One would think that playing the worst team in the Western Conference would help the Los Angeles Lakers rectify their cold streak over the last several weeks.
Not quite.
L.A. scored enough points to stay neck and neck with the Houston Rockets in a seesaw game, but its defense was almost non-existent.
The Lakers had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but they missed all three of their shots in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Heading into overtime, it still seemed like L.A. had a real chance, but then Houston exploded from 3-point range, scoring 10 unanswered points to decide matters.
Overall, the Lakers’ Achilles heel was their lack of interior defense, as they allowed the Rockets, a team that ranks 27th in offensive rating, to score 62 points in the paint.
It seems like this Lakers team keeps hitting a new low at least once a month. With one of the NBA’s toughest schedules to close the regular season, it could get much worse.
As usual, Johnson played some good, effective defense at times, which led to three steals. Offensively, he hit 2-of-3 from the field, and he made his only 3-point attempt as well.
Malik Monk: A
After a bad outing against the Spurs, Monk was hot in Houston, shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 4-of-8 from downtown to score 20 points. He also added six rebounds and two steals.
Reaves has been stepping up his play of late, especially offensively. He made half of his 3-pointers on Wednesday, as well as some nice defensive plays to give the Lakers a chance to win the game.
Earlier in the season, he seemed hesitant and deferential on offense, but he’s starting to assert himself more, and it also appears he’s getting more of the benefit of the doubt from the officials, as he’s getting away with more physicality on defense.
After much talk about his family receiving death threats, Westbrook had a great game on Wednesday, scoring 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds and six assists while committing just two turnovers.
However, his shooting went south a bit down the stretch, and he missed a key 3-pointer with 1:54 left in overtime and the Lakers down by eight.
LeBron James: C+
James had a very poor night offensively, especially from 3-point land. He passed up what appeared to be a decent look at a reverse layup at the end of regulation that could’ve won the game, although he may have been behind the plane of the backboard at the time.
Although he had a triple-double with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, along with four blocked shots, James shot just 9-of-26 from the field and 1-of-9 from downtown. A fair amount of the responsibility for this loss must be placed on him.
Carmelo Anthony: C+
For most of the game, Anthony continued his good play of late by lighting it up from the field, particularly from downtown.
But he missed what would’ve been the game-winning shot at the end of regulation, as well as both of his shot attempts in overtime. Overall he was just 5-of-13 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point land.
Kent Bazemore: D-
Bazemore played nine minutes and made virtually no impact. He grabbed two rebounds, but he missed both of his shot attempts and committed three turnovers.
Bradley’s shot just didn’t make the trip to Houston. He missed all but one of his five 3-point attempts, but he did contribute three rebounds and one steal on Wednesday.
D.J. Augustin: A-
Augustin did a great job of giving the Lakers some offensive pop off the bench. He hit 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-7 from downtown in 22 high-quality minutes.
If we were to nitpick, he only had one assist. But overall he did just about everything he needed to do to give his team a chance at victory.
Gabriel came into the game in the third quarter and quickly made a contribution, grabbing a defensive rebound and drawing a foul while boxing out for an offensive board just seconds later. His energy and motor are pretty noticeable when he gets on to the court.
In two minutes of action he had two rebounds and drew two fouls, going to the free throw line both times, although he hit just one of four from there. He missed his only shot attempt, which was a 3-pointer.
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