Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs Houston Rockets (4) Tied 1-1

The Los Angeles Lakers were able to win game 2 against the Houston Rockets and tie the series at 1 after getting punched in the mouth in game 1. In game 1 the NBA’s most versatile scorer shooting guard James Harden absolutely put on a clinic with 36 points. Harden got great help from guards Russell Westbrook who chipped in a solid 24 and a Eric Gordon who added 23 points to help the Rockets beat the Lakers 112-97. The Lakers shot a horrid 28.9% from 3 in game going 11/38. The Rockets meanwhile made 14/39 for a shade under 36% from beyond the arc.

In Game 2 however things changed as the Lakers hit 44% of their 3’s on 12/27 shooting. The Rockets meanwhile shot 41% from 3’s but only 44% from the floor over all compared to the Lakers stellar 56.6% shooting from the field. Forwards LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 62 points for the Lakers while the Rockets star guards of Harden and Westbrook only combined for 37 points. Westbrook only contributed 10 of those combined 37. Guard Eric Gordon had another good game with 24 but it was not enough to help the Rockets beat the Lakers.

Now the series is tied at 1 a piece. For the Lakers to take control and win this series they will need to continue to get everything they possibly can out of Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The duo is the second highest scoring NBA playoff history behind only Shaq and Kobe. Davis is going to have to punish the Rockets inside and James will need to keep pushing the ball as hard as he did in game 2. The Lakers will also need to continue to get strong performances from Markief Morris and Rajon Rondo. Morris scored 16 for the Lakers in their game 2 win while Rondo had 10 points with the Lakers going +28 with him on the court. The Lakers will also need solid games from either Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma, or Caldwell-Pope.

For the Rockets to win they’re to need to shoot much better from the floor than they did in Game 2. They are going to have to clamp down on LeBron James and make the others defeat them. The Rockets will have to get a solid contribution from Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon every game. They cannot depend on James Harden alone to beat the Lakers by himself. They will also have to knock down their 3’s. They’re getting a lot of wide open looks out there and if they want to win they have to knock them down. The Rockets will also need to get points from guys like Robert Covington, Austin Rivers, and PJ Tucker.

Right now the series is tied at 1 but by the end of the night it won’t be. The team that wins game 3 in a 1-1 tie goes on to win the series 73% of the time. It’s an important game and hopefully it’s a great one.

Enjoy the games!