Lakers' offense stalls as the Rockets steals Game ,112-97

Orlando- The Los Angeles Lakers were defeated by the Houston Rockets, 112-97.

Los Angeles looked a bit out of sync in the first half. They were getting good looks, but could not knock down the open shots. LeBron James had a decent half, as he shot 5 of 8 from the field and scored 13 points. Alex Caruso started to catch fire in the second quarter and had some big plays on both sides of the floor. Caruso had a couple of steals and finished the half with nine points. Despite the Lakers having a decent half, James Harden lit up Los Angeles, as he erupted for 25 points. Harden was putting pressure on the Lakers' bigs when they guarded him. Even when the Lakers attempted to double team Harden, a streaking Russell Westbrook was getting to the rim and scoring easy buckets. At the end of the half, the Rockets were up 63-55.

In the second half, the Lakers put pressure on Harden and doubled team him each time that he had the ball. Los Angeles took P.J. Tucker and Robert Covington out of their game, as they struggled from behind the arc. James and Anthony Davis tried to will their team, as the Lakers' bench struggled to get going. In the fourth quarter, the Rockets went on a 10-0 run to build up a double digit lead against the Lakers and never looked back.

James finished the game with 20 points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds. Davis finishes the game with 25 points, 1 assist, and 14 rebounds.

Harden finished the game with 36 points, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds.