NBA regular season

Lakers ground Rockets again

Reuters

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Lakers ground Rockets again

WINNING WAYS. Lakers forward LeBron James tosses powder in the air before a game against the Rockets.

Photo by Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters

LeBron James and Anthony Davis power the Lakers to a league-best record

LeBron James scored 22 of his game-high 26 points in the first half and the Los Angeles Lakers posted their second runaway victory over the Houston Rockets in as many games, rolling to a 117-100 victory on Tuesday, January 12 (Wednesday, January 13, Philippine time) at Toyota Center in Houston.

The Lakers, who led by as many as 27 points in their 120-102 win on Sunday, matched that advantage on a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope three-pointer at the 3:35 mark of the 2nd quarter. 

The Lakers led wire to wire while remaining perfect on the road, combining stingy defense with blistering perimeter shooting in the 1st quarter to build a 35-14 lead entering the 2nd.

James made 4-of-9 three-pointers and added 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the Lakers, who hold a league-best 9-3 record. 

Five other Lakers joined James in double figures, with Anthony Davis posting 19 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots in just 29 minutes. 

The starting backcourt of Dennis Schroeder and Caldwell-Pope combined for 28 points on 11-for-18 shooting with 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

Christian Wood paired 18 points with 8 rebounds while James Harden added 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists for Houston. 

The Rockets continued their poor shooting from deep, finishing 12-of-40 on threes while shooting just 39.2% overall. Harden missed 5-of-6 treys and shot 5-of-16 overall.

The Lakers turned a 12-0 run into a 28-10 advantage in the opening quarter, getting threes from Caldwell-Pope and James while recording 3 blocks and forcing two turnovers during the rally. The Lakers entered the 2nd quarter with a plus-8 advantage on the glass and 8 fast-break points while limiting the Rockets to 6-for-21 shooting.

The Rockets weren’t any more competitive in the 2nd quarter and needed a Harden buzzer-beater to cut the deficit to 23 points at the intermission. 

The Lakers made half of their 18 three-point attempts in the first half and recorded 17 assists on their 28 baskets. Just for good measure, the Lakers totaled 19 second-chance points.

The Lakers hit their largest lead at 95-65 on a Kyle Kuzma layup at the 2:25 mark of the 3rd quarter. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!