Los Angeles Lakers (44-25) beat Houston Rockets (41-27) 124-116 on the road on Wednesday, March 18. The Rockets led after three quarters, but the Lakers took control in the fourth.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Lakers had the better start, winning the first 35-26 to lead by 9 after one. The Lakers kept the pressure on with a 32-29 second quarter, carrying a 12-point lead into halftime.
The Rockets won the third 37-22 to turn the game around, taking a 3-point lead into the fourth. The Lakers took the fourth 35-24; the Lakers completed the comeback for a 124-116 regulation win.
What decided it
The Lakers got more from their shots, finishing at 70.4% effective field-goal shooting compared with 55.5% for the Rockets. The Lakers made 22.4 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 16.5 for the Rockets. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Rockets did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 29.3% against 16.1%. The Lakers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 97 possessions per team, the Lakers produced 128.3 points per 100 possessions to 120 for the Rockets.
Who made the difference
Luka Doncic was the game's biggest individual force for LAL: 40 pts, 9 reb, 10 ast on 12-25 shooting. His Game Score of 29.8 led everyone. His team was +2 with him on the floor.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 27 pts, 4 reb, 10 ast on 10-15 shooting, good for a 27.7 Game Score.
Alperen Sengun (27 pts, 4 reb, 10 ast), Amen Thompson (26 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast), and Luka Doncic (40 pts, 9 reb, 10 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 38% for the Lakers.
Across the last 5 meetings in our records, Los Angeles Lakers lead 3-2.
The Lakers are now 44-25, and the Rockets are 41-27. The Lakers last five before this game: W-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.