"You could almost hear some little kid in the far reaches of Toyota Center screaming, "Shane! Shane! Come back!"

Where was he? This Shane fellow. The one who outplayed Kevin Durant, one of the NBA's young guns, on Sunday night.

Was that just a dream? Did Shane Battier simply ride off into the sunset, slumped over after giving all he had?

After all, the next night in Dallas, he misfired on almost everything, making just one shot in a Rockets loss. And near halftime against the Lakers on Wednesday, Battier had not made a single basket.

With three minutes remaining in the game, he had made only two field goals, and the Rockets looked like they were sitting ducks waiting for Lakers gunslinger Kobe Bryant to take 'em out.

You figured that would happen too when Bryant and Battier checked into the game with just over six minutes to play and the Lakers ahead 91-84.

These Rockets have not been a tough-minded, fourth-quarter team. More often than not, they fold in these circumstances.

But for the second time this week, Battier saved the day at home, scoring 11 of his 17 points in the final 2:51 to lift the Rockets to a surprising 109-99 win over the two-time defending champions. The Rockets won their third home game in the span of a week, their best stretch of play this season. "