Stung by their 99-87 loss two days earlier against a Rockets team without injured All-Star Yao Ming, the rampant Lakers never looked back after erasing an early deficit in the opening quarter at the Staples Center.

Spanish forward Pau Gasol contributed a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds and Andrew Bynum added 14 while four other Lakers players weighed in with at least 10 points.

Guard Aaron Brooks top-scored for the Rockets with 14 points but the dangerous Ron Artest was limited to just nine by a smothering Lakers defence.

The best-of-seven series moves back to Houston for today’s Game Six.

“I said to the team that was really a terrific effort, a great win,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters. “But it doesn’t do anything but just mean that we brought home the seventh game and guaranteed ourselves homecourt advantage in this series.”

Bryant, rested for the entire fourth quarter, was delighted with the way his team rebounded from their dismal display in Houston where Brooks scored a career-best 34 points.

“We just made our adjustments,” the All-Star guard said.

“Brooks did such a terrific job last game getting into the paint, making plays, scoring himself. We had to try and make it a little bit tougher for him tonight.

STAYING FOCUSED

“But we’ve got to stay focused. You have to understand that the effort that we gave … is not going to be enough today, it’s just not.”

The Rockets made a promising start, moving the ball swiftly around to race 13-6 up early on before the Bryant-inspired Lakers stormed back to lead 35-24 after the first quarter.

The home team then built on a run of 11 unanswered points before a Shannon Brown three-pointer put them 19 points clear midway the second period.

With the Los Angeles defence much improved on their woeful showing in Game Four, the Western Conference champions surged into a commanding 64-39 halftime lead.

The top-seeded Lakers tightened their grip in the third period, Trevor Ariza pouncing on an offensive rebound and curling the ball into the hoop before adding a two-point lay-up.

That gave Los Angeles an imposing 94-54 cushion going into the final quarter and they never eased up.

Watched by a capacity crowd including Hollywood actor Dustin Hoffman and American golfer Phil Mickelson, the Lakers shot 51 percent from the floor compared to Houston’s 33 percent.

“We played absolutely the opposite than we did in the last game,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. “We got to the middle of the lane, we turned it over and we shot it poorly.

“But I think we’re going to respond. Our team have always responded and that’s what we have to do. We’ve got to get home and get ourselves ready for the next game.”