James Harden outduels Lakers' Kobe Bryant in Rockets' win

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The details have changed along with so much about the Rockets season, but for a few fun minutes, this was the stuff of James Harden's childhood imagination.

He and Kobe Bryant exchanging drives and 3-pointers, a game on the line and in their hands with a duel few others could ever hope to approximate.

The Rockets would have preferred the day not come to that, but with the Lakers hanging around and Bryant reaching back to glory days sharpshooting, Harden had to answer.

He did in ways even Bryant could appreciate, pouring in 16 of his 40 points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter to drive the Rockets to a 130-110 romp, and keeping the Rockets' slim playoff hopes alive as they head to Minneapolis for the second half of a back-to-back.

When the day ended, the Rockets took turns bidding Bryant farewell, first his former Lakers teammate Trevor Ariza, then longtime Rockets trainer Keith Jones followed by consultant Clifford Ray, guard Pat Beverley and finally Harden. Bryant put Harden in a headlock, then a hug before he left. Even then, he stopped again, embracing Hakeem Olajuwon as he left the floor in Houston for the last time.

He left appropriately, with a show-stopping 35 points, his fifth 30-point game of the season and his second-highest point total of the season.

Houston Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas left, collides with Los Angeles Lakers center Roy Hibbert during the second half of NBA game action at the Toyota Center Sunday, April 10, 2016, in Pearland. Houston Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas left, collides with Los Angeles Lakers center Roy Hibbert during the second half of NBA game action at the Toyota Center Sunday, April 10, 2016, in Pearland. Photo: James Nielsen, Houston Chronicle Photo: James Nielsen, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 66 Caption Close James Harden outduels Lakers' Kobe Bryant in Rockets' win 1 / 66 Back to Gallery

Along the way, fans cheered Bryant's name and roared their approval with every one move he made with more cell phone cameras clicking than at a Kardashian family reunion.

Until Harden, Beverley and Ariza rolled through the fourth quarter, the Rockets had struggled to get any distance between themselves and the Lakers.

If not for the screams of Lakers fans whenever Bryant so much as touched the ball, the first half would have looked typical of two lottery teams playing out the string.

The Rockets scored a bit when their starters were on the floor and led by as much as seven, but they did nothing – especially defend – with any intensity.

Once Bryant took a seat to start the second quarter, the Rockets showed no signs of any intensity. They took early 3s as if casually warming up for a practice. They left loose balls on the floor like pennies dropped on the men's room floor.

Josh Smith came off the bench for a second-consecutive game (after sitting out 15 of his previous 16 – to drop in a pair of 3s. But the rest of the Rockets made 1 of 8 3-pointers in the quarter, many taken as if they were the easiest choice.

Even when the Rockets did seem to focus on the task at hand in the third quarter, opening up a 12-point lead, they were not defending well enough to pull safely away.

Bryant had plenty to do with that. When the Rockets took their first 12-point lead, he tore through a 9-0 run. When the Rockets led by eight late in the third, Bryant hit a turnaround jumper in the lane and ended the quarter with a step-back 3 off the dribble, holding his pose as the Lakers fans that had been conspicuous from the time the doors opened began their "Kobe" chant.

The Rockets finally pulled away when Harden began the fourth quarter on a roll that Bryant could appreciate.