Aaron Brooks scored 26 points and Luis Scola added 24 points and 12 rebounds as the scrappy, undermanned Rockets pushed the top-seeded Lakers to the brink.

The Rockets opened the game with a 17-1 burst, built a 52-36 lead by half-time, then fought off a Lakers rally to force Game 7 tomorrow at the Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant scored 32 and Pau Gasol added 14 for Los Angeles, which lost for only the third time in the past 18 games when they had a chance to close out a series.

extra days

"We still have no chance," Brooks said with a huge smile. "We'll keep playing, though."

The winner will play the Denver Nuggets, who finished off Dallas on Wednesday and now have a few extra days to rest.

Whereas Houston had built upon its first-half lead on Sunday, this time Los Angeles made a game of it, opening the second half with a 16-2 spurt. But the Rockets hit their last eight shots in the third quarter and took a 75-65 lead to the fourth. Kobe Bryant came into the game with six minutes left and the deficit still at 10 points, but missed four of his next six shots.

"We got active again against Kobe. He's going to make some shots. We toughed it out in the fourth quarter," Brooks said.

In Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard had 23 points and 22 rebounds after challenging Stan Van Gundy's coaching strategy as Orlando Magic beat Boston Celtics 83-75 to force Game 7 in their Eastern Conference semi-final series.

defending champions

Rashard Lewis had 20 points and Hedo Turkoglu made a three-pointer to highlight an 11-2 run to close the game for the Magic, who could dump the defending champions and reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 13 years.

Rajon Rondo finished with 19 points, 16 rebounds and six assists and Paul Pierce scored 17 for the Celtics, who led by 10 points in the second half before falling apart.

Game 7 is on tomorrow in Boston.

The two days off before Game 7 should give an older, worn-out Boston team a chance to rest its tired legs. It's still not enough for coach Doc Rivers.

"I would take a week off and do it like the Super Bowl," Rivers joked. "That would be terrific. But that's not going to happen."

"The offence definitely struggled," Pierce said. "But we still played enough defence to win the game. We turned the ball over too much."