The Los Angeles Lakers have been rolling as of late, and they looked to keep it going against the Houston Rockets on the road on Wednesday night.
The Lakers beat the Rockets in the same building on Monday and now were looking to take the season series, earning what could be a crucial postseason tiebreaker. While the game was close in the fourth quarter, L.A. ultimately prevailed with a 124-116 victory to earn a seventh straight win and improve their record to 44-25, taking control of the third seed in the West.
As is usually the case, Luka Doncic led the way for the Lakers in the victory. He nearly missed another triple-double, finishing with 40 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists on 12-of-25 shooting. He was massive down the stretch to close out the win, hitting some big shots and finding his teammates for lobs and assists.
One of those teammates was LeBron James, who has found the fountain of youth. He was dunking all night and finished with an impressive 30 points on 13-of-14 shooting with five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. The only shot James missed on the night, the officials missed what appeared to be a clear foul.
In the first half, James had arguably his biggest highlight of the season when he reached back to throw down a sky high alley-oop on a high pass from Marcus Smart. He had a number of highlight dunks in what was one of his best all-around games of the season.
Doncic and James did had some help though as Deandre Ayton also had a super efficient game with 16 points, four rebounds and two assists on 8-of-10 shooting. He has accepted his role in recent weeks and is helping the Lakers pick up win after win as a result.
While Austin Reaves had a quiet first half, he also had some big plays down the stretch and finished with 14 points, three rebounds and eight assists in the win.
As a team, the Lakers shot a ridiculous 61% from the field and 47% from deep, although they struggled at the free throw line, making just 17-of-27 from the stripe (63%).
What’s next for the Lakers…
After two tough games in Houston, the Lakers will head east for the next four games of their road trip, starting with a matchup against the Miami Heat on Thursday in the second night of a back-to-back.
Given the quick turnaround and travel involved, the Lakers may be shorthanded in Miami.
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