Almost two weeks after the slap received in Houston, LeBron James and the Lakers took their revenge. It took a long time to take shape and was not always pretty to see. After a good start, Los Angeles fell back into its failings and suffered a 21-4. The Rockets are logically in front after twelve minutes (20-28).
Carried by an excellent James and a sharp Anthony Davis, the Californians held on so as not to be too far behind at half-time (49-55). They then took advantage, after the break, of the absence of Alperen Sengun, who quickly picked up his fourth foul, to pull away. The Texans are messy, Davis makes a project inside and Los Angeles takes control (81-75).
LeBron scores the winning shot
Everything is decided in the last minutes, with LeBron James taking charge. Faced with two winning shots in a row from Dillon Brooks, he responded with a big dunk, a difficult fadeway and a 3-point basket at the 24-second buzzer. It’s him again who serves Austin Reaves for the winning basket which seems decisive. But the Rockets play for time and score quickly to get back to within one point.
A profitable choice since Reaves only scores one free throw out of two. Sengun equalizes. There are a few seconds left, James attacks the circle and gets the foul. A free throw was enough to win (105-104), while Brooks missed his prayer by a long, long way at the buzzer.
What you must remember
– Bosses LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The calculation is simple: 37 points for the first, 27 for the second, therefore 64 units of the duo out of the 105 points scored by the Lakers. The two stars thus scored 60% of their team’s points. They had little help, except from Reaves, because Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and D’Angelo Russell were all clumsy from afar.
– Life without Alperen Sengun is harder. It was in the third quarter that the Lakers took control and it was no coincidence since the Turk was stuck on the bench with his fouls. As soon as he returned, Houston was once again able to hold off James and company. He even scored important baskets in “money time” and, in addition to his very good statistics (23 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists), it is his +/- which best shows his impact: +21 for Houston when he was on the floor.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
