Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are back in business. The No. 1 seed in the West has tied up their NBA Western Conference semi-final series against the Houston Rockets at 1-1 and now set their sights on taking a series lead in Game 3.
After a disappointing Game 1 performance, the Lakers’ star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis showed up in a big way in Game 2 to lead LA to victory.
It will now be up to the Rockets’ superstar combo of James Harden and Russell Westbrook to respond in Game 3. If they don’t, Houston will have some problems moving forward in this series.
Talking Points
Lakers stars shine in Game 2
The Lakers needed to bounce back after losing another Game 1, and they did just that in Game 2. They came out of the gates on fire, going up by 16 points after the first quarter. Anthony Davis was aggressive offensively to help the Lakers build that big lead.
The Rockets fought back in the third quarter as they scored 41 points to take a two-point lead heading into the fourth. But the Rockets simply ran out of steam in the final quarter. They scored just 17 points, which allowed the Lakers to get the 117-109 win.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis were simply sensational. Davis had a team-high with 34 points and 10 rebounds, while James was just one assist shy of a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He also added four steals and two blocks.
The Lakers are one of the favourites to win the title according to the NBA 2020 odds because they have arguably the best one-two punch in the league. When their two superstars are playing at such a high level, they are just so hard to stop.
Rockets’ dynamic duo must deliver
On the other side, the Rockets’ star duo didn’t quite rise up to the occasion as they did in Game 1. Harden had 27 points on efficient shooting, but he was a non-factor in the fourth as he looked visibly tired.
Meanwhile, Westbrook had a woeful game throughout, finishing with just 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting (1-of-7 on 3-pointers) with seven turnovers.
As the first two games of this series have shown, the Rockets will only go as far as their two stars will take them. They don’t stand much of a chance if Westbrook is so awful offensively or if Harden is unable to contribute in the clutch.
But Westbrook is just a few games back after a quad injury and will have his ups and downs. Meanwhile, Harden has a history of underperforming in the postseason, so it remains difficult to know what to expect out of them from game to game.
Lakers’ supporting cast can step up
What makes the Rockets’ Game 2 loss all the more painful was the fact that their supporting cast put up some NBA 2020 highlights. Houston hit 22 3-pointers as a team; Eric Gordon knocked down six while P.J. Tucker and Robert Covington had four each.
It’s tough to expect all of them to have another game that good again, so they missed an opportunity to capitalise.
The Lakers had a similarly surprising 16-point performance from Markieff Morris, who hit 4 3-pointers off the bench in Game 2. Morris only had 19 points in five games during the Portland series, so it’s unlikely he plays that well again.
But the other big surprise was Rajon Rondo’s fine play after a difficult Game 1. The veteran point guard had 10 points, nine assists, and five steals to finish with a team-high plus-28 in 29 minutes.
The Lakers are in desperate need of depth in the backcourt, so if Rondo can provide anywhere close to repeating that performance in Game 3, they will be in good shape.
History
Houston will be hoping the Lakers don’t repeat history and do what they just did in the first round against the Blazers.
The Lakers also lost Game 1 of that series but won the next four games. Game 3 was a particularly important game as James withstood the Blazers’ best punch by going off for a playoff-high 38 points, with 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Although, Harden has performed in his past two Game 3s. He also had 38 points in Game 3 against the Thunder, although the Rockets lost. He also had 41 points in Game 3 against the Golden State Warriors last season.
What are the odds?
SBOTOP odds have the Lakers priced as 1.45 favourites to win Game 3 on the money line, while the Rockets are at 2.81.
Meanwhile, the Asian Handicap odds have the Lakers as -5.00 favourites at 1.96 and Rockets +5.00 is 1.94.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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