BRYANT, COOK ARE DYNAMIC DUO THEY COMBINE FOR 59 POINTS PUT END TO FOUR-GAME LOSING STREAK LAKERS 89, HOUSTON 78.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

HOUSTON - It is not a formula for victory, expecting Kobe Bryant to play 48 minutes if necessary and Brian Cook to hit most every shot he takes, but the Lakers had to have it Wednesday night.

At the end of a season-long seven-game trip, after four consecutive double-digit losses, the Lakers rode Bryant and Cook to an 89-78 victory over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.

Bryant finished with 32 points and matched a season-high with nine assists in 45:15 of playing time and Cook had his second high-scoring game with 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting to salvage something from this trip before heading home.

The Lakers blew an 11-point halftime lead, then recovered as Bryant hit five straight shots in the third quarter over David Wesley, and pulled away late over a Rockets team that had won four in a row.

It took the Lakers seven games to find a player capable of knocking down open shots with Bryant double-teamed. But Cook appears to be it, following his career-high 28-point game at Dallas with another big night Wednesday.

Cook also had a season-best 10 rebounds, making a compelling case to stay in the starting lineup, as the Lakers outrebounded the Rockets 48-40. Cook is averaging 11.6 points and shooting 56.3 percent in the 20 games he has started this season.

Bryant and Cook have played well off each other the last two games and slapped hands at midcourt with 7 1/2 minutes left after Cook drilled a long 3-pointer off a pass from Bryant.

The Lakers had to have a victory, and so Lakers coach Phil Jackson played Bryant every second of the first three quarters. He went to the bench for 50 seconds at the start of the fourth quarter before returning. Bryant finally departed with 1:57 left.

Bryant went 13 of 29 from the field, tied a career-high with six steals and had zero turnovers on what was a turnover-filled trip for the Lakers.

The Lakers did a good job defensively in holding Bryant's All-Star counterpart, Tracy McGrady, to 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting. Rafer Alston led the Rockets with 16 points and Yao Ming totaled 14 point and 13 rebounds.

With the Lakers leading by 16 points, forward Ronny Turiaf checked in with 1:01 left and made his NBA debut seven months after undergoing heart surgery. Turiaf missed a bank shot from the right side, the only shot he took.

The Lakers (25-24) sit in eighth place in the Western Conference standings but have the schedule in their favor the rest of the season. They will play 21 of their last 33 games at Staples Center, including their final five of April.

Even so, this trip was a disaster, one of the worst in franchise history. Lamar Odom suffered a rib injury and Chris Mihm was lost to a sprained shoulder. The Lakers trailed from start to finish in losses to Charlotte and New Orleans.

After not taking advantage of a matchup against Wesley the first time the Lakers and Rockets played, Bryant did just that in the third quarter Wednesday, hitting one turnaround jumper after another over the Rockets' 6-foot-1 guard. Bryant hit five consecutive shots for the Lakers and scored 10 straight points as the Lakers went ahead 65-57.

Jackson also shortened his rotation considerably, playing Sasha Vujacic just 10 minutes and Luke Walton three minutes. Vujacic and Walton were part of Jackson's ill-fated substitution during a decisive third-quarter fun the night before in Dallas.

Cook came out firing from the very beginning, knocking down a 21-footer on the first play of the game, and went on to hit 5 of 8 shots in the first quarter on the way to 11 points.

After finishing scoreless in 14 minutes against the Mavericks, Kwame Brown might have been playing to stay in the starting lineup Wednesday. He still could wind up back on the bench the way Cook has been shooting.

Brown picked up a foul against Yao in the opening minute but stayed in the game and showed signs of life. He took a behind-the-back pass from Bryant on the break in the second quarter and threw down a ferocious dunk while being pushed from behind.

Brown converted the three-point play and had another big follow-up slam later in the quarter. He also got in Houston forward Juwan Howard's face after taking a spill in the first half, with both players drawing technical fouls.

He finished with 7 points on 3-of-7 shooting and four rebounds in 34 minutes.

As bad as the Lakers were on this trip, the Rockets have been worse at home all season. Their record at Toyota Center now stands at 6-16. One writer joked before the game that the Lakers would have ``road court advantage'' coming to Houston.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Lakers' Kobe Bryant drives past Houston's Tracy McGrady, left.

Jessica Kourkounis/Associated Press

(2) Lakers' forward Brian Cook had 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting on Wednesday against the Rockets in his second consecutive strong performance.

Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images