The Los Angeles Lakers managed to get revenge against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night, though it came in a nail biter as they squeaked out a 105-104 victory.
The Lakers got off to another slow start in the first quarter, but as has been the case, they rebounded in the second half to take the lead. However, the Rockets have been resilient under Ime Udoka and battled back to make it a tight contest down to the final moments of the fourth.
LeBron James has been on a tear in Year 21 and he continued his brilliance with a season-high 37 points on 14-of-19 shooting from the field. James was visibly more animated on the court because of his matchup with Dillon Brooks, and the two got into it several times throughout the night.
Brooks always tries to get underneath James’ skin, and the King admitted that’s got extra motivation for when they play each other.
“Yeah, for sure,” James said. “He’s a great competitor. I like going against him. And he was hooping tonight too, for sure. He was shooting the ball exceptionally well, kept them in the game. I think they were down seven at one point and he hit two big-time 3s to keep them in the game in the fourth. So I mean, it’s competition. Those young guys, they get me going, so need that.”
However, James later said it doesn’t give him more energy when players like Brooks try to go at him. “No. No. But I understand what competition is all about and I love competition. So no, it’s nothing for me.”
James and Brooks have had their fair share of moments and incidents the past several years, though the 38-year-old’s gotten the best of him more often than not. While Brooks had a strong scoring night himself with 24 points, he and Houston were unable to come James’ greatness in the clutch.
It wasn’t a pretty win by any stretch, but the purple and gold are finally in a rhythm and slowly making their way up the standings. With James playing at such an elite level, the Lakers have to feel good about their rest-of-season outlook.
Austin Reaves says clutch 3-pointer against Rockets came down to believing in himself
Austin Reaves was a major reason why L.A. escaped with the win as he made several winning plays in crunchtime. However, his biggest play came in the final minute when he sunk a deep 3-pointer to give the Lakers the lead.
Afterward, Reaves said him taking and making that show ultimately came down to him believing in himself.
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