After ending a four-game road trip with two wins and two losses, the Los Angeles Lakers returned home to play the Houston Rockets on Monday in a contest that carried heavy playoff implications.
Houston is outstanding defensively and on the boards, and it makes teams pay for mistakes by capitalizing in transition, which made this a challenging matchup for L.A. The game was ugly and low-scoring throughout, but despite shooting just 39.3% from the field and getting outrebounded by six, L.A. managed to earn a 104-98 win and improve its grip on fourth place in the Western Conference. It now trails the third-place Denver Nuggets by just one game.
A full recap, including grades for each Lakers player, can be seen here.
The Lakers survive for another big win
Los Angeles showed some character in this game, as it won, 104-98, despite playing poorly offensively. It shot just 39.3% from the field and 34.8% from 3-point land, but it got enough defensive stops to come out on top.
Doncic, Finney-Smith and Vincent led the Lakers in scoring with 20 points apiece, and Doncic dished out nine assists. James had 16 points and blocked a layup attempt by Sengun with 8.0 seconds left to help close the door for the Rockets.
L.A. now has a 46-29 record and remains in fourth place in the Western Conference, but it has picked up a full game on the second-place Rockets.
Four-point lead for the Lakers
After they had some trouble inbounding the basketball, the Lakers got it to James, who was fouled and made both ensuing free throws. They now lead 102-98 with 11.1 seconds left.
The Lakers cling to a small lead in crunch time
Thanks to some grit, toughness and defensive stops, the Lakers lead 100-98 with 20.1 seconds left. They will have the basketball following a timeout.
The Lakers continue to hold a lead
While their overall shooting percentage remains low, the Lakers are still hitting from 3-point range, which has allowed them to hold a 93-87 lead with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter. Houston is shooting just 43% overall and 33.3% from downtown.
The Lakers lead after three quarters
It hasn’t been pretty, but the Lakers could be 12 minutes away from another big win. They lead the Rockets 82-77 heading into the fourth quarter thanks to 15 combined points from Finney-Smith and Vincent. They’re now shooting a hot 39.5% from 3-point range and have held Houston to 32% from that distance.
The Lakers’ bench has put them ahead
Doncic and LeBron James are a combined 9-of-23 from the field, but Finney-Smith and Vincent have sparked the Lakers in the third quarter. Both reserves have scored a combined 12 points in the period to put the team ahead 72-67 with 3:02 left.
Jaxson Hayes throws it down in Alperen Sengun’s face
The Lakers looked to set up Jaxson Hayes for their first basket of the second half. He took a pass from Doncic, drove down the lane and delivered a monster jam in the face of Rockets All-Star center Alperen Sengun.
JAXSON HAYES pic.twitter.com/I1nQInvgxn
The Lakers survived an ugly first half
The Lakers finally started to get their offense going a bit late in the second quarter and managed to end the first half tied at 48-all. Luka Doncic leads them in scoring with 15 points, and Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent both came off the bench to score nine points apiece.
Interestingly, while they’re being outshot by the Rockets 46.7% to 34.7%, they have not given up a single free throw attempt thus far to Houston.
Los Angeles continues to compete
This a low-scoring battle, which is just the way Houston prefers it to be. But the Lakers are hanging tough. They’re down by just four points — 31-27 — with 6:56 to go in the first half.
While they’re still shooting under 30% from the field, they’re doing a decent job on the boards to stay in this game.
Los Angeles is down after an ugly first quarter
Both teams had trouble throwing a pea in the ocean during the first quarter, which ended with the Lakers down 19-16. Los Angeles is shooting just 24% from the field, and Houston isn’t much better at 32% overall. L.A. does have a two-rebound edge, however, which is a good sign so far.
The Lakers have worked their way back into this game
After falling behind 9-3, the Lakers scored nine unanswered points, and they now lead 12-11 with 3:55 left in the first quarter. They’re still struggling to hit shots, but their defense has tightened up, and they hold a 12-9 edge on the boards against a Rockets team that is outstanding in the rebounding department.
The Lakers are a bit cold to start the game
Four minutes into the game, the Lakers trail 9-5. They have made just two of their seven field-goal attempts and turned the ball over twice, while the Rockets are 4-of-8 from the field.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers vs Rockets: Live updates and highlights
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
