LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (28-37) took on Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets (16-50) during the Wednesday NBA slate. It was the Rockets who came out on top in this one in overtime with 139-130 being the final score.
The Lakers got LeBron James back in the lineup after a one-game absence. It proved to not be enough even to get a win in this Lakers vs Rockets matchup. He finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists but shot a putrid 9-26 (34.6%) from the floor and 1-9 (11.1%) from deep while recording five turnovers.
Russell Westbrook was coming off a poor performance on the road against the San Antonio Spurs in the Lakers’ previous outing, but he finished with an efficient 30 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in this one. Los Angeles even received a combined 53 points from Malik Monk (20), Austin Reaves (17), and DJ Augustin (16).
There are a lot of players on the Rockets’ injury report entering this game and the result was both Christian Wood and Jae’Sean Tate—the starting frontcourt—both being ruled out.
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Jalen Green was the story of the game as he finished with a career-high 32 points with strong efficiency. He made no shortage of key players for the Houston Rockets down the stretch.
Alperen Sengun racked up 21 points and 14 rebounds vs Lakers while the Rockets received double-figure scoring also from Josh Christopher (21), Kenyon Martin Jr. (17), Eric Gordon (15), Dennis Schroder (12), and Kevin Porter Jr. (10).
The Los Angeles Lakers need to do what they can to establish positive momentum as the start of the play-in approaches. They are 4-13 in their last 17 games, which is better than only the Rockets in this span.
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