Davis too big for Rockets in L.A. win
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Anthony Davis was the biggest player on the floor, and the Houston Rockets had no answers.
Davis had 29 points and 12 rebounds, Lebron James finished one assist shy of a triple-double and the Los Angeles Lakers topped the Rockets 110-100 on Thursday night to take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.
James had 16 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, who outrebounded the Rockets 52-26. Alex Caruso scored 16 points and Rajon Rondo had 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers, who held on after frittering away most of a big second-half lead.
“Turnovers,” Davis said. “We had too many turnovers.”
That was one of the few complaints the Lakers could make after Game 4.
Russell Westbrook had 25 points and James Harden had 21 — on 2-for-11 shooting — for the Rockets, who got 19 from Eric Gordon and 14 from Austin Rivers.
The scoring margins were massive: Houston got outscored 62-24 in points in the paint, 17-3 on second-chance points, 19-2 on fast-break points.
“We know we’re in a big hole now, but the next game is the game we’ve got to win,” Rockets coach Mike D’antoni said. “We’ll go out and if we lay it on the line like the way we did in the fourth quarter, we’ll be fine.”
The Lakers were up by 23 midway through the fourth, well on their way to a blowout win. That’s when Houston’s offense woke up.
Westbrook made a corner 3 with 3:01 left, Harden got a steal and a pair of free throws on the next possession, and the Rockets put together a 18-2 run to get within 103-96. The Lakers turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions during that stretch, giving Houston life.
“I think we did a good job getting more aggressive, and that led to a lot more opportunities offensively,” Harden said.
The Lakers, on their biggest possession of the night, went to Davis — who was guarded by Gordon, who stands about half-a-foot shorter than Davis. It led to an easy score for Davis with 1:47 left, and the Lakers had a bit of breathing room.
Caruso’s 3-pointer off a pass from James with 34.6 seconds left made it 108-100, sealing the win.
“Obviously, we’ve got to be better,” James said. “We’ve got to close out games the right way.”