Houston Rockets beat Los Angeles Lakers 112-97 in Game 1 of Western Conference Semi-finals and takes 1-0 lead in the seven game series.
LeBron and Lakers struggled to find any rhythm on both offense and defensive end against fast playing small ball Rockets.Lakers coming to this game with six days of rest and they looked rusty and conceded sloppy turnovers.Credit should be given to Mike De Antoni and Rockets for executing the plan perfectly to take game 1 victory.
Houston held the lead for the final three quarters of this game, outscoring Los Angeles, 61-45, in the second and fourth quarters. The Lakers rested their starters for the final few minutes, trailing by double-digits for the final eight minutes of play.
Houston shot 48 percent from the field and 36 percent from long range while Los Angeles hit just 42 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range.James Harden led the Rockets with 36 points, two rebounds, five assists and two steals. Russell Westbrook tallied 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Eric Gordon had 23 points.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 25 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and three blocks. LeBron James totaled 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Alex Caruso led the bench with 14 points and four assists.
Rajon Rondo back into the side for the first time in this playoffs for Lakers,the new addition also caused some problems for coach Vogel to run the offense effectively.The Lakers will come back strong for the second game with proper adjustments,which will be on Sunday at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT on abc.
