LeBron James Talks Lakers' Turnover Issues in Game 1, Handling Rockets' Speed
September 5, 2020
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers dropped Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals to the Houston Rockets 112-97 on Friday.
L.A. committed 17 turnovers, 13 of which were courtesy of Rockets steals.
After the game, James spoke about the Lakers' issues counteracting the Rockets' speed, per Mark Medina of USA Today:
James also compared the Rockets to the late 1990s/early 2000s St. Louis Rams, nicknamed the "Greatest Show on Turf" for their electric, fast-paced and high-scoring offense:
The Rockets were seemingly everywhere on defense, using their length and speed to get into passing lanes and turn great defensive plays into quick buckets on the other end:
The Lakers notably went scoreless for a 4:12 stretch in the fourth quarter. During that time, Houston scored 14 points to take a 101-82 lead and salt away the game.
All Lakers other than James and Anthony Davis scored a combined 52 points on 18-of-52 shooting.
Game 2 is on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET, with ABC televising the action.