The @lakers defeat the @houstonrockets 119-108 on Dwight's 28p & 13r, Kobe's 22p, 11r & 11a. Chandler Parsons lead Houston with 24.

— NBA (@NBA) November 19, 2012

There you have it folks. The Los Angeles Lakers out-play the Houston Rockets from the tip, to get a 119-108 victory.

Kobe Bryant notched his 18th career triple-double, with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

The swagger that Kobe brought to the court from the tipoff helped energize the Lakers throughout the night.

Dwight Howard's performance, with 28 points and 13 rebounds, also helped the Lakers overcome the Rockets who didn't have an answer for his production in the paint throughout the night.

The Rockets, led by Chandler Parsons' 24 points on 8-10 shooting, just couldn't get into a groove, and the Lakers continually exposed them on both sides of the ball.

Lakers 119, Rockets 108

Helped by 10 steals. RT @evanspapa10: 23 fast break points??? Somebody check make sure Magic Johnson isn't running the offense.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 19, 2012

Kobe just adds to his special night (20 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) with an alley-oop to Dwight Howard.

Things are looking exciting in L.A. for the Lakers. Let's hope D'Antoni doesn't come in and the Lakers start losing.

Lakers 116, Rockets 98—2:58 remaining in the 4th quarter

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

To put Kobe's 18 career triple doubles into perspective (17 years) ...

LeBron James has 35 career triple doubles (10 years). 

Lakers 112, Rockets 97—3:36 remaining in the 4th quarter

Kobe Bryant's notched his 18th career triple-double: 20 points, 10 rebounds & 10 assists with 5 minutes to play on #LeaguePass.

— NBA (@NBA) November 19, 2012

Harry How/Getty Images

There it is ... the world can rest easy tonight.

Kobe Bryant gets his 18th triple-double of his career (20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists)

Lakers 111, Rockets 95—4:52 remaining in the 4th quarter

Woah ... Kobe grabbed another rebound. Just one more until he's got the triple-double.

How long until Kobe misses a shot on purpose just to grab that final board?

Lakers 111, Rockets 95—5:55 remaining in the 4th quarter

Chandler Parsons quietly gets his 24th point of the night. 

This one is over ... and here's why: 

1.  Dwight Howard put up a three-ball

2.  Dwight Howard then threw down a massive slam on the assist from Jordan Hill

3.  Dwight Howard FINISHED a three-point play

Lakers 109, Rockets 90—7:47 remaining in the 4th quarter

Only ? left in this one is if Kobe comes back in to get his triple double. He's on bench w/18p-10a-8r. LAL 104 HOU 87 in 4Q

— J.A. Adande (@jadande) November 19, 2012

With this performance tonight (12 points, 4 assists, 2 steals), Darius Morris may've just passed Steve Blake on the depth chart as Steve Nash's backup, once he returns.

Lakers 106, Rockets 87—9:03 remaining in the 4th quarter

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Maybe the Lakers should've hired Bernie Bickerstaff as their head coach. Lakers are looking good with him at the helm.

Lakers 101, Rockets 87—9:44 remaining in the 4th quarter 

The Lakers just couldn't reach the 100-point mark in the 3rd quarter.

This is going to be a fast-paced 4th quarter. I'm still shocked Kobe hasn't grabbed those last 2 rebounds for his triple-double. That should happen this quarter. It would be his 18th of this career.

Lakers 98, Rockets 87—at the end of the 3rd quarter

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

That's a perfect example of why you don't give the ball to big men on the fast break.

Jordan Hill throws the ball out of bounds instead of hitting a wide-open Jodie Meeks. 

Lakers 96, Rockets 84—28.9 remaining in the 3rd quarter

This game has slowed down significantly. Every other play there's a clock stoppage. This one is going to go for another hour.

Lakers 94, Rockets 82—1:51 remaining in the 3rd quarter

Lakers are still shooting above 50 percent from beyond-the-arc and from the field.

50.0 3PFG%, 61.7 FG%

Lakers 93, Rockets 82—2:09 remaining in the 3rd quarter

Hey NBA, don't forget, the Lakers still have to get this guy back.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden starting to heat up tonight. 19, on 7-14 shooting.

He needs to be a bit more aggressive and start geting into the paint if the Rockets are going to win tonight. 

Lakers 87, Rockets 76—4:09 remaining in the 3rd quarter

Kobe Bryant with a three-point play opportunity. Looks at the crowd like: "This is just too easy"

Lakers 87, Rockets 72—5:33 remaining int he 3rd quarter

Harry How/Getty Images

Just watch Kobe out there. You can tell that he's looking for two more rebounds to give himself the triple-double. I've never seen him crash the boards so hard.

Lakers 83, Rockets 69—7:05 remaining in the 3rd quarter

I bet Kobe will sit Gasol and Howard down and say: "Listen I need two rebounds, either get out of the way or I'll knock you out."

Congrats to @paugasol on his 15,000 career point! Pau is just the 10th foreign born player to reach the mark. instagr.am/p/SMl1Y4LO3r/

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 19, 2012

Harry How/Getty Images

There's the 10th assist for Kobe. Now it's time to get to work on the glass if he wants the triple-double.

Kobe Bryant—14 PTS, 10 AST, 7 RBS

Lakers 78, Rockets 69—9:07 remaining in the 3rd quarter

Metta World Peace hit with a technical after he hit Jeremy Lin in the face. Not sure it was a "T", but when you're Metta World Peace, if you sneeze the wrong way you're going to get called for it.

That's what we call "reputation" folks.

Lakers 73, Rockets 69—9:30 remaining in the 3rd quarter

Rockets are on fire to start the 3rd quarter. Six quick points to cut the lead to just five points.

Lakers 72, Rockets 66—10:31 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Omer Asik is back on the court after getting some nice stitch work on the grill. Asik gets knocked around as much as a punching bag. He's a pretty tough guy.

In case you missed it. Here's Terrence Jones' massive throw down on Jodie Meeks. I'm sure Meeks will remember this for quite some time.