The Houston Rockets continued with their sloppy and ugly offensive basketball, turning the ball over 22 times and falling apart down the stretch for a 100-92 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Rockets scored four points in about a seven-minute stretch of the fourth quarter, as the Lakers went on a 13-4 run that closed out the game. Houston had no answers for a trap, a reoccurring problem this entire season. It’s amazing Ime Udoka has yet to find a solution. The Rockets scored 12 total points in the fourth.
The Rockets were led in scoring by Jabari Smith Jr., who had 22 points and 8 boards on 9-for-17 shooting, while Amen Thompson had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Kevin Durant had 18 points and 5 rebounds on 8-for-16 shooting, but he was 0-for-3 from deep and turned the ball over 7 times. Just further proof of KD’s lack of playmaking chops, but Udoka keeps trotting him out as Houston’s primary playmaker. With Fred VanVleet out for the year and Alperen Sengun out right now, there was no one left to step up for the Rockets to make plays.
Reed Sheppard played 31 minutes, but he had just 11 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. He was just 1-for-6 from three. In fact, the Rockets were just 5-for-26 from three overall as a team, and while the Lakers weren’t much better at 8-for-34, Houston continues to struggle with the three ball and shooting in general.
The Lakers were led by Luka Doncic, who finsihed with 36 points, and Lebron James finished with 18.
L.A. now moves 1.5 games ahead of the Rockets in the west standings. While Houston is now just a half game ahead of the Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves.
These two teams meet again in Houston on Wednesday, but there’s not much reason to believe we see a different result.