LeBron James, Anthony Davis Power Lakers to Win over James Harden, Rockets

The Los Angeles Lakers remained perfect on the road this season with a 120-102 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night at Toyota Center.

In a rematch of last season's Western Conference semifinals, LeBron James and the Lakers once again got the best of James Harden and the Rockets. Los Angeles lost the regular-season series between these two teams in 2019-20 but got revenge in the playoffs en route to winning the NBA championship.

The Rockets continued their woes against good teams this season. They have lost four of five games against opponents with winning records. 

After a close first quarter, the Lakers blew the doors wide open in the second quarter. They outscored Houston 40-25 to take a 19-point lead into halftime. Anthony Davis finished with a game-high 27 points on 75 percent shooting from the field. LeBron James had 18 points in just 30 minutes. 

James Harden had 20 points and nine assists but also finished with a season-high seven turnovers. The Rockets as a team were held to 41.1 percent shooting and made just 12 of 41 attempts from three-point range. 

Notable Game Stats

• Anthony Davis, LAL: 27 points (9-of-12 FG), 4 rebounds, 3 blocks
• LeBron James, LAL: 18 points (7-of-15 FG), 7 rebounds, 7 assists
• Talen Horton-Tucker, LAL: 17 points (7-of-8 FG), 5 rebounds, 4 steals
• James Harden, HOU: 20 points (7-of-14 FG), 9 assists, 6 rebounds
• John Wall, HOU: 14 points (5-of-14 FG), 10 rebounds, 5 assists
• Christian Wood, HOU: 23 points (10-of-20 FG), 3 rebounds

Dominant Davis Leads Lakers Blowout

If you didn't know Davis missed Friday's game with a strained right adductor, you would assume based on his performance against the Rockets that he was at 100 percent. 

The seven-time All-Star had 21 points on 8-of-8 shooting in the first half alone. His size was causing all sorts of problems for a Rockets defense that lacks an imposing presence on the inside. 

The Lakers had their way in the paint against Houston, which was a familiar story from when these two teams met in the playoffs last season. 

Not to be outdone, James seemed happy to have his running mate back on the court. The four-time NBA MVP only had to play 30 minutes in the blowout. There was a scary situation early in the second quarter when DeMarcus Cousins hit him in the head as he was trying to swat the ball out of his hands. 

James remained on the court for a brief period, but he stayed in the game and made one of his two flagrant free-throw attempts. 

More encouraging for the Lakers, who know what to expect from James and Davis each night, is what their other players were able to do Sunday. Talen Horton-Tucker had another strong showing off the bench with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Dennis Schroder's seven assists were his most in a game since Dec. 22 (eight). 

If the Lakers can get this kind of performance from their role players on a consistent basis the rest of this season, they will have little trouble being the best team in the Western Conference for the second straight year. 

Supporting Cast Lets Down Harden, Rockets

While Harden is the driving force for Houston, the team's ultimate success or failure this season will be determined by how well the talent around him performs. 

Based on Sunday's results, the Rockets still have a long way to go. Some of the struggles were to be expected, especially for John Wall. He's still working his way back into game shape after missing two full years. 

Wall has played well overall, entering this game averaging 21.2 points and 5.2 assists with a 48.2 field-goal percentage. The 30-year-old finished 5-of-14 from the field against the Lakers. His 35.7 shooting percentage was his worst of the season to date. 

Christian Wood had the best showing of any of Harden's castmates. He said in the lead-up to playing the Lakers that he had this matchup circled. The 25-year-old did try to lead Houston's attempt at a comeback in the third quarter with 10 points to cut the deficit to 83-72 at one point. 

Ultimately, though, the Rockets need Harden to put together a vintage game if they are going to beat this Lakers team. He had an efficient night overall with some good drives to the basket, but there was nothing particularly special about it. 

Harden admitted Saturday that the Rockets aren't where they need to be as a team because of the truncated offseason.

This game was vivid proof to Houston that it still has a lot of work to do if it wants to compete with the best teams in the West this season. 

What's Next?

The Lakers and Rockets will play their second straight game at Toyota Center on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.