Lakers-Rockets Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jan 07 2013 9:58PM

If this season hasn't already been trying enough, the Los Angeles Lakers suffered another big blow entering this week.

The slumping Lakers won't have frontcourt players Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill for a difficult two-game road trip that begins Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets, who will seek a season high-tying fifth straight win.

Los Angeles entered this season as one of the favorites for the franchise's third title in five seasons, but the Lakers (15-18) and their new players have never seemed to click. The team got to .500 after a five-game win streak last month but is 1-4 in its last five and is one shy of tying its season-high four-game skid from Dec. 7-13.

Los Angeles' chances of ending that losing streak don't appear promising with its recent injuries.

Howard, a six-time All-Star acquired from Orlando in the offseason, tore the labrum in his right shoulder Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers and re-aggravated it while matching a career high with 26 rebounds in a 112-105 loss to Denver on Sunday. He's expected to sit out a week before being re-evaluated.

Gasol, a four-time All-Star, suffered a concussion when he took an elbow in the face during Sunday's loss, and his backup, Hill, has an injured right hip. Both players are out indefinitely.

The Lakers will likely bring up 7-footer Robert Sacre, the last player taken in this year's draft, from the D-League to start at center. Metta World Peace, who is 6-7, might also be used at that spot.

With that patchwork frontcourt, Los Angeles will have to face the Rockets (20-14) and Southwest Division-leading San Antonio in back-to-back road games. It's unknown if the Lakers will have those players back for a four-game homestand that starts against Oklahoma City on Friday and ends against Miami on Jan. 17.

"The NBA is unforgiving, and nobody is feeling sorry for us," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "There's 29 other teams that are happy, and we've got to do the best we can do."

The Rockets will try to take advantage of the short-handed Lakers to match their five-game win streak from Dec. 17-26. Houston will also seek its seventh win in eight home games and its fourth in a row at the Toyota Center against Los Angeles.

"They're still a great team no matter what their record is," said James Harden, who is among the NBA leaders with 26.4 points per game. "It's going to be a tough matchup for us."

The Rockets, winners in three of four overall in the series, rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 107-105 home win over the Lakers on Dec. 4 despite Harden missing 16 of 19 shots.

Harden finished with 15 in that victory but has topped 20 in each of the 16 ensuing games and has 25 or more in 12 consecutive contests, one shy of tying Moses Malone's team record from Dec. 26-Feb. 23, 1982. He had 29 points in a 112-104 win over Cleveland on Saturday, including 16 in the final quarter and the game's final six points.

The Rockets, among the NBA's highest scoring teams with 106.2 points per game, have averaged 113.5 during their win streak.

Harden has topped 20 points only once in 23 career matchups with the Lakers, including two postseason series, and had 20 in a 119-108 road loss Nov. 18. Howard had 28 points and 13 rebounds for Los Angeles, and Kobe Bryant had 22 points and a season-high 11 assists.

Bryant has scored at least 27 points in 17 games since the beginning of December and had 39 in the loss in Houston.

Lakers point guard Steve Nash is five assists shy of becoming the fifth player with 10,000.

Rockets beat Lakers 125-112 for 5th straight win

By KRISTIE RIEKEN
Posted Jan 09 2013 1:12AM

HOUSTON (AP) Sure the Los Angeles Lakers are short-handed.

But a team with Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Metta World Peace should still play better than this.

James Harden scored 31 points and Chandler Parsons added 20 to help the Houston Rockets pick up their fifth straight win with a 125-112 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night

Houston trailed by as many as 14 in the first half, but used a pair of runs in the third quarter to go on top and build a big lead.

World Peace had a season-high 24 points for the Lakers, who were playing without their top three big men: Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill - who are all out with injuries.

Bryant added 20 points for the Lakers and Nash had 16 points and 10 assists to become only the fifth player to surpass 10,000 career assists, joining John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson and Magic Johnson.

Nash said he tweaked his back in the game, but that he was OK.

"It's really hard to enjoy it right now," Nash said of the assists. "I don't want to discredit it, or not appreciate the company I share in this milestone, but right now it's the farthest thing from my mind. We're just trying to find a way to win one game."

The Lakers, who lost their fourth straight to fall to 15-19, are in 11th place in the Western Conference.

"I thought we had the better team," World Peace said. "We definitely had the better team, but every night we have the better team and it's just not translating to wins."

The Rockets have rallied from double-digit deficits for their last three wins. As usual, they did it on Tuesday night behind the strong play of Harden, who has scored at least 25 points in 13 straight games.

"They were short-handed tonight, but they are still tough," Harden said of the Lakers. "We knew we couldn't take them lightly. They did a great job in the first half of really getting easy shots on us. In the second half we started to pick it up defensively. We got out in transition and made some easy shots."

Howard has a torn labrum in his right shoulder, Gasol has a concussion and Hill a right hip injury. All three are out indefinitely. Seven-foot rookie center Robert Sacre made his first career start due to the injuries, and finished with 10 points, four blocked shots and three rebounds.

"We've just got to move forward," World Peace said. "We don't have time to feel bad for anyone. This team just has to push and move forward."

Jeremy Lin chipped in 19 points with six rebounds and five assists for Houston, and Carlos Delfino also scored 19.

The Rockets led by nine midway through the fourth quarter and used a 5-0 run highlighted by a three-point play by Lin to make it 112-98. Lin drove to the basket and made the layup as he fell to the court after being fouled by Sacre.

"There are some things we can clean up as a group and do a better job," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "A little more attention to detail and we'll do better."

Houston used a 10-2 spurt early in the third quarter to tie it at 69 after a three-point play by Marcus Morris with 6 1/2 minutes left in the quarter. The Rockets then broke off a 23-11 run to take a 92-80 lead near the end of the third. Lin had nine points in that span and Harden added six.

Bryant hit a jumper with about five minutes left in the third, and the Lakers didn't score another field goal until Chris Duhon made a 3-pointer with 48 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Houston led 96-88 at the end of the third quarter.

"Tonight we could offer up a number of excuses, but what is troubling is when we were healthy, we weren't stopping people, either," Nash said.

The Rockets were still down by six midway through the second quarter before a 7-0 run capped by a 3 from Delfino gave them their first lead of the game - 47-46 - about five minutes before halftime.

The game was tied a couple of minutes later when Nash scored five quick points to put the Lakers on top 56-51.

Los Angeles led 62-59 at halftime.

The Lakers led 18-4 early after a run where World Peace made two 3-pointers and Darius Morris made one. The Lakers were up by 13 later in the quarter before Houston used a 12-5 spurt powered by two 3s from Delfino to cut the lead to 34-28 at the end of the first quarter.

NOTES: Gasol was examined by a neurologist on Tuesday and was not cleared to play. He will be re-evaluated on Thursday. ... Harden's 13 straight games with at least 25 points are tied with Moses Malone for the such streak in franchise history. ... Delfino is shooting 61.3 percent from 3-point range in the last five games.

Notebook: Rockets 125, Lakers 112

Matt Miller, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Jan 09, 2013 12:29 AM - Updated Wed Jan 09, 2013 12:29 AM

THE FACTS: For the Houston Rockets, sluggish starts that cause them to fall behind early in games no longer seem all that problematic. Perhaps that is because they continue to erase these deficits in impressive fashion and walk off the court winners.

James Harden scored 31 points on 11-for-19 shooting to go with nine assists and six rebounds, as the Rockets recorded their third consecutive come-from-behind victory and extended their winning streak to five games with a 125-112 triumph over the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday at Toyota Center. Chandler Parsons added 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting, and Jeremy Lin netted 19 points, grabbed six boards and dished out five assists for Houston (21-14), which has won seven of its last eight home games and 10 of 12 overall.

Steve Nash (16 points) reached the 10,000 career assists milestone in the second quarter, becoming only the fifth player in NBA history to dish that many dimes.

Metta World Peace poured in a season-high 24 points and collected four steals to pace the Lakers (15-19), who have lost a season-worst-tying four games in a row. Kobe Bryant finished with 20 points on 8-for-22 shooting and seven assists. L.A. played without frontcourt starters Dwight Howard (torn labrum in right shoulder) and Pau Gasol (concussion), as well as reserve big man Jordan Hill (left hip). All three players will be sidelined at least until the conclusion of the Lakers' two-game Texas road swing.

QUOTABLE: "Dribble penetration hurt us quite a bit. ... They really spread us out and break us down and go by us. We're not the fastest team, so they can break our defense down and get by us on penetration."
-- Bryant on how Houston eventually wore down the Lakers.

THE STAT: The Rockets stormed back from a double-digit deficit for the third consecutive contest, digging out of a 14-point hole against L.A. Houston has outscored opponents by an average of 15.0 points during the second half of these matchups. The Rockets have overcome a deficit of at least 10 points in seven games this season, one more than the amount of double-digit comebacks they posted all of last season.

TURNING POINT: The Lakers butchered the Rockets' defense for a majority of the first three quarters, building a 78-73 lead with a little less than five minutes remaining in the third. As soon as Houston put together a string of solid defensive possessions, however, L.A.'s advantage quickly evaporated. Fueled by six consecutive missed jump shots by the Lakers, the Rockets ripped off a 21-4 run to claim a 94-82 edge with 1:09 left to play in the period.

HOT: With his 13th consecutive 25-point performance, Harden matched Moses Malone's franchise record for most consecutive games with at least 25 points. The fourth-year guard has averaged 29.4 points during this streak.

QUOTABLE II: "He scores the ball so efficiently and so quietly, it's just crazy. ... He's really carrying us right now, and it's promising that we have a guy like him to give the ball to and create."
-- Parsons on Harden's offensive prowess.

NOT: L.A. may have been undermanned in the post Tuesday, but its interior defensive woes date back to before Gasol and Howard were sidelined by injuries. After allowing Houston to finish with a 60-44 advantage in the paint, the Lakers have been outscored in the paint by an average of 57.3-39.3 over their last three games.

GOOD MOVE: The Rockets relentlessly attacked the rim, exploiting the short-handed Lakers' inability to consistently clog the paint. Harden, Lin and Parsons penetrated at will in guiding the Rockets to a scorching 55.2 percent shooting effort from the field and their fourth game this season with at least 60 points in the paint.

QUOTABLE III: "We emphasized going inside. We wanted to attack the paint, and I know I was trying to get to the rim more just knowing they didn't have any shot blockers in there."
-- Parsons

BAD MOVE: Houston coach Kevin McHale played Parsons, who is battling an illness, nearly 43 minutes in the first game of a back-to-back set. That likely leaves McHale with no choice but to limit the second-year forward's minutes during Wednesday's meeting with the New Orleans Hornets.

NOTABLE: Nash, who recorded his 10,000th career assist on an Antawn Jamison basket with 19.6 seconds remaining in the second quarter, now sits at 10,005 career dimes. He became the fourth fastest player in NBA history to reach this milestone, needing only 1,162 contests. ... Nash tweaked his back during the third quarter, but he returned to the game in the fourth period after a brief trip to the locker room. ... Bryant failed to reach 27 points for the first time in 18 games, falling one outing shy of matching Michael Jordan's 18-game streak during the 1990-91 campaign. ... The Lakers have lost four consecutive games in Houston, squandering a 14-point advantage in each of their last three defeats at Toyota Center. ... The Rockets improved to 9-1 this season when Carlos Delfino (19 points) nets at least 11 points. ... Delfino has shot 61.3 percent (19-for-31) from 3-point range over his last five games. ... Houston is now 10-2 when Harden scores at least 30 points and 15-3 when he connects on at least 45.0 percent of his field-goal attempts. ... The Rockets won for only the second time this season when draining fewer 3-pointers than their opponent.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers: Wednesday @ San Antonio, Friday vs. Oklahoma City, Sunday vs. Cleveland. For the Rockets: Wednesday @ New Orleans, Friday @ Boston, Saturday @ Philadelphia.

• Lakers: Blake
• Rockets: Beverley, Jones, White

• Lakers: --
• Rockets: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #30 John Goble, #66 Haywoode Workman
• Attendance: 18135
• Duration: 2:10