The Lakers’ woe worsened on Thursday as the Rockets handed them their third straight loss, blowing them out on Christmas Day, 119-96.
Houston beat them down in many of the expected ways, grabbing 17 offensive
rebounds and turning the Lakers over 16times. The result was the Rockets finishing with 68 points in the paint, 24 second-chance points and 16 points off turnovers.
LA was also dealt a worse blow at halftime when Austin Reaves remained in the locker room with left calf soreness as he did not play the second half.
From the get go, the Rockets’ bludgeoning style saw them score repeatedly in the paint and on second chances. LA could offer little defensively, allowing Houston to quickly build a quick 12-point lead in the first.
A run led by Luka Dončić and Austin cut the deficit back down to five points after a pair of freebies from the former. Houston quickly responded with the next seven points, extending their lead to 14 before taking a 12-point advantage into the second.
The Lakers went to a unit in the second quarter featuring Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt, which helped them get the lead back to single digits at 8 points. Missed opportunities on the offensive end kept them from trimming the margin down any further.
Kevin Durant’s return to the court led to the lead increasing back to double digits, but 3-pointers by Luka and Vanderbilt brought the margin down to four. While Houston responded with a run of its own, the margin remained in single digits, allowing LA to keep a foothold in the contest.
A pair of LeBron James free throws kept the margin at 57-51 with just under two minutes remaining. As has been the case often this season, LA closed the quarter poorly, allowing the Rockets to score six straight points and make it a double-digit game once more with Houston leading 63-53 at the half.
Out of the locker room, Smart took Reaves’ spot in the starting lineup, who was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Houston used threes from KD and Jabari Smith to go on a 10-3 run, opening up a 17-point advantage and forcing an LA timeout to further add to the misery.
The run only continued out of the timeout with the deficit reaching 21 points as the Lakers looked completely out of answers. About the only thing going right for the Lakers was head coach JJ Redick winning both challenges, but LA responded to the second one, which wiped away a foul by Deandre Ayton and free throws for Alperen Sengun, with a turnover.
From a shooting percentage standpoint, the Lakers weren’t having a bad game as they finished the third quarter north of 50% from the field. However, they were badly losing the possession battle thanks to 12 turnovers and 11 Houston offensive rebounds, resulting in 13 more shots for the visitors.
A small run from the Lakers at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth saw the lead dip down to 16 points, but a Reed Sheppard and-one made it 19 points once more. LeBron kept chipping away, attacking the rim repeatedly. But a lack of stops on the other end meant the two sides were mainly trading baskets.
After a timeout following a LeBron dunk, Durant connected on a 3-pointer and then found Thompson for an alley-oop to again extend the lead over 20. The Lakers had a response of their own with a 7-0 run that featured a Vando 3-pointer, his third of the day, and a pair of Smart layups.
Houston slammed the door shut once and for all, though, with a 7-0 run punctuated by a fastbreak layup for Tari Eason, putting the Rockets up 111-89 with 3:09 left. Redick emptied the bench in the timeout, putting an end to a frustrating Christmas Day game.
Key Player Stats
Luka did not have his typical red-hot start to the game, but still tallied 25 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two blocks. LeBron James had 18 points, five assists and a pair of rebounds and steals.
In his 15 first-half minutes, Austin had 12 points on 5-8 shooting. Ayton had 10 points with two rebounds. Rui Hachimura did not score, going 0-6 from the field and 0-3 from three.
Jarred Vanderbilt had a strong showing off the bench, tallying 11 points with five rebounds while going 3-4 from three.
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