HOUSTON - Kobe Bryant has been insisting the Los Angeles Lakers are a much better team than their terrible start indicated.For the past two nights, the Lakers have shown he might be right.Bryant had 29 points, Wesley Johnson made key free throws down the stretch and the Lakers took advantage of Dwight Howards absence Wednesday in a 98-92 victory over the Houston Rockets.It was the second consecutive win for the Lakers following a 1-9 start.Look, we had a bad start, Bryant said. Are we a 3-9 team? No. Were a much better team than that. We got off to a really bad start, but well (get better).Los Angeles used a 7-1 run, highlighted by Bryants three-point play and capped by four free throws from Johnson, to take a 94-92 lead with less than a minute left. Nick Young and Bryant added two free throws apiece to secure the victory.Young scored 16 points in his second game back from a right thumb injury. He had 17 in his season debut Tuesday night, causing him to jokingly wonder if he was what the Lakers had been missing this season. Bryant didnt argue with that theory.Listen, if thats whats rolling, thats whats rolling, Bryant said, flashing a huge smile. Ill take it.Tarik Black, a rookie who was filling in for the injured Howard (knee), missed a free throw and a jump shot down the stretch.Houston coach Kevin McHale appreciated Blacks effort.He was fighting out there hard, McHale said. He hadnt been in those positions.James Harden had 24 points for the Rockets, who dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.Los Angeles took its first lead since the second quarter when Young capped an 8-0 run with a nifty reverse layup to make it 82-81 midway through the fourth. Houston missed three 3-pointers and had a turnover during that stretch.The Rockets outscored Los Angeles 8-2 after that to regain an 89-84 lead.The Lakers used a 9-0 run at the end of the third quarter and early in the fourth to cut Houstons lead to 75-74. Ed Davis led the way with four points.The Rockets broke a scoring drought of 4 minutes with a 3-pointer by Patrick Beverley, and another 3 — this one by Jason Terry — that extended the lead to 81-74 with 8 1/2 minutes remaining.Kostas Papanikolaou had a season-high 19 points for Houston. Beverley added 15.Howard sat out with a strained right knee, announced just minutes before the game, and his absence eliminated the drama that accompanied Houstons opening-night win over the Lakers.In that game, Howard had 13 points and 11 rebounds and got into a shouting match with Bryant, his ex-teammate. They received matching technical fouls when Howard elbowed Bryant in the face after grabbing a rebound in the fourth quarter.McHale didnt have any more details on Howards injury after the game.Howard spurned the Lakers in 2013 after one season with them to take about $30 million less as a free agent in Houston.Hardens scoring spree pushed Houstons lead to 75-65 in the third, but then the Lakers scored the last five points of the quarter.___TIP-INSLakers: Los Angeles made 19 of 23 free throws. ... Bryant has led the team in scoring 10 times this season.Rockets: F Terrence Jones missed his eighth straight game with nerve inflammation in his left leg. McHale said Jones is slowly getting better. ... Trevor Ariza had a pair of steals for his NBA-leading ninth game this season with at least two.IN MY DAYLos Angeles coach Byron Scott got a chuckle out of Youngs joke on Tuesday that he is one of the top five shooters in the league. Scott thinks he might need to remind Young how good a shooter he was during his 14-year playing career.Give him a copy of a classic NBA game, Scott said. Just like I used to tell the other guys ... I shot the ball pretty well.WARM WELCOMEJeremy Lin, who spent the previous two seasons in Houston before signing with the Lakers, received a hearty ovation when he was pictured on the big screen and welcomed back to town in the first quarter. Lin finished with three points, four assists and five turnovers.UP NEXTLakers: Visit Dallas on Friday.Rockets: Host Dallas on Saturday. Jermaine Marrow Jersey . FIFA said in a statement Friday that "several racist and discriminatory incidents were apparently perpetrated by local supporters during the match, in particular by displaying neo-Nazi banners and by making monkey noises and gestures as well as Nazi salutes. MLB Jerseys 2020 . -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft wanted to keep Logan Mankins with the team for a long time. https://www.cheapmlbjerseysjustwholesale...rseys-2020.html. -- Jane Kish stopped all 25 shots she faced as the Weyburn Gold Wings blanked the Sudbury Lady Wolves 3-0 on Friday to advance to the gold-medal game at the Esso Cup. Authentic MLB Jerseys . "This doesnt end anything," he said. "Weve got 10-1 in our last 11 games, and were going home in first place. We just have to keep playing the way we are right now. Soccer Jerseys 2020 . And it showed Thursday night. The Canadiens, playing in their second game in as many days, however, got a good performance in the end from their backup goaltender as he filled in for an injured Olympic gold medallist . DUBLIN, Ireland -- Penn State won a thrilling season opener with a 36-yard field goal as time expired to defeat the University of Central Florida 26-24 in front of a raucous 55,000-strong crowd in Ireland. Behind second-half replacement quarterback Justin Holman, the Knights appeared to have scored their own unlikely come-from-behind victory when Holmans 6-yard touchdown run with 1:13 left put UCF up 24-23. But Christian Hackenberg -- capping a 32-for-47, 454-yard performance -- coolly directed a seven-play drive to set up Sam Fickens fourth successful field goal as Penn State players stormed the field in joy. Hackenberg ran 8 yards for a first down on a 4th-down play in Penn States own half of the field during the final drive. Saturdays win was the first for new Penn State coach James Franklin, who declared his pride in a team that wasnt rattled by the Knights go-ahead TD. "There was only a minute or so left in the game, and I looked across the sideline and there wasnt doubt in anybodys eye. Everybody believed. They believed in Hack. They believed in Ficken," said Franklin, who bear-hugged and lifted up his kicker moments after victory. Penn State players received the Dan Rooney Trophy, a football made of ancient Irish bog wood that was specially commissioned for the game. Cannons blasted blue-and-white streamers and confetti into the air at Dublins Croke Park, a stadium that normally hosts Gaelic football matches, not American football games. Both teams agreed to play a game in Dublin for their own reasons. Penn State was seeking an overseas trip and a bowl-like experience for a squad that is barred by NCAA sanctions from post-season contention until 2016, while UCF -- just months before its breakthrough 12-1 season and Top 10 finish in national rankings -- was seeking an international showcase. Hackenberg spoiled a stunning performance by Holman, who came on for the second drive of the second half after coach George OLeary benched the ineffective Pete DiNovo. The redshirt freshman had been 3 of 8 for just 18 yards and gave up a drive-killing sack on his final play. OLeary praised both Holman and Hackenberg, describing the Penn State QB as a player that "everybody in the country would like to have." He expressed bewilderment at DiNovos poor play. "I said at halftime that hes not moving the chains, I didnt like the way he was handling things out there. He just seemed to be all over the place," OLeary said of DiNovo. He said the UCF receivers were consistently open in both halves, but DiNovo too often misfired or hesitated. "Justin, give him credit," he said of the replacement quarterback. "He went out there and made the throws. He was the spark plug in the second half offensively." Penn State ended the first half up 10-3, but should have been ahead by mmore as UCF struggled to move the ball at all.dddddddddddd Both teams looked jet-lagged in what was the first overseas game in either schools history. The Nittany Lions opening drive was extended by a roughing-the-kicker penalty, then Hackenberg dropped a 44-yard pass between two defenders to receiver DaeSean Hamilton, who set a Penn State receiving record for freshmen with 11 catches for 165 yards. Zach Zwinak finally punched the ball in from the 1-yard line on his third attempt to put Penn State up 7-0. A 68-yard kickoff return by Jordan Akins gave UCF the ball on Penn States 23, but OLeary gambled and lost with a 4th down decision to go for it on PSUs 1-yard line. DiNovos rollout straight into a pass rush ended with a throwaway. UCF cornerback Jacoby Glenn made a diving interception on Hackenbergs next possession, but the Knights could manage only a 36-yard Shawn Moffitt field goal to make the score 10-3. The game tempo accelerated as soon as Holman entered the game. He ran for two touchdowns, the first a one-yard plunge to pull UCF within 13-10 with 2:39 left in the third quarter. And he threw for a third, a 10-yard bullet to Josh Reese with 11:31 left that narrowed Penn States lead to 20-17. Between those two UCF scores, Hattenberg pulled off the longest play of the game. On 3rd and 17 deep in his own half, he lobbed a bomb to Geno Lewis, who had gotten behind three defenders and ran untouched for a 79-yard TD. The start of the fourth quarter featured a rat-a-tat three turnovers in 52 seconds. Hackenberg, rolling right and under pressure from defensive tackle Demetris Anderson, saw his pass picked off on the UCF 39-yard line by cornerback Jordan Ozerities. On the very next play Holman suffered his only miscue, failing to keep hold of the ball during a play-action move. Defensive tackle Anthony Zettel recovered. Two plays later, Chris Godwin took a bubble-screen pass and got hit hard by two defenders, particularly Glenn, whose low-shoulder tackle popped the ball loose again. Strong safety Clayton Geathers recovered. UCFs defence forced Penn State to settle for a third field goal with 3:30 left to make it 23-17. Then Holman, who finished 9 of 14 for 204 yards, marched his team down the field -- straight into a 4th down-and-10 crisis on the Penn State 37. As the heavily pro-Penn State crowd roared, Holman fired a long ball down the left sideline that looked overthrown. But Reese leaped backward and caught the ball with both hands as he fell on his back at the 6. Holman scored on the ground the next play, leaving too much time on the clock for Hackenberg. "Hes what a college quarterback should look like," OLeary said of Hackenberg. "He delivered the ball on time and with great efficiency. We shouldve had our hands on him more, but he was the difference in the game." ' ' '