Bryant ignites Lakers to 2-1 series edge over Rockets

Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series with a 108-94 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night at Houston.

Lamar Odom had 16 points and 13 rebounds and reserve point guard Jordan Farmar had 12 points and seven assists in place of the suspended Derek Fisher, who was ejected from Game 2 for a hard hit on Luis Scola.

Game 3 had no signs of the rough play that turned testy in Game 2 until the final minute, when Houston’s Ron Artest was ejected for a hard foul on Pau Gasol. Artest was ejected from Game 2 for a verbal altercation with Bryant following Bryant’s elbow to Artest’s upper chest.

The Lakers snapped the Rockets’ nine-game home winning streak.

•Magic take series edge: Dwight Howard had 17 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks to lift the Orlando Magic to a 117-96 victory over the Boston Celtics at Orlando, Fla., and a 2-1 series lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal.

Rashard Lewis had 28 points, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 for Orlando, which played without starting point guard Rafer Alston. He was suspended by the NBA for slapping Eddie House in the back of the head in Game 2.

Paul Pierce broke out of his series slump to score 27 points and Rajon Rondo added 15 for the defending champion Celtics, who trimmed a 20-point deficit to seven before the Magic regained control.

•Jamison has surgery: The Washington Wizards say forward Antawn Jamison, a two-time NBA All-Star, had surgery to remove a bone spur from his right ankle. Jamison averaged team highs of 22.2 points and 8.9 rebounds this season.

Hockey

Canes push Bruins to brink

Eric Staal scored two goals and the Carolina Hurricanes pushed the top-seeded Boston Bruins to the brink of elimination, pulling away late for a 4-1 victory at Raleigh, N.C.

The Hurricanes lead the Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-1. Game 5 is Sunday night in Boston.

Jussi Jokinen scored the go-ahead goal at 2:52 of the third and assisted on the two goals that followed, and Sergei Samsonov added a goal for the Hurricanes.

•Penguins tie series: The Pittsburgh Penguins shook off an opening-minute Washington goal, scored three times in less than 12 minutes in the first period and beat the Capitals 5-3 at Pittsburgh to even the Eastern Conference semifinals at two games each.

•Kopecky will miss Game 5: Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said forward Tomas Kopecky is out for Game 5 against the Anaheim Ducks. Kopecky sustained facial injuries during a fight with Francois Beauchemin in the third period of Game 4.

•Russia defeats U.S. team in semifinal: A couple of bad bounces for the United States helped send Russia back to the gold medal game at the world hockey championships in Bern, Switzerland.

Konstantin Gorovikov scored a power-play goal on a deflection with 1:47 left, lifting Russia to a 3-2 semifinal win. Russia will play in Sunday’s final against Canada, which beat Sweden 3-1.

Golf

Cejka leads Players

Alex Cejka ran off three straight birdies and kept right on going, shooting 5-under-par 67 to build a two-shot lead over Ian Poulter at The Players Championship at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Cejka played before only a few dozen fans for most of his morning round and gave them quite a treat with six birdies on his first 11 holes to build a big lead, then played 1 over the rest of the way.

Poulter played in stifling heat later in the day as the wind began to swirl. He managed a 68 and will play in the final group today.

Tiger Woods was on the cut line until a pitch out of deep rough for a birdie on the par-5 ninth sent him to a 69 and put him seven shots behind.

•Ochoa remains on top: Lorena Ochoa led the leaderboard for the sixth straight round on the LPGA Tour, shooting a 6-under 65 to take a three-stroke lead at 129 in the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill in Williamsburg, Va.

Cristie Kerr, the 2005 winner, shot a 63 to match the course record and join Song-Hee Kim and In-Kyung Kim at 10 under 132. Michelle Wie was 5 under after a 67.

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 64 and is tied for 11th at 6-under-par 136.

Football

Board studies collapse

The Texas Board of Professional Engineers is investigating the collapse of the Dallas Cowboys’ indoor practice facility, the agency’s spokesman said.

Lance Kinney said the board has opened several lines of inquiry related to the failure of the membrane-style building, which fell last Saturday during heavy winds and injured 12 people, but declined to discuss details.

•Rookie ruptures Achilles: New Orleans Saints rookie linebacker Stanley Arnoux, a fourth-round pick from Wake Forest, ruptured his left Achilles tendon in the first of five rookie minicamp practices at Metairie, La.

•ACC drops Humanitarian: The Atlantic Coast Conference has added a bowl to its lineup of nine postseason games. The league said the Mobile, Ala.-based GMAC Bowl will replace the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise in the conference’s postseason lineup.

Miscellany

Russians sweep semis

Top-ranked Dinara Safina rallied to beat Venus Williams 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4 and set up an all-Russian final with Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Italian Open in Rome.

No. 8-ranked Kuznetsova beat No. 9 Victoria Azarenka, a three-time title winner this year, 6-2, 6-4 in the other semifinal.

•Rosberg tops practice: Nico Rosberg dominated Formula One practice, setting the fastest lap time over two sessions ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona.

The Williams driver clocked 1 minute, 21.588 seconds around the Circuit de Catalunya track, just ahead of teammate Kazuki Nakajima.