"What's going to happen?" said Artest, laughing before Monday night's game at Staples Center. "He's gonna go wild? He goes wild a lot of the time."

Bryant did again Monday, too, but in the worst possible way.

Wild as in "off the mark" wild, and in a stunning development - the Lakers dropped the opening game of their second-round playoff series, 100-92.

Bryant tried to rescue the Lakers in the second half, but settling for jump shot after jump shot, couldn't hit enough of them.

He finished with 32 points, but he needed 31 shots to get there, and only made 14 of them. He was particularly errant from distance, making just one of seven three-pointers.

Not that the Lakers could lay this loss all at the feet of Bryant.

They didn't seem to take the Rockets seriously, evidenced by their soft defense and missing sense of urgency.

The Rockets led by three points after every quarter, the kind of lead that put the Lakers to sleep until it was too late.

Suddenly, the series looks a lot harder than the five-game walk in the park most us envisioned.

As for Bryant, he got off to a slow start, but not because he looked to get his teammates more involved - the usual reason.

He missed eight of his 12 shots in the first half, apparently dusting the rust off.

Kobe accelerated his offense in the third quarter, aggressively looking for his shot and scored 13 points. The funny thing was, the Rockets still led, and, in fact, never trailed.

If the series suddenly looks competitive, that's a bonus. It figured to be at least good for some entertainment, if for no other reason than Artest will be part of the mix.

Artest is best known for leading the charge into Detroit's stands as an Indiana Pacer after he was hit with a cup of beer in a November 2004 game. The resulting melee was an NBA public-relations disaster. Artest paid the biggest price with a suspension that lasted the remainder of the regular season, as well as 13 playoff games.

He never lost his brashness, though, and still happily talks trash, with no exceptions, including Bryant.

Artest and Bryant got into it verbally during a game in Houston in March, with Kobe getting the best of it where it counted, on the scoreboard.

Fun-lovers thought it may pick up some steam in this series. When two teams meet each other repeatedly over a two-week period, with postseason pressure factored in, minor grudges have a way of turning seismic.

Bryant shrugged off Artest's assessment of Roy when asked about it in the run-up to the series, which doesn't mean anything, since Kobe isn't one to tip his hand.

But Monday night, Artest was still amused that it caused a ripple.

"I meant what I said," he said. "I don't go back on things."

He praised Roy, he said, because he enjoys watching the young players grow and gain confidence. But also enjoying his role as a needler, he added with a laugh, "I'm done looking up to Kobe. That was last year. I like the young guys."

If Bryant is going to take it personally, now would be the time.

Reach Gregg Patton at 951-368-9597 or gpatton@PE.com