HOUSTON (AP) – LeBron James had 31 points and 12 assists and the Los Angeles Lakers rode a big third quarter to a a 124-115 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
The Lakers bounced back after a loss to Orlando on Wednesday night that snapped their nine-game winning streak. The loss was the third straight for the Rockets, which ties a season high, and they have dropped four of five.
Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points and Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each had 20 for the Lakers.
Russell Westbrook scored 35 points for his fourth straight 30-point game and James Harden had 34 for the Rockets, who also lost three in a row in late November.
Los Angeles didn’t lead in the first half but used a 32-point third quarter to take a nine-point lead into the fourth.
Houston used a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 10 with about seven minutes left, but the Lakers scored the next six points to extend it to 110-94 midway through the quarter. That sent many Rockets fans streaming for the exits and caused a large contingent of Lakers fans to start chanting, “Let’s go Lakers.”
The Rockets did not get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
