LAKERS' DEFENSE LAYS DOWN MCGRADY'S BASKET AT END HELPS ROCKETS PULL OUT THE VICTORY HOUSTON 76, LAKERS 74.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

They had taken so many steps forward over the past two weeks - enough to be considered the NBA's hottest team outside of San Antonio or Detroit - that the only question left for the Lakers by the end of Sunday night was just how things could go so wrong.

There was no shortage of fingers to be pointed after the Lakers blew a 12-point lead in the third quarter and watched as Tracy McGrady drove the lane for a layup with 0.3 seconds left to give the Houston Rockets a 76-74 victory at Staples Center.

But Lakers coach Phil Jackson had to single out Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown in particular, neither of whom stepped up to try to stop McGrady after he drove past Devean George on his way to the winning basket.

``We stood there and watched McGrady get a layup, which is inexcusable,'' Jackson said. ``No one came and no one made him make a pass. Our big guys failed us in that situation when they didn't plug the lane or block the shot.''

Just like that, the momentum the Lakers (13-11) had built in winning seven of their past eight games was gone. They lost Sunday to a Rockets team playing without Yao Ming, who flew home with a toe injury.

It came on a night when Odom finished with just three points on 1-of-5 shooting and five turnovers, with Jackson admitting afterward that he considered benching the 6-foot-10 forward for the entire fourth quarter.

But Jackson brought Odom back for the final minutes and watched as he finally broke through for a basket with 44.8 seconds left, driving past Juwan Howard and tossing in a hook shot as the Lakers closed to within two points, 74-72.

The Rockets put the ball in McGrady's hands at the other end but Brown cheated on their screen-and-roll, swiping the ball from McGrady at midcourt and taking it in for an electrifying two-hand slam with 19.4 seconds remaining to tie the score.

The ending, however, could not have been emptier. The Rockets elected not to call timeout - ``We were going to do the same thing after a timeout,'' coach Jeff Van Gundy said - and entrusted McGrady to win.

He put the ball behind his back and beat George down the left side of the lane. Neither Brown nor Odom stepped up to contest the shot, and McGrady flipped in the winner. Kobe Bryant, for one, was nearly appalled.

``It's disappointing because you can't give up a layup to win the game,'' Bryant said. ``Thirty-five feet from the basket, the guy just dribbles down the lane and lays the ball up. That just shouldn't happen.''

Smush Parker missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Rockets were left to celebrate a victory in which they scored just 11 points in the fourth quarter. They scored nearly half their points - 34 - in the third quarter.

Bryant finished with 24 points and six assists but took only 13 shots. Jackson said he would have liked for Bryant to get more shots when he was guarded by the 6-foot-1 David Wesley for much of the second half.

McGrady, meanwhile, led the Rockets with 20 points despite picking up his fourth foul not even three minutes into the third quarter.

Taking Yao away from the Rockets - who came into the game averaging 89.9 points and shooting 42.4 percent, both near the bottom of the league - was supposed to be like stealing bread from the starving.

There won't be a lot of sympathy between Jackson and Van Gundy, but the Lakers coach could commiserate about big men and bad big toes.

``We know what those can lead to,'' Jackson said, making reference to Shaquille O'Neal. ``Losses during the season. Championships that can't be repeated.''

The Lakers blew a 12-point lead in the third quarter as Van Gundy elected to keep McGrady on the floor with four fouls. The gamble paid off as the Rockets took off on a 15-0 run, outscored the Lakers 34-15 in the quarter and took a 65-57 lead into the fourth.

``I think we started feeling ourselves maybe a little bit,'' George said. ``We got up 12 and thought they were going to lay over before they went home. They caught us napping and the momentum shifted on their side and they started making shots and getting confident, and that was it.''

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Houston's Tracy McGrady drives past the Lakers' Kobe Bryant during the Rockets' win Sunday at Staples Center. McGrady led Houston with 20 points.

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images