Los Angeles Lakers beat Houston Rockets 101-94 at home on Tuesday, April 21 in a low-scoring game: just 195 combined points between the two teams.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Lakers struck first, taking the opening quarter 33-26 and a 7-point lead after one. The Rockets cut into the deficit with a 25-21 second quarter, though the Lakers still led by 3 at halftime.
The Lakers won the third 21-17 to create some separation, taking a 7-point lead into the fourth. The teams matched each other with 26 points apiece in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers closed regulation with a 101-94 lead.
What decided it
The Lakers made 30.6 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 16.9 for the Rockets. The Lakers got more from their shots, finishing at 54.9% effective field-goal shooting compared with 44.4% for the Rockets. The points at the line gave them room for error elsewhere.
The Rockets did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 37.8% against 26.5%. The Lakers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 91 possessions per team, the Lakers produced 110.6 points per 100 possessions to 102.9 for the Rockets.
Who made the difference
Marcus Smart was the game's biggest individual force for LAL: 25 pts, 2 reb, 7 ast, 5 stl on 8-13 shooting. His Game Score of 26.1 led everyone. His team was +3 with him on the floor.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 20 pts, 11 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl on 9-20 shooting, good for a 20.8 Game Score.
Alperen Sengun (20 pts, 11 reb, 5 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 64% for the Lakers.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Los Angeles Lakers lead 5-2.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.