Having lost 34 points to the Houston Rockets two weeks ago, the Los Angeles Lakers certainly want revenge when they host the Texas team in the match this morning (November 20).
The highlight of the encounter is probably the rivalry between LeBron James and Dillon Brooks. The two did not disappoint viewers with many direct confrontations on the field, tit-for-tat exchanges, and each team scored the most points.
After 4 rounds of intense chasing, in the end LeBron James was both the player who scored more points and the winner. The Lakers superstar personally determined the result of the match with a free throw at the end of the first half, leading the LA team to a 105-104 victory.
But before getting to the “king” score at the free throw line, Lakers fans need to thank Austin Reaves. The $56 million contract shot a cool 3-pointer from near the center logo. field to put the LA football team in the lead.
If the Los Angeles Lakers have the excellence of LeBron James and Austin Reaves, then on the Houston Rockets side, the person who shines at an important moment is Alperen Sengun.
The young Turkish bigman had 3 consecutive “clutch” scoring situations against 3 different bigman of the Lakers including Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura and LeBron James.
Sengun was also the one who caught Davis’s 5th and 6th personal fouls, causing the Lakers center to be disqualified as the fourth quarter entered the final minute. Unfortunately, the talent born in 2002 could not help the Rockets win.
LeBron James was definitely the best player in the match with 37 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and extremely high efficiency on offense, reaching 14-19 FG and 7-9 FT.
Behind the “king” is Anthony Davis with 27 points (11-15 FG), 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. However, AD had to sit out for more than 1 minute at the end of the match because of 6 personal fouls.
Besides Davis and James, only Austin Reaves played impressively with 17 points in 25 minutes of play. Besides the 3-pointer that put the Lakers ahead, he added 6 rebounds, 6 assists with 5-7 FG.
Statistics from ESPN show that the trio LeBron – AD – Austin Reaves scored 30 out of a total of 39 successful shots for the Los Angeles Lakers this match.
On the Houston Rockets side, Alperen Sengun had a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds. Dillon Brooks had 24 points and 4 steals with 6 successful 3-pointers. One name that needs to be mentioned is Fred VanVleet, owner of 15 points and 16 assists.
This is the 5th victory in the last 6 matches of the Los Angeles Lakers, including an undefeated record in the NBA In-Season Tournament. At the same time, the Lakers also have a record of 5 wins in 6 home matches.
In the next appearance, LeBron James and his teammates will face the Utah Jazz at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 22. This will be the decisive match for the top spot in Group A in the West at the In-Season Tournament.