Rockets vs. Lakers: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2014 Regular Season
After a somewhat up-and-down performance Tuesday night, the Houston Rockets opened up their 2014-15 season with a 108-90 road win against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Staples Center.
Neither team played particularly well, and an injury to Julius Randle cast a pall over the entire game.
The Lakers rookie attempted a layup in the fourth quarter but seemed to land awkwardly. He spent a lot of time down on the court, and the Lakers medical staff eventually called for a stretcher and placed Randle's right leg in an air cast, per Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears:
Turner Sports' Rachel Nichols reported that the early prognosis for Randle is a broken leg:
Randle's injury made what was an already bad night for the Lakers even worse. Kobe Bryant led the team in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting. Carlos Boozer chipped in 17 points, and Ed Davis finished with 11, but Bryant had little in the way of offensive support otherwise.
In contrast, four of the Rockets' five starters scored in double figures. James Harden led all scorers with 32 points on 7-of-17 shooting. He also dished out six assists. Most of Harden's damage came from the charity stripe, where he made 15 of 16 free throws.
Trevor Ariza, Chandler Parsons' replacement, contributed 16 points in the winning effort, which will be very encouraging for Rockets fans. Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones both had double-doubles. The former posted 13 points and 11 boards and the latter 16 and 13, respectively.
Howard struggled mightily from the free-throw line, making only seven of his 16 attempts. He's never been considered a good foul shooter, but Tuesday night was poor by even his standards. Lakers.com's Mike Trudell highlighted one free throw in particular that summed up Howard's night:
Whenever the Rockets and Lakers meet, it's an opportunity to talk about Howard's tumultuous year in Los Angeles. And right when everybody thought that dead horse couldn't be beaten any more, ESPN's Henry Abbott dropped his article in ESPN The Magazine about how some free agents didn't sign with the Lakers because of Bryant.
Howard bluntly refuted any claims that Bryant's demeanor or his relationship with Kobe played into the decision to leave.
"I didn't leave LA because I was afraid of Kobe Bryant," he said, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. "I went to a good situation for myself. I can't change people's opinions, but I did what I had to do for myself."
Lakers President Jeanie Buss also spoke about how much Howard wanted to help the Lakers win when he was a member of the team, per Nichols:
Bryant and Howard had a bit of an argument in the fourth quarter after Howard brought down a rebound. Pro Basketball Talk's Kurt Helin provided a succinct summary of the disagreement:
ESPN.com's J.A. Adande thought that the two had a cathartic moment, releasing what was likely months and maybe years of pent-up animosity:
The whole thing was rather innocuous, and both players were assessed a technical foul. Howard was also given a flagrant-1 foul. Their coming together helped breathe life into what was an otherwise uneventful final frame.
The Lakers had no answer for the Rockets in the first half. Houston held a 62-45 lead, getting contributions from a handful of players. Compare that to the Lakers, who were heavily reliant on Bryant's 16 points, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix felt that Bryant's scoring will likely be a continuing story for Los Angeles this year:
What also hurt the Lakers in the first half was their complete aversion to three-pointers. Head coach Byron Scott talked in the offseason about how he feels championship-winning teams don't shoot three-pointers. He put that game plan into full affect in the first half.
Ben Rosales of Silver Screen and Roll highlighted the difference in the shot chart among the two teams:
A perfect storm of events in the third quarter allowed the Lakers to make the game a little competitive and get to within seven points of the Rockets. First, Howard picked up his fourth foul of the game about a minute into the third. Second, the Rockets went nearly six minutes without a single field goal.
Howard's absence softened up the Houston defense around the basket, and having traded Omer Asik, head coach Kevin McHale couldn't bring a proven rim protector off the bench.
Turnovers and missed shots plagued Houston in the third, and it wasn't until Harden scored five points in 20 seconds that the Rockets righted the ship. The Lakers had no answer for his drives inside:
The Lakers simply couldn't close a gap like that in the final 12 minutes, limping to a disheartening defeat. Expectations surrounding Los Angeles have rarely been lower, and Tuesday night was a good example of why the team isn't predicted to do much this year.
Offensively, the Lakers have little space in order to stretch the defense, and on the other end of the floor, they're even worse.
Randle's injury robs fans of what was surely to be one of the more positive developments to track all season.
Things don't get much easier for the team, with the Lakers playing the Phoenix Suns twice, the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers all within the next week.
The Rockets, on the other hand, have a much easier slate for the time being. They'll play the Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers in the coming days.
