Hits and Flops: Los Angeles Lakers vs Houston Rockets
The Los Angeles Lakers had a tough overtime loss against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center with a scoreline of 138-134.
The Lakers led for almost the entirety of the match and had a 7-point lead with 1:12 minutes remaining in the regulation time but the Rockets came roaring back with three ridiculous three-pointers to tie the game and send it to overtime. The Rockets kept on making their shots in the overtime and despite a valiant effort from Brandon Ingram, the Lakers failed to come back in the match.
The Lakers lost Lonzo Ball through an ankle sprain midway through the third quarter when they were leading by 15 points. That was one of the turning points of the match and the Lakers had to play out the match without their point guard.
With the win, the Rockets have improved to a 26-19 record, 17-7 at home and are the 5th ranked team in the Western Conference. The Lakers dropped to the ninth place and have a 25-22 record.
Let's have a look at the hits and the flops from the match.
Flop - Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
KCP had a night to forget for the Lakers. He had a net rating of -14 for the match and some of his erratic plays in the clutch moments cost his team the win.
KCP has been playing well in the absence of LeBron James. But he was way off in this match. He shot 4-12 from the field and 0-7 from the 3PT line. He failed to guard Eric Gordon on his three to tie the game in regulation. In the overtime period, KCP tried playing hero ball and air-balled a three pointer with plenty of time still left in the shot clock.
With Lonzo Ball's injury, KCP will be playing an even bigger role in the next game against the Warriors. He needs to step up and perform better if the Lakers want to upset the defending champions.