Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball Lead Lakers Past James Harden, Rockets
The Houston Rockets stopped Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard and Damian Lillard, among others, on their 14-game winning streak.
On Wednesday, they couldn't stop Kyle Kuzma.
The Los Angeles Lakers rookie scored a career-high 38 points, and Corey Brewer scored 21 points against his old team, helping the Lakers earn a 122-116 win at the Toyota Center.
Former Lakers superstar and future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant approved:
The Rockets' 14-game winning streak was their longest of the 2017-18 NBA season. They entered Wednesday 20-1 in their last 21 games and had lost to only one other Western Conference team (the Memphis Grizzlies twice).
The Lakers led by as many as 22 points in the first half, racing out to a huge lead on the back of Kuzma's career-best night. Kuzma made all nine of his shots in the first two quarters, scoring 24 of his 38 before the break.
Selected 27th in June's draft, Kuzma has emerged as the biggest steal of the 2017 class by far. He's scored at least 20 points in three straight contests and could make a run at Rookie of the Year favorite Ben Simmons.
Lonzo Ball added 16 points and nine rebounds, though that did come on 5-of-14 shooting. He was looking to make at least half of his shots in consecutive games for the first time in his NBA career. The disappointing performance knocks down what was a career-best 42.4 percent shooting clip during December.
The Lakers overcame a 51-point effort from James Harden, who threw the team on his back in an effort to stretch the winning streak to 15. Harden went 15-of-27 from the field, got to the free-throw line 21 times and added nine assists as part of one of the finest individual efforts in the Association this season.
Responsibility to take over the offense fell on Harden when Chris Paul struggled to get things going before leaving after playing just 25 minutes. The Rockets categorized his injury as leg soreness. He finished with eight points on 2-of-7 shooting, five assists and five rebounds.
Brewer and Larry Nance Jr. (13 points) were responsible for 34 of the Lakers' 42 points off the bench. Brewer, who spent parts of the last three seasons in Houston, was averaging 2.5 points per game coming into Wednesday night. He played more minutes (25) than in the Lakers' three previous games combined.
Brandon Ingram (13 points) and Josh Hart (11 points) rounded out L.A.'s six double-digit scorers, though both youngsters struggled from the floor.
Trevor Ariza (18 points, 11 rebounds) and PJ Tucker (10 points, 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles for Houston. Eric Gordon's 21 points off the bench rounded out the team's double-digit scorers.
The Rockets are off Thursday before they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. The Lakers get the unfortunate distinction of going from the West's No. 1 team to the defending NBA champions when they travel to Oracle Arena to face the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
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