LeBron James Electrifies Fans After Redick Comments as Luka, Lakers Beat Kevin Durant, Rockets

Having one of the greatest players in NBA history as a third option is working out well for the red-hot Los Angeles Lakers.

After Lakers head coach JJ Redick told reporters it is "the best thing for our team" to have LeBron James as the "third-highest-used player," the King and Luka Dončić led the way in Wednesday's 124-116 victory over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.

Los Angeles, which also defeated the Rockets on Monday, improved to 44-25 overall with its seventh win in a row and seems to be hitting its stride. Dončić finished with 40 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds and found James for an alley-oop in the closing stretch to put an exclamation mark on the win.

The 41-year-old James posted 30 points on a stunning 13-of-14 shooting from the field and drew plenty of reaction from social media:

As for the Rockets, this was another loss in a stretch that has seen them go 4-6 in the last 10 games. They are still a solid 41-27 on the season but continue to trend in the wrong direction despite Kevin Durant (18 points) and the rest of the starters scoring in double figures.

The Lakers picked up right where they left off in Monday's win and controlled play in the early going on the way to a 12-point halftime lead. 

James dialed back the clock for extended stretches in that first half with multiple dunks and outside looks. In fact, the King didn't miss a single shot before intermission with Dončić facilitating and Deandre Ayton playing well down low with a combination of interior scoring and rim protection.

But it was Houston's turn to catch fire in the third quarter.

With Durant unleashing a mix of pull-up jumpers and Jabari Smith Jr. showing off his outside shooting, the home team poured in 37 points in the third alone to seize a three-point lead heading into the fourth. The defense was also far more dialed in than it was in the early portion of the game and forced a number of turnovers.

Houston also made Dončić work harder for contested looks and held James to just one field-goal attempt in the quarter.

It set the stage for a back-and-forth finish with James reasserting his aggressiveness to give the Lakers the lead again before Durant and Şengün countered on the other end.

Ultimately, though, Los Angeles had Dončić and Houston didn't. In the final four minutes alone he drilled two three-pointers and assisted on alley-oops to James and Rui Hachimura.

Throw in an assist on a Hachimura three, and he proved to be the difference in winning time.

The Lakers will now look to extend their win streak Thursday when they travel to face the Miami Heat, while the Rockets will host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.