The Rockets led big then held on for life.
The Houston Rockets led most of the night, but a late push by the Los Angeles Lakers and Lebron James got L.A. within two points before Houston held on for the 119-115 victory. With eight seconds to go, the Lakers closed the night-long gap to just two points on a Lebron bucket. After Alperen Sengun went 1-for-2 from the line, Fred VanVleet stole the inbound pass and the Rockets held on for victory.
Houston was up by as many as 22 points before the lead whittled away late, but Houston held on despite missing Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason for injury to finish their five-game homestand with a 2-3 record.
The Rockets were led by Jalen Green, who had a big night with 33 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a block on 12-for-24 shooting from the floor and 5-for-12 from deep. Amen Thompson had 23 points, a career high 16 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 11-for-19 from the field. He was 0-for-3 from three, but he was killin’ it from the floor otherwise. The Rockets also got 15 points from VanVleet and 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists from Sengun.
The Rockets shot 47 percent from the field, and though they were just 14-for-40 from deep, they only turned the ball over 6 times on the evening total.
The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis, who had 30 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks, while Lebron James had a near triple double with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists. Austin Reaves had 21 points and 10 assists.
The Rockets now move to 23-12 on the season and sit solely in second place in the Western Conference standings with the big win over L.A. that could wind up contributing to playoff position in the tightly-packed west after OKC. The Rockets will be back in action on Tuesday night when they start a road trip at the Washington Wizards.