Mar 18, 2026
3 min read
Luka Doncic scored a game-high 36 points, and the Lakers rallied at the last moment and relied on tenacious defense to defeat the Houston Rockets 100-92.
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- Luka Doncic finished with 36 points as the Lakers leaned on their explosive offense in the final minute of a 100-92 win over Houston.
- LeBron James finished with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists as the Lakers won their ninth in 10 games.
HOUSTON - In his team's first meeting of the season with the Rockets on Christmas Day, coach JJ Redick said the Lakers were "punked" by Houston and vowed it would never happen again.
On Monday, the Lakers showed their strength by beating the Rockets 100-92 at the Toyota Center.
Even when they missed 14 straight shots at one point in the fourth quarter, the Lakers showed resilience and a solid defensive performance that kept them in the game.The Lakers scored just 17 points in the fourth period but held the Rockets to just 12 points en route to their sixth straight win.
Austin Reaves' perfectly executed game at the free throw line against the Nuggets is another reminder of how much he grew up with the Lakers.
"They're a really good basketball team, and with their physicality and the chaos of the game, you either play hard or you lay down," Reddick said. "And we didn't lay down tonight. We were up with the scoring in the third quarter. Our guys just kept playing."
Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 36 points, six rebounds and four assists.LeBron James had 18 points and Austin Reaves had 15.
But three big baskets by Deandre Ayton (seven points, 11 rebounds) and a big triple by Marcus Smart (11 points) helped the Lakers open their six-game road trip with a win.
The Lakers (43-25), third in the Western Conference, will hold a 1.5-game lead over the Rockets (41-26) in Wednesday night's rematch.
"Obviously, we have one more (against Houston) on Wednesday, but it's a big game," said Doncic, who made 14 of 27 field goals."We're playing really well. Our defense is really good, so we just have to keep going."
The Lakers double-teamed Houston's Kevin Durant throughout the game, limiting him to 18 points and forcing seven of 24 Rockets turnovers.
Durant only shot 16 times, but made eight.He was 1-for-3 in the fourth quarter and had as many turnovers as points (two) in the final 12 minutes.One of those turnovers was on an eight-second violation.
"He's the greatest player we've ever seen play," James said."Obviously you have to try to show him different looks, try to keep his balance and when he shoots, hope he misses. So, I think we did a good job planning the game and changing our pitches.
"You can't show big like that too much of the same coverage the whole game. He's going to enjoy it."
Doncic started his typical first quarter, scoring 16 points on seven-for-10 shooting.But after dominating the boards in the second quarter, Houston led 58-51 at halftime.The Rockets converted six offensive rebounds into 13 points.
The 41-year-old forward will allow Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to dominate the offense, but he's still looking for ways to make an impact on both ends of the court.
The Lakers also struggled to score, shooting just 32% from the field and 13% (one for eight) from three-point range in the quarter.
After trailing by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, the Lakers rallied to take an 83-80 lead heading into the fourth.After what happened in LA in December, the Lakers decided not to let Houston run away with the game.
Leading 85-80, the Lakers struggled to find consistent offense until Ayton returned to the game with 4:52 left. Ayton made a layup to give the Lakers an 89-88 lead, then grabbed two offensive rebounds in the final 90 seconds to give the Lakers the lead for good. He had 6 points and 5 rebounds in the fourth quarter.pickups
"It was amazing," Jacob said."He sat there as long as he could and was locked in the game and came in and finished the game," he said.He was able to get a tip-dunk, two jump hooks around the rim and two rebounds.He helped us finish the game."
Note: Lakers backup center Maxi Kleber did not play as he continues to recover from back pain."He's basically out for five days to heal," Redick said.
