The Lakers got their first road win of the season, and they did it in dramatic fashion by beating the Rockets 99-98. In a game that was hyped by the NBA to be a battle of bad blood since Dwight Howard left LA for Houston the players were rather cordial to each other. The game was still exciting although sometimes for the wrong reasons.
The Lakers started off strong with a bevy of 3 point bombs raining down on the Rockets. They shot 11/14 from 3 in the first half which helped earn them as much as a 19 point lead. The defense of the second unit was excellent. With Farmar, Meeks, Henry, Johnson, and Hill in the lineup the Lakers were able to extend their defense and pressure the ball.
In the 3rd quarter Houston increased their defensive effort and got back in the game. The Lakers turned the ball over left and right. Houston actually took the lead after trailing for the most of the game with around 3 minutes to go. Coach D'Antoni resorted to the "Hack-a-Howard" tactic and it worked. Dwight clanked two clutch free throws which allowed for a 3 point dagger by Steve Blake with 1.3 seconds remaining.
Nightly Notables:
The Good:
-Red hot 3 point shooting in the first half
-Great ball movement
-Nice defense by the second unit
The Bad:
-Pau either looked really tired or uninterested. Either way he played bad
-Too many unnecessary turnovers
-Horrible execution on what should have been the final inbounds play. It almost cost them the game
No time to enjoy the win with a back to back tonight against the Pelicans at 5pm. It was nice to stick it to Dwight though :P
Go Lakers!!!!
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