LeBron James Drops 30 and 10 as Lakers Outlast Rockets for 3rd Straight Win
The Los Angeles Lakers earned their third straight win, topping the Houston Rockets 119-117 at Staples Center on Tuesday. LeBron James had 30 points and 10 assists to lead the way as Los Angeles improved to 5-3.
The Lakers trailed by as many as 11 points in the third quarter before storming back.
It was the second meeting between the two teams in the last three days. Los Angeles won Sunday's matchup, 95-85.
The Rockets fell to 1-6 and their losing skid is now at five straight games. Christian Wood had 26 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. Rookie Jalen Green had 24 points, with six coming late in the fourth quarter to make it a close game, but it wasn't enough.
Notable Player Stats
F LeBron James, LAL: 30 points, 10 assists
G Russell Westbrook, LAL: 27 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists
F Anthony Davis, LAL: 27 points, 9 rebounds
F Christian Wood, HOU: 26 points, 16 rebounds
G Jalen Green, HOU: 24 points (18 in first half)
F Jae'Sean Tate, HOU: 20 points
Lakers' Defense Remains an Issue Despite Victory
Los Angeles has struggled on defense throughout the season. Entering Tuesday's game, the Lakers ranked 26th in the league with opponents averaging 112.0 points against them.
A big reason for Sunday's win was the Lakers' effort on the defensive end as they held Houston to 85 points. Their lack of focus on Tuesday created problems and allowed a young Houston team make the game competitive.
The Lakers finally woke up in the third quarter. They started forcing more turnovers as Houston made some sloppy mistakes. Los Angeles held the Rockets to 19 points in the third after surrendering 70 in the first half.
James took over in the fourth quarter to help put the game away, and he likely saved the Lakers from an embarrassing loss.
The Lakers will have to fix their issues on the defensive end if they hope to compete for their second NBA championship in three years. They allowed the Rockets, who entered the game averaging 101.5 points, to score 117 and shoot 52.7 percent from the field on Tuesday.
Los Angeles will continue find itself having trouble against younger teams if they can't consistently get stops and keep getting into back-and-forth shootouts.
Young Rockets Enjoy Early Tempo, Get Sloppy Late
The Lakers and Rockets both came out playing fast, pushing the ball after makes and misses. Both teams thrived with the uptempo start to the game.
But as the game continued, the pace of the game seemed to favor the younger Houston team. After scoring just 15 first-quarter points on Sunday, the Rockets tied a season-high with 35 in Tuesday's opening frame.
Green, who was held to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting in the first meeting, had 12 of his 24 points in the first quarter. He did his damage both on the inside and outside.
The Rockets got contributions from multiple players early on. In the first half, Wood already had a double-double and Kenyon Martin Jr. had 12 points off the bench on 5-for-5 shooting. Houston did a better job of moving the ball and creating opportunities for each other.
But Houston got sloppy after halftime and allowed the Lakers back into the game. The Rockets entered the game averaging 18.7 turnovers. After just 10 giveaways in the first half, the Rockets finished the game with 24 turnovers.
Green also stopped being aggressive and didn't score in the second half until the waning moments of the fourth quarter.
The fast-paced game allowed Houston to get easy baskets and take advantage of a weak Lakers defense early on. But the Rockets need to do a much better job of taking care of the ball.
Houston knows it is a young team and playing fast is a nightly game plan. They will be able to surprise some teams who can't keep up, but it will be hard for them to scratch across some wins as long as turnovers remain an issue.
What's Next?
The Lakers will look to complete the sweep of their four-game homestand on Thursday when the Oklahoma City Thunder come to town. The Rockets will look to end their losing streak on Thursday at the Phoenix Suns.
