On January 6th, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued. In today's Western Conference matchup, the Lakers lost 115-119 to the Rockets on the road, ending their two-game winning streak with a record of 20 wins and 15 losses.
Facing the young Rockets, the Lakers started very poorly. The Lakers scored 22 points in the first quarter but allowed the Rockets to score as many as 36 points on defense. In the second quarter, the Lakers still had few options and were pulled away by the Rockets to a lead of up to 22 points. In the third quarter, James exploded with four three-pointers in a single quarter, once helping the Lakers close the gap to just two points. However, due to being pulled away again by the Rockets at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lakers ultimately missed out on a 22-point comeback.
For the Lakers, it was a great pity that they failed to complete a 22-point comeback today. In the final moments of the game, the Lakers were not without chances to win. With 38 seconds left in the game, the Lakers were only down by 4 points, but James was called for a foul after pushing down Armoni Brooks on offense, missing a good opportunity to catch up. After the Rockets missed a shot, James made a layup to reduce the deficit to 2 points.
The Rockets' Zhou Qi made one of two free throws, giving the Lakers a chance, but the Lakers' sideline ball was intercepted by the Rockets. Christie passed to James, who was directly stolen by VanVleet. VanVleet continued to make one of two free throws, leaving the Lakers trailing by 4 points.
The Lakers wanted to pursue a three-pointer, but before James could attempt a three-pointer, Davis was called for an offensive foul for excessive movement during a screen, which completely dashed the Lakers' hopes of a comeback.
In the entire game, Davis scored 30 points and 13 rebounds, James scored 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists, Reeves scored 21 points and 10 assists, Hachimura scored 13 points, Christie scored 14 points and 6 rebounds, and Finney-Smith scored 13 points. Despite six players scoring in double figures, the Lakers were still very unfortunate to miss out on a 22-point comeback.
According to the schedule, the Lakers will challenge the Mavericks on the road on January 8th. Will the Lakers be able to win this crucial battle? Let's wait and see!