The Los Angeles Lakers got the Houston Rockets on the right night.
LeBron James and the Lakers held on late in the fourth quarter and snuck out with a 104-98 win over the Rockets on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. While the win itself wasn’t anything spectacular, and the Rockets were on the second leg of a back-to-back, it can make a big impact in the Lakers’ quest to land a top seed in the Western Conference come playoff time.
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The two teams were locked up at halftime after what was a brutal first quarter offensively. The two teams combined to shoot just 14-50 in the first 12 minutes, and the Lakers were held to just 16 points. Luka Dončić and the Lakers, though, pushed back and tied the game up at halftime — in part because of this incredible move from Dončić that sent Rockets big man Alperen Şengün down to the court.
It wasn’t until the final few minutes, though, that the Lakers were able to pull ahead for good despite almost blowing it. Thankfully for them, it seemed as if the Rockets were about out of gas, too.
The Rockets hit just two field goals in the final five minutes, which allowed the Lakers to hit several field goals in the last minute to seal the six-point win. The Lakers scored just eight points themselves in the last five minutes of the game, half of which came from the free throw line at the end, but James completely stuffed Şengün hard at the rim and then Dillon Brooks missed a 3-pointer at the end in a last-ditch effort for Houston.
