HOUSTON -- It was audacious of rookie Kyle Kuzma to compare his career-high scoring performance against the top team in the league to his summer-league exploits, but for the Los Angeles Lakers to accomplish what they did on Wednesday night, brazen self-confidence was required.

With the hot-shooting Kuzma leading the charge, the Lakers blitzed the Houston Rockets early and then survived a midgame rally in a 122-116 upset victory at Toyota Center.

Houston (25-5) had its 14-game winning streak snapped despite guard James Harden pouring in 51 points and adding nine assists.

The Rockets also lost for the first time (15-1) with guard Chris Paul in their lineup. Paul departed early in the fourth quarter with a sore left leg and did not return after posting eight points, five assists and five rebounds over 25 minutes.

The Lakers (11-18) snapped their three-game skid by torching Houston's defense, with Kuzma scored 24 of his 38 points in the first half on 9-for-9 shooting.

Los Angeles shot 47.1 percent (40 of 85) overall, and after entering play dead last in the NBA in 3-point accuracy (32.3 percent), drilled 15 of 35 attempts from behind the arc to keep the Rockets on their heels.

"I scored 30 in the summer league," Kuzma said matter-of-factly. "This is a better team but the same mentality. I've got the same mentality every time I step on the court: play my hardest and just be locked in."

The Lakers, playing without starters Brook Lopez (ankle) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (personal reasons), produced six double-digit scorers, with reserve forward Corey Brewer tallying a season-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Brewer, who maintains a home in Houston, was shipped by the Rockets to Los Angeles at the trading deadline last February.

Brewer ignited the decisive run with a driving layup at the 7:04 mark of the fourth quarter, beating Rockets forward P.J. Tucker to the rim to snap a 100-100 deadlock. The Lakers stretched the lead to 10 points before the Rockets could muster an insufficient reply.

Rookie guard Lonzo Ball added 16 points and nine rebounds while Larry Nance Jr. and Brandon Ingram scored 13 apiece for the Lakers. Following a series of close losses, the Lakers did not wilt when the Rockets turned a 10-2 run into a 78-75 lead with 5:00 left in the third.

Ball hit a corner 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and Kuzma added his seventh trey some two minutes later to push the margin back to four. When Paul hit a 3-pointer with 1:11 to play in the third, the Lakers answered again, this time stringing together eight consecutive points for a 97-89 lead.

"Our guys haven't lost faith or work ethic in what we're doing even though we've been losing games," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "They've been coming into practice just as hard, just as hungry, just as motivated, and we've been getting better."

Eric Gordon added 21 points and Trevor Ariza 18 for the Rockets, who endured their first loss in 20 games when recording 15-plus 3-pointers. Houston shot 17 of 42 from behind the arc.

Kuzma was incendiary in the opening period, scoring 16 points while hitting 4 of 4 treys. Houston struggled to keep pace, and when the Lakers closed the period on a 14-2 run, the Rockets trailed 37-22 entering the second. The deficit swelled to 22 soon thereafter.

In Brewer, the Lakers found a to complement to Kuzma. But after the Lakers stretched their lead to 48-26, Harden re-entered the game and came alive, scoring 15 of the next 17 points for Houston before assisting on a corner 3-pointer by Tucker that sliced the deficit to 56-46.

Harden added nine additional points down the stretch of the half, upping his total to 24 in the period and 30 in the half. He was largely responsible for the Lakers' margin shrinking to 63-59 at the intermission, but his individual heroics offered the Rockets little aid on the defensive end.

"Give them credit: They made plays, they made shots, they put the pressure on us and they brought the fight to us early from the gate," Tucker said.

Said Harden: "No matter who you're playing, you can't get down 22, whether you're at home or on the road."

NOTES: With 51 points, Rockets G James Harden passed Elvin Hayes (11,762) for fourth place in franchise history. Harden has scored 11,781 points over 425 games with Houston. ... Lakers coach Luke Walton inserted veteran C Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup to replace Brook Lopez (ankle). Bogut scored two points in 17 minutes. With Lopez slated to miss at least three weeks, Walton will tweak his starting lineup based largely on matchups. ... Rockets C Clint Capela sat for the second time in three games due to a left heel contusion. Veteran C Nene started in place of Capela and scored four points.