Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with a game-high 23 points off the bench, Russell Westbrook had 20, Anthony Davis added 16 and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 95-85 on Sunday night at Staples Center.
The Lakers have now won consecutive games and improved to 4-3 on the season, while the Rockets fell to 1-5.
“We were able to work as a unit, do what were supposed to do,” Davis said on the Lakers win. “I think our communication was very on point tonight, which helped us with a lot of our coverages.”
Anthony continued his hot shooting, converting three 3-pointers in the first period, as he made the most threes through six games in Lakers history with 19, increasing his total to 24 on the season with five long-distance shots on the night.
“It was all about me being able to adapt. New environment, new situation, new players, “said Anthony, who also added four blocks on the night. “What makes it easier for myself is that fact that I have the minds that I have on the team. The fact that we can be honest with one another.”
Los Angeles led by as many as 28 in the fourth after Anthony made his fifth three of the game to give the Lakers a commanding 84-56 advantage with 9:36 left to play in the period
“I didn’t expect to see him have the defensive performance that he did, he was great,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “The steals and blocks, he’s always good with his hands. He was in the right position … He’s willing to do all these things and he can do all these things. When he’s providing that kind of performance on the defensive side with the way he’s shooting it, he’s a huge part of our win.”
Houston outrebounded Los Angeles 55-43 but shot only 21 percent from three-point range and turned the ball over 25 times on the night.
“When they lock into the defensive side of the ball… that’s Lakers basketball and that’s when we’re gonna have the most fun,” Vogel said.
The Lakers adjusted their starting lineup by playing Davis at the center position as Dwight Howard missed tonight’s game due to (neck stiffness).
Vogel added “we’ll see” when asked if they would continue to use that same lineup going forward, while Davis stated it “gave us another lob threat” during the game.
Eric Gordon led Houston with 17 points, Christian Wood had 16 and 13 rebounds and Kevin Porter Jr added 13. Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun had 11 while their second overall pick in Jalen Green had 7, making only 2 of 8 shots on the night.
Houston missed 14 free throws and were unable to take care of the ball throughout the game resulting in 20 fast break points for the Lakers.
“Turnovers wore us out,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “It’s been a problem for the first part of the season and when you’re playing against a good team, which is what we’re doing every night, we have to understand our spacing and a lot of things that go into the turnovers. Some were just careless, and others were forced. Forced isn’t necessarily bad but careless (ones) we’ll have to watch as a group because it’s becoming a problem night after night.”
The Lakers will continue their homestand hosting the Rockets in a rematch again on Tuesday, followed by hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-5) on Thursday at Staples Center.
