LeBron Powers Lakers 2‑0

LeBron James put the Lakers up 2-0 on Tuesday night, scoring 28 points in a 101-94 Game 2 win over the Houston Rockets. (apnews.com) James added eight rebounds and seven assists, and Los Angeles won again without a full-strength rotation. The National Basketball Association’s series page lists the Lakers ahead 2-0, with Game 3 set for Friday, April 24, in Houston. (apnews.com) (nba.com) The game turned early when the Lakers opened with a 33-26 first quarter, then held Houston to 17 points in the third. ESPN’s game log shows Los Angeles led wire to wire after taking that early cushion. (espn.com) Marcus Smart gave the Lakers a second scorer with 25 points and five made three-pointers in Game 2, while Luke Kennard also topped 20 in Game 1 of the series. The Lakers’ playoff production has come from veterans around James as injuries have thinned the backcourt. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Houston got 23 points from Kevin Durant in Game 2 and 19.5 points per game in the series from Alperen Sengun, but the Rockets have not solved James late in either home-court game. The Athletic reported before Game 2 that Houston was the only lower seed favored in any first-round series, largely because of the Lakers’ injuries. (espn.com) (nytimes.com) That is why the first two games have reset the shape of this matchup. Los Angeles finished the regular season 53-29, earned the No. 4 seed, and now carries a 2-0 edge into Houston after protecting home court twice. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The attention around Game 2 also moved fast online. ESPN’s highlight package from the game featured James’ emphatic late dunk, and social clips of the play circulated widely within hours of the final buzzer. (espn.com) James is doing this in his 23rd National Basketball Association season, and the league’s playoff page lists him as the Lakers’ series leader at 23.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists per game through two contests. The same page frames the series around his control of tempo and late-game execution. (nba.com) The series now shifts to Houston with the Rockets needing a home response on Friday night. If James keeps dictating the game the way he did in Los Angeles, the Lakers will head into Game 3 with a chance to turn a surprise 2-0 start into a first-round stranglehold. (nba.com)