Jalen Green scored a game-high 33 points, Amen Thompson posted a double-double in his return from suspension and the Houston Rockets held on for a 119-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Green scored on consecutive possessions late in the fourth quarter after the Lakers closed to within 112-108 on two free throws from Anthony Davis. Thompson paired 23 points on 11-for-19 shooting with a career-high 16 rebounds after missing the previous two games.
The Lakers trailed by 22 points in the first half but were within four on Davis’ 3-pointer with 1:11 to play before cutting that deficit to 117-115 when LeBron James made a driving layup with eight seconds left. But Houston forced two turnovers inside the final six seconds, with Fred VanVleet stealing an inbounds pass intended for James before Davis was whistled for an offensive foul with 4.1 seconds left.
Davis totaled 30 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks while James (21 points, 13 rebounds) and Austin Reaves (21 points, 10 assists) also posted double-doubles. James added nine assists.
VanVleet finished with 15 points and three 3-pointers. Steven Adams added eight points and nine rebounds off the Houston bench.
James took over in the Lakers’ 40-point third quarter and had a hand in every point during a 16-4 run that narrowed the deficit to 75-70 at the 5:55 mark. James scored eight points in that stretch and assisted on 3s from Reaves and Davis in addition to feeding Davis for an alley-oop. Davis closed the period with four free throws that sliced the margin to 91-89.
Green controlled the first quarter and scored eight points during the Rockets’ 13-2 close to the period. He made 7 of 8 shots and scored in a variety of ways, drilling three 3-pointers and converting a dazzling three-point play after absorbing a foul from James on a driving layup.
Houston carried a 36-22 lead into the second after Jae’Sean Tate nailed a buzzer-beating corner 3 and extended that margin to 22 points after Alperen Sengun made a 16-footer with 5:20 left in the half. Davis scored on three successive possessions to help the Lakers close to within 57-44, but the Rockets reclaimed a 67-47 lead when Thompson led a one-man fast break that resulted in a VanVleet 3-pointer late in the first half. Houston held an 18-point cushion at the break.
