Rockets pull away in final quarter

unable to find a sustainable answer to Harden.

Furthermore, the Rockets had figured out how to slow the Lakers’ fast-break offense.

“We kind of stopped running too,” Davis said. “They would make a shot and we weren’t getting the ball out as quickly as we used to. And wasn’t pushing the pace. We have to get back to that Game 2.”

In the fourth quarter, the Rockets took control of the game. They opened the final period with a 16-3 run that gave them a 19-point lead. The Lakers never recovered.

“We had 17 turnovers for 27 points versus a team that’s a 100-yard dash team you cannot turn the ball over like that,” James said. “That starts with myself, being the primary ballhandler.”

They’ve been in this position before.

The Lakers also lost Game 1 of their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers, only to win the next four games to advance to this round.

The Rockets, meanwhile, needed seven games to eliminate the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The first round served as a cautionary tale for the Lakers, though they didn’t dwell on it. Vogel worried about their mental preparedness compared with that of a team that had been playing for the six days since the Lakers’ last game.

Now the Lakers know better what they’re up against.

“They’re a good defensive team, especially since they’ve been here in the bubble,” Davis said. “All their guys are like-sized and they’re able to switch everything, kind of how Golden State does. Switch everything and then just cover each other. … So our passing has to be a lot better than it was tonight, but we make the right plays and we can make them pay.”