To win against the dunce cap of the conference, which is also deprived of its most productive player, Christian Wood (sick), was to be a formality. Not for these Lakers who nevertheless recorded the return of LeBron James and who are in absolute need of victories to secure (at least…) their place in “play-in”.
Faced with these young Rockets, whom they had already beaten three times this season, the Californians embarked on a very offensive game, with clearly soft defenses. In the lead after a quarter (32-38), the visitors struggled to contain the activity of Josh Christopher or Alperen Sengun. Houston regained the lead at the break (68-63), before letting go of this narrow lead at the start of the last quarter (97-98).
The defenses finally regained their rights in this last period. With a powerful LeBron James to finish in the key and a Russell Westbrook in the right tempo, the Lakers seemed to regain the ascendancy. The concern is that they failed to make the necessary stops to widen the gap. In the last minutes, Jalen Green chained the right choices and restored possession to his team.
Russell Westbrook equalized with a good “jumper” before a final action where LeBron James, rather than getting into the circle, preferred to serve Carmelo Anthony on the periphery. He missed the winning shot at the buzzer (120-120). In overtime, Los Angeles took a huge broth from Jalen Green and the Rockets.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The collapse of the Lakers. After a mano a mano which spanned all of regulation time, the Lakers sank at the worst possible time. Jalen Green started the overtime single-handedly 7-0, and was joined by Kevin Porter Jr. and Eric Gordon, both 3-pointers. A 13-0, finally transformed into 10-0 (the unlikely shot of “KPJ” turning around will finally be canceled), to start the extra period which put the Lakers underground. The last two minutes, where the two teams exchanged the winning shots, took on the air of a bad “All-Star Game” where the Lakers no longer even bothered to go out on the shooters…
– Defense missing. 132 points conceded against the Clippers, 117 against the Spurs… The Lakers chained defensive poor performances. This night again, by not soliciting any pivot, they dropped 62 points in their racket (against 52 registered). Since the All-Star Game break, they’ve averaged 115.5 points on 100 possessions, which ranks them only 20th among the best defenses. This failure, coupled with an AC attack, results in the Lakers having one of the worst Net Ratings in the league right now (-8.2 points). Tonight at least, they had no trouble scoring against… the worst defense in the league.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jalen Green. Undoubtedly the MVP of the evening. He took control of operations in the final minutes of regulation time before continuing his effort in overtime. The fullback scored 19 of his career-high 32 points on that streak, displaying real confidence in his peripheral shooting and all of his physical qualities to finish in the circle.
✅ Alperen Sengun. Best career game also for one of the few interiors mobilized in this part. Author of his record in points and rebounds, the Turkish rookie caused a lot of trouble for LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony, responsible for defending him. The Turk, however, had more difficulty finishing at the end of the game.
✅ Russell Westbrook. The leader signs his fifth game of the year with 30 points or more. Apart from his huge missed lay-up two minutes from time, he had a solid game with limited waste. Very effective near the circle, he had more difficulty converting on the outskirts, where the Rockets clearly invited him to shoot. Best match rating.
✅ ⛔ LeBron James. Fifth triple-double of the season for LeBron James who still had to give a lot in all areas of the game. Effective in the racket, he watered a lot behind the arc (1/9), which weighed on his general address , and lost five balloons. In the fourth quarter, the “King” signed a terrible 2/10 on shots and did not exist in overtime. He finished with the worst +/- of the match, -17…
THE FOLLOWING
Rockets (17-49) : reception of the Mavs, Friday.
Lakers (28-37) : reception of the Wizards, Friday.
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