LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Lakers may be without Kobe Bryant when they try to wrap up their first-round series with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at the Staples Center.
Bryant will be spending the day in court in Colorado for his rape trial hearing and will fly back to Los Angeles as soon as possible, but he may not be there by the start of the game.
In Game Four on Sunday, Karl Malone scored 30 points and Bryant scored six crucial points and made a critical steal in overtime as Los Angeles overcame a four-point deficit to edge Houston, 92-88.
Malone, whose high game during the regular season was 20 points, became the oldest player in NBA playoff history to score 30 points in a game.
Bryant finished with 18 points on 7-of-21 shooting in 50 minutes. Shaquille O'Neal had 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which opened a 3-1 lead over the Rockets.
Houston rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit and tied the game at 81-81 on a jumper by Steve Francis from the top of the key with 39 seconds left in regulation.
Francis scored 17 and Jimmy Jackson, Cuttino Mobley and Yao Ming added 16 apiece for the Rockets, who made only 4-of-22 3-pointers.
MEANINGFUL MATCHUP: Mobley vs. Bryant. Mobley has made Bryant work for everything and has held the star to 33.8 percent shooting. Still, Bryant is averaging 21 points, won Game Two with a 17-point third quarter and was clutch in overtime Sunday. Mobley needs to provide more offense. He scored 21 points in the Rockets' lone win, but has scored just 35 points on 15-of-43 shooting in the three losses. The southpaw is averaging 14 points, has shot only 36.5 percent and connected on 3-of-15 from the arc after shooting 39 percent on 3-pointers during the season.
WHO'S HOT:
Lakers: Since a 3-for-14 Game One nightmare in which he turned down open jumpers down the stretch, Malone has scored 65 points on 27-of-47 shooting in the last three games. The two-time league MVP is also averaging 11 boards. He and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only players over 40 to score 20 points in a half.
Rockets: Jackson, who set a career high with 20 rebounds, is quietly averaging a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds per game. His previous rebound high was 14 against Vancouver in 1995. He's played all but 17 minutes in this series.
WHO'S NOT:
Lakers: After connecting on all five 3-point attempts in the first three games and becoming the club's all-time leader in 3-pointers made during the playoffs, Derek Fisher went 0-for-7 from the floor on Sunday. He missed both free-throw attempts after making 42-of-63 in his previous 19 post-season games. ... O'Neal is 13-for-44 from the line.
Rockets: Mobley is averaging 6.6 fewer points in his eight career playoff games than his 436 regular-season games. Only Antawn Jamison and Joe Smith have a bigger dropoff in the playoffs. ... F Maurice Taylor had just six points and two rebounds in 26 minutes Sunday after scoring 16 points in 26 minutes in Game Three.
STREAKS: Phil Jackson is just one win away from improving to 14-0 in first-round series. ... Los Angeles is 28-0 all-time when leading a best-of-seven series 3-1. ...The Lakers have won an NBA-record 10 straight playoff games when they have had an opportunity to eliminate their opponent. The last team to stave off elimination against the Lakers was Indiana, who beat Los Angeles, 120-87, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Game Five of the 2000 NBA Finals. The 1994-97 Rockets rank second with nine wins.
SEASON SERIES AND HISTORY: The Lakers have now won six of the last eight games against the Rockets all time in the playoffs, improving to 15-12. One more win will give Los Angeles a 4-3 lead in series wins with Houston. The Lakers are 28-2 in all time in first-round series, with both losses coming to Houston (1981 and 1996).
INJURIES: Lakers: None. Rockets: None.
