LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The Houston Rockets, fueled by 41 points from Russell Westbrook, surged late to shock the NBA’s Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers 121-111 on Thursday.
Anthony Davis shook off a sprained right index finger to lead the Lakers with 32 points.
LeBron James added 18 for Los Angeles, who trailed much of the night but took a 108-105 lead on Avery Bradley’s pull up jumper with 4:57 remaining.
But the Rockets closed the game with a 16-3 scoring run to seal their fourth straight victory.
Their small-ball lineup — featuring no one taller than 6-foot-6 (2m) — proved more than a match for Los Angeles.
Sharp-shooting forward Robert Covington, acquired by the Rockets from the Timberwolves this week, drained two three-pointers and produced a key block as Houstonpowered to the finish.
Eric Gordon added 15 points for the Rockets, James Harden had a relatively quiet night with 14 points and Covington added 14. Six Houston players scored in double figures.
“They hit some tough shots down the stretch,’”said Davis, who added 13 rebounds for the Lakers. ”We made some costly turnovers, we didn’t complete passes that we normally complete and it hurt us when they got out in transition and we didn’t match up well – they were able to make us pay.”
James added 18 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds and Danny Green and Bradley scored 15 apiece for Los Angeles, whose Western Conference lead over the LA Clippers is now just 2 1/2 games.
In Milwaukee, reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a dominant 36-point, 20-rebound performance as the Bucks avenged a Christmas Day loss to the Philadelphia 76ers with a 112-101 victory.
Antetokounmpo, who also handed out six assists, had 19 points and 10 rebounds before halftime as the league-leading Bucks powered to their 12th victory in 13 games.
The “Greek Freak” notched his fifth straight game of at least 30 points and 15 rebounds – the first NBA player since the 1985-86 season to put together such a streak.
PELICANS WIN
New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson had another impressive outing in his injury-delayed debut season, connecting on nine of 11 shots from the field on the way to 21 points in the Pelicans’ 125-119 victory over the Bulls in Chicago.
Williamson was a force in the paint against a Bulls team missing their two two defenders in Wendell Carter and Kris Dunn.
The Pelicans shot 56.3 percent from the field and led 103-81 heading into the fourth quarter and their biggest concern of the night was a right ankle injury to Brandon Ingram, who scored 15 points in 21 minutes but departed the game midway through the third period.
KOBE MEMORIAL
SLATED FEB. 24
Meantime, Los Angeles will host a public memorial on Feb. 24 at Staples Center for NBA icon Kobe Bryant and eight others killed last month in a helicopter crash, US media reported Thursday.
The Los Angeles Times, citing two unnamed sources, and CNN, citing a source close to the Bryant family, were among the outlets reporting the event, which had not been officially announced.
The Los Angeles Lakers – the club where Bryant starred for 20 seasons — Staples Center, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office did not immediately confirm the event was planned.
Houston 121, LA Lakers 111
New York 105, Orlando 103
Portland 125, San Antonio 117
New Orleans 125, Chicago 119
Milwaukee 112, Philadelphia 101
