LOS ANGELES - Shocking as it might sound, the Los Angeles Lakers broke out of a shooting slump Sunday night.

Shocking because they haven't lost a game so far this season.

Kobe Bryant scored 23 points, Pau Gasol added 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots, and the Lakers shot 65.8 percent in the second half in a 111-82 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Jordan Farmar added 16 points and six assists, and Andrew Bynum had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Lakers (5-0), who trailed by 16 points early in the second quarter.

"The momentum of this game just turned upside down," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whose team outscored the Rockets 95-50 after falling behind 32-16. "We created more opportunities in the second half, we moved the ball better."

The Lakers, who shot 43.5 percent in their first four games, wound up shooting 53.2 percent against Houston after going 5-of-17 in the first quarter.

"It's all a matter of rhythm," Bryant said. "We were a little rusty starting the game. We have a lot of weapons, we know how to use them. We move the ball and whoever gets it gets it."

The Rockets trailed by only seven points entering the fourth quarter, but Farmar scored eight points, Gasol and Lamar Odom added four each, and the Lakers shot 9-of-10 during a 22-10 run to start the period, giving them a 94-75 lead. They wound up outscoring Houston 39-17 in the final 12 minutes.

"No lead is safe in this league," Farmar said. "I mean, players are so talented that 20 points can be overcome in a matter of minutes. It's just a matter of us playing basketball and sitting down on the defensive end and locking it in and getting it done."

Aaron Brooks, a reserve, paced Houston (4-3) with 20 points and four assists. Yao Ming, Luis Scola and Carl Landry had 12 points apiece for the Rockets, who shot 37.8 percent and were outrebounded 50-36.

"You have to play as a team and we did not play as a team," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "I'm sure you give them credit because they have been really good all year."

The Lakers have won their five games by an average of 22.4 points.

"We are better than that, but we have to find answers," Adelman said. "You have to work a little harder. You can't do it on your own. We have a lot of work to do. I don't know what else to say."

Houston's Tracy McGrady, a two-time NBA scoring champion and seven-time All-Star, had his second brutal shooting performance in a row at Staples Center, going 1-of-11 for three points two days after missing all five of his field goal attempts and scoring two points in a 92-83 victory over the Clippers.

"I just couldn't get any rhythm," he said. "I think they did a great job of really making it tough for me. Every time I posted up, they had a couple of extra guys coming over.

"These were probably the worst two games of my career. But when you play a long time in this league, you're going to have some games like that. Unfortunately, I had two in a row. But it's a long season."

Ron Artest also had an off night, shooting 2-of-11 and scoring eight points.

"Obviously, nobody's happy about the loss, but I feel good about where we're going to be at," he said. "I feel confident about this team. I really believe that we're going to be there at the end."

The Rockets were within one point before Bryant scored six and Derek Fisher added four during a 12-3 run that gave the Lakers a 67-57 lead with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. Houston wasn't closer than seven points after that.

Brooks entered with 2:25 left in the first quarter and scored 13 of the Rockets' 15 points in a span of 5:15, helping them build their 16-point lead. It was 41-28 when the Lakers started rolling, outscoring Houston 22-7 to finish the second quarter for a 50-48 halftime advantage, and they were on top the rest of the way.

Rafer Alston scored all seven of his points and Yao added six during a 20-3 run that gave the Rockets a 22-9 lead, and it was 28-16 entering the second quarter. Since they shot 5-of-17 and committed eight turnovers in the opening period, the Lakers were fortunate they didn't trail by more.

Pretty soon, they didn't trail at all.

Notes: The Rockets won two of their three games against the Lakers last season, the first time they've won the season series since the 1996-97 season. ... The game was just the second for the Lakers since Nov. 1, but the first of four in a six-day period. ... Rockets F Shane Battier hasn't played this season because of a bone bruise in his left foot, and Adelman isn't sure when he'll be ready to go. "He's really a key guy, he knows how to play," Adelman said. "He's doing more and more. We don't want to rush him back. He'll let us know when he can actually go out and practice." ... The Lakers are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since the 2003-04 season and the 10th time in franchise history. They won a team-record 11 straight to begin the 1997-98 season. ... Atlanta, also 5-0, is the NBA's only other unbeaten team.

Clippers get first win, beating Mavericks 103-92

LOS ANGELES - For the second straight season, Baron Davis' team lost its first six games before getting that elusive first victory.

Last season, Davis was with the Golden State Warriors. Now he's with the Los Angeles Clippers, whom the Warriors beat a year ago to end their drought.

"It's pretty much the same feeling - a feeling of frustration," Davis said Sunday, after getting 22 points and 10 assists in the Clippers' 103-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. "We let a couple of games get away that we had control of. But once you get that first one, it just takes the monkey of your back and you realize that you know how to win."

When the Warriors finally got off the schneid last year, they won nine of their next 10 games. The Clippers feel they can do the same with the talent they have.

"We've always been confident," Davis said. "We've all been patient with each other and we've just been trying to work through things. This was a great effort we put together on the defensive end. We just really paid attention for 48 minutes. We're still a work in progress and a team that's trying to form an identity."

Foul-plagued Al Thornton got eight of his 17 points in the final 6 minutes for the Clippers, who had lost six straight against Dallas. Marcus Camby had 14 rebounds and 10 points. Tim Thomas sat out because of a sprained left ankle.

Dirk Nowitzki, who missed the final two meetings with the Clippers last season because of ankle and knee injuries, led the Mavericks with 33 points and seven rebounds while Jason Kidd added nine assists and seven points.

Gerald Green started at small forward and had 13 points and 12 rebounds in place of Josh Howard, who was sidelined because of a sore left wrist. The injury occurred during a loss to Cleveland on Nov. 3, and he aggravated it during the fourth quarter of Friday's loss.

Dallas forward Jason Terry missed his first 11 shots, ending the drought on a 22-footer with 9½ minutes to play. The basket triggered an 8-0 run that tied the score 79-all with 8½ minutes left. Terry added a layup and capped the run with an 18-footer, but the Mavericks never could get the lead after that and went 4 minutes before making another field goal.

After Dallas tied it, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy called a timeout. Los Angeles came out of it on a 13-0 run that put the game away.

"We had just turned the ball over three times in a row, so we needed a break," said Davis, who was 8-for-19 from the field after missing 10 of 12 shots in the first half. "We just wanted to settle down and get back our focus."

In their previous game against Houston, Dunleavy called a timeout in the first quarter and his team came out of it with a 12-0 run.

"Sometimes when you have a team with a lot of new players who are trying to work together, it's on the coach as well as the point guard to manage the flow of the game," Davis said. "And the more time this team spends together and the more games we get under our belt, I think coach Dunleavy and myself will definitely be more and more on the same page."

Terry scored 20 points in both games he played against the Clippers at Staples Center last season, so Dunleavy implored his players to do a better job on him defensively.

"A lot of the shots he just missed," Davis said. "He don't normally miss those shots. But we were fortunate to get a hand in his face every time and have a man connected to him."

Thornton hit a 17-footer with 9½ minutes left in the third quarter, triggering a 14-3 run that gave the Clippers a 65-54 lead with 5:23 left in the period. Davis capped the rally with a 3-pointer and a free throw.

"We just couldn't get stops, and we couldn't make any shots at the other end," Kidd said. "Even when we're not scoring, we've got to find ways to stop our opponents or we're not going to win any games. It's hard to win when you give up that many points."

Thornton went to the bench with 7:37 left in the first quarter after picking up his first two fouls 9 seconds apart. He got his third with 5:17 left in the second quarter, just 14 seconds after he reported back in. So with all the time he spent on the bench, Thornton had plenty of energy left for his pivotal fourth-quarter surge. He played the final 4:39 with five fouls.

"He did a great job of keeping his head and his focus into the game," Davis said. "He got some free throws and hit some big shots for us. He's a big-time performer. He's a scorer and he has a scorer's mentality."

Notes: Terry made a new fan in the first quarter. He ran across the court from the Mavericks' bench to give a headband to a 4-year-old boy who was crying after Dirk Nowitzki crashed into him trying to keep the ball in bounds. ... Thornton was the Clippers' leading scorer through the first six games, averaging 15.7 points. ... Green, who missed a potential tying 3-point shot at the buzzer in Friday night's 108-105 loss at Denver, started a game for the first time since the 2006-07 season with Boston.

Spurs' Parker will miss 4 weeks with ankle sprain

SAN ANTONIO - Tony Parker will be out about four weeks with a sprained left ankle, a critical blow to the San Antonio Spurs, who are off to their worst start in 12 years.

An MRI taken Saturday confirmed the injury to the Spurs' star guard, who was hurt during a 99-83 loss to the Miami Heat on Friday - two nights after scoring a career-high 55 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Parker was driving for a layup when he rolled his ankle.

The 26-year-old Parker was using crutches and wearing a protective boot while watching Sunday's practice. He was second in the league in scoring behind LeBron James at 27.4 points per game.

The Spurs are 1-4 and play at home against the New York Knicks on Tuesday. In 1996, they opened the season 1-5.

Parker will be replaced by either rookie George Hill or 12th-year veteran Jacque Vaughn. Hill took Parker's place against the Heat.

"You'll probably get to see George play a lot," Spurs president R.C. Buford said. "We'll continue to evaluate not only our team, but the NBA market as we go along. Our guys have been encouraged with what George has done to date."

One of the last cuts the Spurs made in the preseason was fourth-year point guard Salim Stoudamire, who has not been signed by another team.

The Spurs are also missing Manu Ginobili, who is expected to be out until December while recovering from ankle surgery. He participated in cutting and shooting drills during Sunday's practice.

"I don't think we can comment on Manu other than to say that he continues to progress as prescribed," Buford said.

Hill has played 35 minutes since being drafted 26th overall out of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. He played 10 minutes after Parker left Friday, missing three shots from the floor. He finished with one point, an assist and a turnover.

The 33-year-old Vaughn was inactive, though no injury was listed. He dressed but did not play Wednesday at Minnesota. He averaged 10 minutes in the Spurs' first four games this season.