Steve Blake 3-point Gamewinner @ Houston

THE FACT: The Los Angeles Lakers snapped a four-game slide at Toyota Center in their reunion with center Dwight Howard and his new team, the Houston Rockets.
THE LEAD: The Lakers can thank Howard's poor free-throw shooting and Steve Blake's deadly aim from the perimeter for their first road victory of the season.
Howard shot 5-for-16 at the charity stripe, including 1-for-6 over the final 2:30 of regulation, and Blake buried a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to lift L.A. to a 99-98 win over Houston on Thursday at Toyota Center.
The Lakers (3-3) overcame a 35-point barrage from Rockets guard James Harden with a balanced attack, as six players scored in double figures. Jodie Meeks led L.A. with 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting, while Blake added 14 points. Wes Johnson netted 16 points, grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots off the bench.
In addition to Harden's high-scoring effort, Howard recorded a double-double of 15 points and 14 boards for Houston (4-2). Chandler Parsons connected on 6 of 11 shot attempts for 16 points, while Jeremy Lin chipped in with 16 points, three assists and three steals. In the end, however, Howard's brick fest at the foul line and the Rockets' lackluster perimeter defense let them down when it mattered most.
QUOTABLE: "Well, originally, I think Steve [Blake] was going to set a pick for me, but I noticed my guy wasn't going to leave me so I could set Steve up for an easy shot. I just tried to set a double screen, and use my man to set a double screen on his guy. ... I saw him come off [the screen] wide open, he got his feet set, and I was like, 'This has got a chance.'"
-- Lakers guard Steve Nash on Blake's game-winner
THE STAT: Including Harden's inspired effort Thursday, the last three shooting guards the Lakers have faced have totaled 87 points (29.0 ppg) on 28-for-48 (58.3 percent) shooting.
QUOTABLE II: "Our free throws were terrible. We just have to keep working. It was terrible tonight."
-- Howard on the Rockets' 63.5-percent performance at the foul line.
TURNING POINT: Johnson out-hustled Harden and Howard for an offensive rebound, and his putback gave the Lakers a 91-88 lead with 4:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. Harden came up with a quick response, pushing the ball up the floor before stopping behind the 3-point line and nailing a shot that knotted the game at 91. Houston continued its surge from there, holding L.A. scoreless over its next six possessions while grabbing a 97-91 advantage with 2:30 to play. The reeling Lakers then employed the "Hack-a-Howard" tactic to remain within striking distance, as the 6-foot-10 big man missed five of his next six attempts at the charity stripe to allow the Lakers to close the gap to 98-96. After L.A. made a pair of crucial defensive stops to keep its deficit at two points, Blake sprung free and drilled a 3-pointer to put the Lakers ahead 99-98 with 1.3 seconds to go. Patrick Beverley's desperation heave at the buzzer did not come close to falling in the hoop, and L.A. escaped with a confidence-boosting victory.
QUOTABLE III: "I think [the Hack-a-Howard] went real well because it took Harden out of the game. ... I thought the tide had turned, and Harden's tough to guard one-on-one. I'd rather have Dwight there instead of Harden."
-- Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni on the thinking behind intentionally fouling Howard in crunch time.
HOT: L.A. took advantage of Houston's sluggish rotations and poor perimeter defense in general during the opening half, knocking down 11 of 14 (78.6 percent) attempts from behind the arc. Five different Lakers got on the scoreboard from long distance before halftime, with Blake, Johnson, Meeks and Nash each connecting on multiple treys.
NOT: L.A. forward Pau Gasol never found his touch, finishing with only two points on 1-for-10 (10.0 percent) shooting from the field.
GOOD MOVE: D'Antoni made two changes to his starting five, inserting Chris Kaman and Nick Young in for Shawne Williams and Xavier Henry. The swap definitely had a positive effect in the early going, when the Rockets were content to launch jumpers rather than drive toward Gasol and Kaman on the interior. After limiting Houston to 2-for-13 shooting over the opening seven-and-half minutes, the Lakers built a 17-6 lead.
BAD MOVE: D'Antoni said before the game that his team had to keep Harden in front of them to limit the Rockets' offensive production. Instead, apart from a brief stint of success in the first quarter, L.A. allowed Harden to roam through their defense for layups and trips to the foul line. Harden finished the contest with one more free-throw attempt than the entire Lakers roster.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers: Friday @ New Orleans, Sunday vs. Minnesota, Tuesday vs. New Orleans. For the Rockets: Saturday vs. L.A. Clippers, Monday vs. Toronto, Wednesday @ Philadelphia.