston Rockets before 17,505 on Sunday, you could, for the first time this season, imagine the Lakers possibly making a championship run.

“This is my house,” said Shaquille O’Neal, when asked if Sunday felt like a Bulls’ reunion. “That was last year. This is a new year.”

And, by the looks of it, this is a very new Laker team from the one that coughed and stumbled to a 6-6 start, fired Del Harris, and since has won three consecutive games.

“We were tired of messing around,” said O’Neal, who led the team with 22 points--but has averaged only 20 points (well below his average) during the team’s three-game winning streak. “It was time to do something.”

The first version of the Lakers lost three in a row on Sunday--to Utah, Indiana and Seattle--providing NBC with its most consistent losing lineup since “Silver Spoons” and “Diff’rent Strokes.”

Ignited either by Harris’ firing, by the signing of Rodman, by a players-only meeting after losing in Vancouver last Tuesday, or by all of those things, this version met the Rockets--led by Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Pippen--head on.

The Lakers made 54.8% of their shots (their second-best shooting performance of the season), physically manhandled the Rockets on the post, and got a breakout performance from forward Rick Fox, who did not play in the first half, then made all seven of his shots, including an incendiary five for five from three-point distance.

Coach Kurt Rambis originally moved Robert Horry into Fox’s usual backup spot because he thought Horry would match up better defensively against Pippen (who had 16 points and eight assists). But Rambis went to Fox early in the third, on a “gut feeling” that Fox’s offense might be ready to percolate.

“I don’t know if there was any logic to any of it, it was just a feeling that I needed a punch from Rick scoring,” Rambis said.

With Fox in the game, the Lakers turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead within three minutes.

Then Fox started making three-pointers, and the lead was in double-digits by the time the fourth quarter was half over.

While Fox lit it up in the second half and Derek Fisher played smoothly at the point, Rambis sat Eddie Jones and Derek Harper for a long stretch.

“I wanted to explain to Eddie and Derek Harper, I mean, ‘Hey, I hope you guys understand, the guys are on a roll out there, so I’m just going to leave them in,’ ” Rambis said.

“And they were, ‘Oh, absolutely! That’s the right thing to do. Just let them go.’ And that type of attitude is going to go a long way.”

Fox, who started all 82 games last season but has had his playing time and effectiveness shredded this season by sore feet and the rise of Kobe Bryant, scored 21 points in only 19 minutes.

“You know, your actions are going to speak louder than anything else you do,” said Fox, who pumped his fist emotionally after his second three-pointer.

“[The fist-pump] was an expression of, ‘Yeah, I was able to get something.’ ”

Said Jones: “We’ve totally changed our style. We’ve gone from being a selfish team to a team that sacrifices and is unselfish. . . .

“If a guy’s going good, I don’t mind sitting on the bench. You know, I think it’s right. It’s an unselfish thing to do if a guy sees that one of his teammates is playing really well. If he gets tired, then I’ll go in.

“I think it brings team cohesiveness, more than anything, to have guys sacrificing for each other.”

Rodman, for his part, got into the game midway through the first quarter, battled ferociously against Barkley--activated for the game off the injured list--scored his first two points as a Laker (on free throws) and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.

“I’m happy with everything that Dennis has brought to us and the things that he’s doing,” said Rambis, now 2-0 as an NBA head coach. “He’s doing exactly what we thought he could do, everything he had been doing throughout his career.”

More than the coaching change or the Rodman addition, Jones points to the meeting, called by Harper after the Lakers’ third loss in three games, as the team’s emotional turning point.

“I think the meeting that we had in Vancouver was really big for us, to break out all of the demons that we had, and to make the record straight on what we needed to do,” Jones said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Sudden Impact

Comparing Rodman to what Lakers received from others at power forward position: vs. ROCKETS *--*

Rodman Category Others 26 Minutes 22 10 Rebounds 5 2 Assists 1 2 Points 7

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vs. CLIPPERS *--*

Rodman Category Others 26 Minutes 22 11 Rebounds 5 6 Assists 2 0 Points 6

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OVERALL *--*

Rodman Category Others 52 Minutes 44 21 Rebounds 10 8 Assists 3 2 Points 13

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