Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers would like to wash the taste of Sunday's 99-90 loss to the Denver Nuggets out of their mouths as quickly as possible, and look to rebound with a home game Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets at Staples Center. Here are the relevant details of Tuesday night's game:
Records: Lakers (3-3); Rockets (2-2)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Staples Center, downtown Los Angeles
TV: Fox Sports West, with Bill Macdonald and Stu Lantz on the call
Offensive Rating: Rockets 106.2 points per 100 possessions (10th in NBA); Lakers 102.2 (17th in NBA)
Defensive Rating: Lakers 97.4 (sixth in NBA); Rockets 105.7 (20th in NBA)
Welcome Back, Drew: Lakers center Andrew Bynum has been awesome in his return from suspension, with two double-doubles in his two games. Bynum has made two-thirds of his field goal attempts, and has averaged 23.5 points and 14.5 rebounds so far.
Laying Bricks: Kobe Bryant made just six of 28 field goals in Sunday's loss, making him the only Laker in the last 27 years to miss more than 20 shots in a game. Bryant has made 12 of 46 field goals in his last two games (26.1%), including just one of 13 from three-point range. Kobe has made just five of 26 three-pointers (19.2%) so far this season.
Leading Scorers: Kobe, Lakers (24.0 points per game, sixth in the NBA); Kevin Martin, Rockets (19.3 ppg)
Leading Rebounders: Since Bynum has played just two games, we'll count Pau Gasol here (8.7 boards per game); Jordan Hill, Rockets (8.3 rpg)
Leading Assist Men: Kobe, Lakers (6.0 assists per game); Kyle Lowry, Rockets (11.5 apg, first in the NBA)
Series History: The Lakers have won their season series with the Rockets in each of the last three years, and have beaten Houston in eight of their last 10 meetings.
Road Woes: The Rockets are 2-0 at home this season, but 0-2 on the road. They are in town for two games in two nights, as they will battle the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night at Staples Center.
Tuesday's 7:30 p.m. PST game will be televised by Fox Sports West. For more Lakers basketball news and information, be sure to read Silver Screen and Roll.