LOS ANGELES -- A vintage third-quarter performance by Kobe Bryant failed to derail the Houston Rockets from rolling past the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

Guard James Harden had 25 points, six rebounds and six assists, leading the Rockets to a 107-87 romp over the Lakers at Staples Center.

"I think we were playing too stiff," said Harden of the team's recent performances. "We just had to relax a little bit, get some stops on the defensive end and just play our brand of basketball, and we did that tonight."

Center Dwight Howard, who was loudly booed again by Lakers fans still bitter over Howard's decision to spurn Los Angeles for Houston almost two years ago, scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds despite experiencing foul trouble throughout the contest.

Forward Terrence Jones had 13 of his 16 points in the second half, and forward Trevor Ariza and guard Patrick Beverley chipped in 13 apiece as the Rockets (13-14) ended a two-game slide.

Houston also defeated Los Angeles for the fifth consecutive time at Staples.

"We relied on our defense to win the game," said Harden, who managed to hit just seven of 24 shots from the floor and only two of nine from beyond the 3-point arc.

Bryant, who made nine of 16 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, scored 22 points and had eight rebounds for the Lakers (4-22), who lost for the seventh time in their past eight games. Forward Julius Randle had 18 points and 10 boards, while guard Lou Williams contributed 14 points.

"They've got a bunch of players over there that like to compete," Bryant said of the Rockets.

Randle's layup pulled Los Angeles within 81-76 less than three minutes into the fourth quarter, but an 11-0 run gave Houston a 92-76 lead. The Lakers never recovered.

"We had a stretch to start the second quarter where we allowed them to get back in the game, but other than that, we put together run after run and we just continued to do things that we needed to do," Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "We got stops. We were aggressive on our pick-and-roll coverages. We defensive-rebounded the ball well. I think it was progress."

The Lakers resorted to intentionally fouling Howard with 5:21 left in the contest, but Howard converted seven of 12 free throws to finish 10-for-18 at the line.

Bryant provided some crowd-pleasing moments in the third quarter. He had Lakers fans roaring and on their feet after he drove the lane for a dunk over forward Clint Capela.

"That was his first dunk?" Howard asked reporters. "Aw, dang. Throwback Thursday."

Bryant followed with a baseline jumper to cut the Rockets' advantage to 55-48 at 8:49 of the third.

Bryant scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the quarter, but the Rockets held a 78-68 lead heading into the final quarter.

Ariza, who won a championship with Bryant and the Lakers in 2009, wasn't surprised by his former teammate's play.

"When you have a player like that, when he gets hot, there's nothing you can really do," said Ariza, who guarded Bryant and carried on a dialogue with him throughout. "You just have to do your best to try to make him do something else."

Said Lakers coach Byron Scott of Bryant, "Pretty impressive for a 37-year-old."

The Rockets led 52-39 at the break. They limited the Lakers to 34.8 percent shooting while hitting 40.9 percent of their shots. Houston also had the edge in 3-pointers, making six of 12 attempts (50 percent) to three of 12 (25 percent) for the Lakers.

Overall, the Lakers outshot the Rockets 42.9 percent to 38.6 percent.

It was Houston's second win over the Lakers within the past five days. The Rockets coasted to a 126-97 rout on Saturday.

"We were fighting uphill all game long," Scott said. "We had our opportunities in the fourth quarter, when we got into single digits, then the next seven possessions, I think we turned over five times, so I think we just shot ourselves in the foot."

NOTES: Interim Houston coach J.B. Bickerstaff denied C Dwight Howard is unhappy playing with the club, contrary to several published reports. "I don't think he's disgruntled at all. I haven't had any problems," Bickerstaff said. "Everything we've asked him to do, he's done. He's worked his tail off, showed up to work every day with a smile on his face." ... Los Angeles F Kobe Bryant averaged 26.9 points per game in the previous 58 games (53 starts) against Houston. ... The Rockets host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. ... The Lakers embark on a two-game road trip to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday and the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.