Los Angeles Lakers beat Houston Rockets 107-98 at home on Saturday, April 18 in a low-scoring game: just 205 combined points between the two teams.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Lakers struck first, taking the opening quarter 33-29 and a 4-point lead after one. The Rockets cut into the deficit with a 19-17 second quarter, though the Lakers still led by 2 at halftime.
The Lakers won the third 25-18 to create some separation, taking a 9-point lead into the fourth. The teams matched each other with 32 points apiece in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers closed regulation with a 107-98 lead.
What decided it
The Lakers got more from their shots, finishing at 68.2% effective field-goal shooting compared with 43.5% for the Rockets. The Lakers made 25.8 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 18.3 for the Rockets. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Rockets did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 39.6% against 11.5%. The Lakers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 94 possessions per team, the Lakers produced 113.6 points per 100 possessions to 104 for the Rockets.
Who made the difference
LeBron James was the game's biggest individual force for LAL: 19 pts, 8 reb, 13 ast on 9-15 shooting. His Game Score of 22.3 led everyone. His team was +11 with him on the floor.
Tari Eason led the Rockets with 16 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl on 7-7 shooting, good for a 19.5 Game Score.
LeBron James (19 pts, 8 reb, 13 ast), Deandre Ayton (19 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast), and Jabari Smith Jr. (16 pts, 12 reb, 0 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 62% for the Lakers.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, Los Angeles Lakers lead 4-2.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.