In the end, Rusty Hardin cannot stay in his seat. The juggernaut defense lawyer's sat through plenty of high-stakes drama in his time, but he'll rise for Lakers-Rockets. Kobe Bryant with the ball with a chance to win it . . .

As Bryant goes up for one of those dagger threes, Hardin is crouching on the sideline, several feet out of his front row seat. By the time it misses, Hardin is completely up. When a follow from Metta World Peace clangs and the buzzer finally sounds, the lawyer throws his arms straight up into the air.

It's good to be in on a Houston sports night. Just ask Connor Barwin. The NFL's resident hipster gets out of his own front row seat to greet Houston Rockets forward Chandler Parsons at the final buzzer. On nights like this — Rockets 107, Lakers 105 — Houston can feel like the biggest little city in the world.

It seems like everyone you know or know of is in the Toyota Center. NFL players are cheering on NBA players and the whole giant city almost starts to feel like one big team. As J.J. Watt likes to tweet, "#TeamHouston." You don't get this type of thing in many other major cities.

This is something that's hard to quantify and even harder to sell to superstar free agents like Dwight Howard. The Lakers ever-waffling big money man has a little better idea of it now though.

Kobe Bryant too. For just days after Bryant dismissively tells teammate Pau Gasol to put on his "big boy pants" the Gasol-less Lakers blow a big fourth quarter lead. Kobe can huff and puff all he wants, but he can't put these Lakers back together again.

Bryant is brilliant in the first quarter and pretty average in the fourth (outside of one of those signature triples). He's a 34-year-old who needs 31 shots to score 39 points these days. Forget Gasol. Kobe himself isn't big boy enough to be dragging around a flawed team night after night anymore.

And he shouldn't have to be. He should be past that point in his career. These Lakers were supposed to give him a break, let him rack up easier points as he plays more off the ball in Mike D'Antoni's offense.

Instead Kobe looks like he's trying to play the Carmelo Anthony role in D'Antoni's offense, hogging the ball when it needs to move.

The Lakers finish with 16 assists in Houston, a comically low number with their talent. Kobe finishes with two assists himself. They don't lose this game with a healthy Steve Nash, but they didn't have to lose it without him either.

James Harden — a 23-year-old in his fourth NBA season — makes the type of play that these Lakers seem allergic to, driving and dishing to second-year center Greg Smith deep into the paint late in the fourth quarter. On a night when he shoots like he's John Starks in Game 7 of the NBA Finals (3 for 19), Harden still fills up the box score, adding a career-high 10 rebounds and six assists to his 15 points.

He won't get the credit for this win. But he still makes the play.

Coach Driven

In many ways, this Houston sports night is more about Kelvin Sampson though. Sampson coaches this game like it's a Final Four championship game.

Some of what the Rockets acting head coach does is pretty crazy in the long-term picture. Benching Jeremy Lin for most of the second half in favor of Tony Douglas makes absolutely no sense in the bigger developmental reality. No matter how many herky jerky jumpers Douglas is hitting.

The Rockets have no chance to get where they want to go as a franchise if they don't give Lin the type of steadfast run D'Antoni used to give him in New York.

If you need someone to win you one game at all costs, Sampson just might be your coach though.

He pushes the Rockets like they're an underdog college team, gets 59 points from his bench by leaning on Douglas, Smith and Carlos Delfino, three players out of Sampson's own scrappy tough guy image. Two of them — Douglas and Delfino — will have no bearing on the Rockets' future and don't kid yourself, that's still what this season needs to be all about.

That's a worry that can be shelved for another day though.

This is one of those Houston sports nights when the city seems to shrink. Long after Hardin throws his arms into the air and Barwin seeks out Parsons, fans linger in the Toyota Center concourses, exasperating many of the ushers who are supposed to gently nudge people toward the doors.

When Sampson calls the 22-year-old Smith "country oak strong" in his postgame press conference, there is still a small crowd around the arena TV screens.

Sure, Toyota is more than dotted with Laker jerseys. Sure, many Houston fans show up late enough for the 7 p.m. tip that the Lakers can be excused for thinking they're back in LA. There are huge swaths of empty red seats in the higher dollar sections between the baselines even after Kobe's put in all 14 of his first-quarter points.

But once the people show, they don't want to leave.

If only Howard, the Houston-hating free-agent-to-be, could see this postgame scene. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey always calls Houston "a Top 5 NBA city."

On nights like this, it might be close to No. 1.

D'Antoni coaches this one with the long haul in mind, refusing to take the bait and yank Howard from the game when Sampson breaks out the Hack-A-Howard strategy to force the big man to the free-throw line. D'Antoni is right. Those calling for Howard to be benched late "have no clue."

You can't lose a superstar in a December overreaction. D'Antonio already has enough drama to soothe. Gasol is officially out with "knee tendinitis" but you can probably add bruised ego to his list of ailments.

D'Antonio coaches with one eye on tomorrow. Sampson is hell bent on this moment, this chance, this night.

Hey, it is a heck of a Houston sports night.