Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers return home to host the Houston Rockets on Sunday night looking to avenge their previous loss to the Rockets.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis were both able to play despite scoring each and led the Lakers to a 105-104 victory.
The Lakers got off to a fast start with a 7-0 run, with Davis scoring consecutive points and then D’Angelo Russell hitting a three-pointer before Dillon Brooks tied the game for the Rockets.
After the Rockets shook off a slow start, they started firing on all cylinders as Fred VanVleet hit a pair of 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Taurean Prince and the Lakers were apathetic, giving Houston its first double-digit lead.
Austin Reaves helped the second unit attack with a three-pointer, although the Lakers still trailed 28-20 in the second quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Lakers scored six points in a row. James found Rui Hachimura for an easy layup, forcing the Rockets to timeout. James then started working on himself, hitting a three-pointer and then two free throws to give the Lakers the lead.
However, Los Angeles struggled at the end of the first half. Brooks hit another three-pointer and Jalen Green scored a layup. The Rockets entered the locker room with a 55-49 lead.
The Lakers came up with a clear plan in the third quarter, which was to attack Rockets big man Alperon Sengon, who got into foul trouble early in the second half and had to be benched with four points. . This allowed Davis to work in the low post, and he and James scored easily to help the Lakers regain the lead.
When the Rockets offense struggled, Brooks and Jeff Green came up with some big ideas to keep the offense going. The Lakers couldn’t hit an open 3-pointer until Cam Reddish finally hit one. James then scored on Brooks’ shot, and Los Angeles entered the fourth quarter with an 81-75 lead.
James scored early in the fourth quarter and the Lakers suddenly took an eight-point lead, although the Rockets began to gradually close the gap to keep the score close. The game entered the final minutes, and Brooks hit consecutive three-pointers to chase the score to 94-93, continuing his wonderful night.
Fortunately, James also responded and responded to the Lakers with a three-pointer of his own, and Davis took a short break due to five fouls.
The game entered the last minute and the two sides were tied at 100. Davis was whistled for a foul and was sent off. However, the Lakers still achieved a big victory, and then Reeves made another three-pointer, giving the Lakers a 23.7-point lead.
Sengon followed with a layup to cut the Rockets’ deficit to one point, and then Reeves hit one of two free throws from the free throw line to extend Los Angeles’ lead to two points. Then, Songjun scored easily again, tying the game with four seconds left.
That gave the Lakers their final shot at the buzzer, when James was fouled with 1.9 minutes left. He made a free throw and the Lakers won.
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