Lakers buckle down, pull out win over Rockets

Even if the Lakers were playing host to the Houston Rockets for the second time in three days, Lakers coach Frank Vogel said the rematch Tuesday night was still all “about us” and not the opponent.

It was about what the Lakers were trying to create and the schemes they want to employ and the defense they want incorporate for this 2021-22 season.

The Rockets, however, came out to challenge everything the Lakers were about, pushing the pace, scoring with ease at times, refusing to back down even if Houston had lost by 10 points Sunday night at Staples Center.

It took LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook doing big work and it took Kevin Porter Jr. missing a potential game-winning three-pointer for the Lakers to escape with a 119-117 win over the Rockets.

James had 30 points and 10 rebounds, Davis added 27 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and Westbrook contributed 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers to win their third straight game.

After scoring 85 points in Sunday’s loss to the Lakers, the Rockets dropped 70 on them in the first half.

The Rockets attacked a Lakers defense that was not holding up this time. Houston made 58% of its shots in the first half, 44.4% of its three-pointers.

The Rockets’ big three of rookie Jalen Green, center Christian Wood and Jae’Sean Tate took turns running by the Lakers in the first half, combining for 46 points.

Green led the way with 18 first-half points on seven-for-nine shooting, including three for four on three-pointers. Wood had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Tate had 13 points on six-for-10 shooting.

Things were so bad for the Lakers in the first half that they grew frustrated, earning three technical fouls by Kent Bazemore, Vogel and Carmelo Anthony.

“This part of the season is really about us and our habits,” Vogel said before the game. “There’s not a whole lot of those type of adjustments that we’re thinking about from Game1 to Game2. Always want to be better in certain ways and guard certain guys. … But that’s no different than if we’re playing Houston tonight and OKC on Thursday. It’s more about us.”

The Lakers’ us essentially revolves around James, Davis and Westbrook.

Lakers forward LeBron James follows through on a breakaway dunk against the Houston Rockets at Staples Center.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

James (16 points), Davis (15) and Westbrook (12) led the way in the first half. They got help from Anthony, who had 10 off the bench.

Early in the third quarter, the Lakers went down by 11, their defense still bad.

It was going to take better defense for the Lakers to defeat a Rockets team that entered the game with just one victory this season.

The Lakers made up ground, trailing 89-87 after Westbrook made two free throws with 1.3 seconds left in the third.

By the end of the third, Westbrook had 25 points, six rebounds and five assists. And the Lakers had improved their defense, giving up 19 points in the quarter.

Rookie Austin Reaves did his part by playing good defense, inspiring his teammates to do likewise.

“I think we’ve been moving in the right direction,” Westbrook said after practice Monday. “… At this point, we’re just worrying about creating our own identity, taking care of home court and making sure that we move our defense in the right direction.”

The Lakers had stayed with the same small-ball starting lineup of Bazemore, James, Davis at center, and Avery Bradley and Westbrook at guard.

DeAndre Jordan, who had been the starting center, came off the bench. Backup center Dwight Howard missed his second straight game because of a stiff neck. So that meant Davis would play the bulk of the minutes at center.