Lakers-Rockets Game 2

The Lakers beat the Rockets 101-94 on April 21 to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series. (espn.com) LeBron James finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists at Crypto.com Arena, while Marcus Smart added 25 points and seven assists and Luke Kennard scored 23. (espn.com) Los Angeles did it without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, who were listed inactive, and still shot 46.4% from 3-point range on 13-for-28 shooting. (nba.com) Houston got 23 points from Kevin Durant in his playoff debut with the Rockets, plus 20 points and 11 rebounds from Alperen Sengun, but the Rockets shot 40.4% overall and 24.1% from 3. (nba.com) The series opened as a 4-versus-5 matchup, with the Lakers finishing fourth in the West and the Rockets fifth. Two home wins have flipped the pressure onto Houston before Game 3 on Friday, April 24. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Game 2 followed the same pattern as Game 1: the Lakers again leaned on James, Smart and Kennard while Houston struggled to turn extra possessions into points. Through two games, Los Angeles is averaging 104.0 points to Houston’s 96.0. (nba.com) The numbers show how the game tilted. Houston attempted 89 shots to the Lakers’ 72, but Durant had nine turnovers and the Rockets made only seven 3-pointers. (nba.com) (espn.com) James said the Lakers “got into a dogfight,” while Durant said Houston was “not making shots” and “missing a lot of layups.” Those two lines matched the tape from a game that stayed close into the final minute before a James dunk and late Kennard free throws closed it. (espn.com) Now the series shifts to Houston with the Lakers up 2-0 and the Rockets still looking for a cleaner offensive game around Durant and Sengun. (nba.com)