Defense gets it done for Lakers

Sitting third in the Western Conference, the Lakers (43-25) will take a 1/2-game lead over the Rockets (41-26) into their rematch on Wednesday night.

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“Obviously, we have another one on Wednesday [against Houston], but it was avery important game,” said Doncic, who shot 14 for 27 from the field. “We've been playing very good. Our defense has been pretty good, so just gotta continue that way.”

‘The Lakers threw double teams at Houston's Kevin Durant all game, limiting him to 18 points and forcing him into seven of the Rockets’ 24 turnovers.

Durant shot only 16 times yet made eight. He was one for three in the fourth quarter and had just as many turnovers as points (two) in the final 12 minutes.

“He's one of the greatest players we've ever seen play,” James said. “Obviously you got to try to show him different looks, try to keep him off-balanced and when he shoots, hope he misses. You can’t show a great like that too many of the same coverages throughout the whole game. He'll get a feel for it.”

Donciec got offto what has become his typical first-quarter starts, scoring 16 points on seven-for-10 shooting. But Houston took a 58-51 lead at halftime after taking control of the boards in the second quarter. The Rockets turned six offensive rebounds into 13 points.

The Lakers also had a hard time scoring, shooting only 32% from the field and 13% (one for eight) on threes in the quarter.

After trailing by as many as 10 pointsin the third quarter, the Lakers surged to take an 83-80 lead heading into the fourth.