Los Angeles Lakers vs Houston Rockets Box Score on Dec 20, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 20, 2017

HOUSTON -- Kyle Kuzma scored a career-high 38 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers survived the Houston Rockets' second-half rally in a 122-116 upset victory Wednesday night at Toyota Center.

Houston (25-5) had its 14-game winning streak snapped despite 51 points and nine assists from James Harden. The Rockets lost for the first time with Chris Paul in its lineup. Paul departed early in the fourth quarter with a sore left leg and did not return, posting eight points, five assists and five rebounds over 25 minutes.

The Lakers (11-18) snapped their three-game skid by torching the Rockets' defense, with Kuzma producing 24 first-half points on 9-for-9 shooting. Los Angeles had six double-digit scorers, with reserve forward Corey Brewer tallying a season-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

Brewer kick-started a 10-0 run with a driving layup, and the game was tied 100-100 with 7:03 left.

Lakers rookie guard Lonzo Ball added 16 points and nine rebounds while Larry Nance Jr. and Brandon Ingram scored 13 apiece. The Lakers shot 47.1 percent from the floor, including 15-for-35 (42.9 percent) on 3-point attempts.

Eric Gordon added 21 points and Trevor Ariza 18 for the Rockets, who mustered only six points in transition.

With four 3-pointers by the 9:00 mark of the first quarter, the Lakers gave indication of how the effectiveness of their offense would dictate the outcome. Kuzma was especially incendiary, burying all six of his attempts in the opening period, including four from beyond the arc for 16 points.

Houston struggled to keep pace, and when the Lakers closed the period on a 14-2 run, the Rockets trailed 37-22 entering the second. The deficit swelled to 22 soon thereafter.

With Brewer leading the charge, the Lakers found bench scoring to complement Kuzma. But when Houston's deficit hit 48-26, Harden re-entered the contest and came alive, scoring 15 of the next 17 points for the Rockets before assisting on a corner 3-pointer by P.J. Tucker that pulled Houston to within 56-46.

Harden added nine additional points down the stretch of the half, entered the break with 30 points, and was largely responsible for the Lakers' margin shrinking to 63-59.

NOTES: With 51 points, Rockets G James Harden passed Elvin Hayes (11,762) for fourth place in franchise history. Harden has scored 11,781 points over 425 games with Houston. ... Lakers coach Luke Walton inserted veteran C Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup to replace Brook Lopez (ankle). Bogut scored two points in 17 minutes. With Lopez slated to miss at least three weeks, Walton will tweak his starting lineup based largely on matchups. ... Rockets C Clint Capela sat for the second time in three games due to a left heel contusion. Veteran C Nene started in place of Capela and scored four points.