Raising levels
James rallies Lakers past Rockets on night Harden overtakes Wilt at No. 2 in 30-point streak
LeBron James knows that he needs to turn up his intensity if the Los Angeles Lakers are going to make the playoffs. He certainly did that on Thursday night against the Houston Rockets when his team needed it the most.
James scored 16 of his 29 points in the second half as the Lakers rallied from a 19-point deficit midway through the third quarter to defeat the Rockets 111-106.
It was Los Angeles’ largest comeback win of the season and its sixth when trailing by 15 or more at any point. The previous biggest comeback came on Feb. 7 at Boston when it was down 18 in the second quarter.
“I need to be in that level right now. Knowing the circumstances we are in and kick starting something,” said James, who also had 11 rebounds and six assists. “I like where I am at and will continue to get better. Tonight was a step in the right direction.”
The Lakers were down 95-88 with 7:49 remaining when they went on a 17-4 run over a six- minute span to take control. James, who scored eight points during the run, gave Los Angeles a 99-97 lead with 4:15 remaining. They would lead by as many as eight in the final minute.
“It looked like we got our defensive mojo, our defensive confidence, back as the game went along,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said.
James Harden led Houston with 30 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists before fouling out with 1:24 remaining. It is his 32nd consecutive game where he has scored 30 or more points, overtaking Wilt Chamberlain for the second-longest streak in NBA history. Chamberlain also holds the record at 65 games.
In Oakland, California, Fresh off his MVP performance in the All-Star game, Kevin Durant made certain the Golden State Warriors got off on the right foot for their stretch run to the playoffs.
He also gave Sacramento’s prized rookie Marvin Bagley III quite a lesson on defense.
Durant had 28 points, nine rebounds and tied his careerhigh with seven blocks, and the Warriors survived a hectic finish to beat the Kings 125-123 on Thursday night.
“Kevin was tremendous in every aspect, the energy, the cutting, the aggressiveness,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “Defensively he was all over the place. He was really on his game tonight in every way.”
“Just got lucky,” Durant said. “Marvin being the rookie and showing me the ball, I was just swiping.”
Stephen Curry scored 36 points, hitting 10 3-pointers. DeMarcus Cousins added 17 points and 10 rebounds in his first game against his former team since signing with the Warriors this past offseason.