Los Angeles Lakers (42-25, third in the Western Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (41-25, fourth in the Western Conference)
Houston; Monday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles visits the Houston Rockets following the Lakers’ 127-125 overtime win against the Denver Nuggets.
The Rockets are 23-19 in conference matchups. Houston ranks second in the Western Conference at limiting opponent scoring, giving up only 109.9 points while holding opponents to 45.9% shooting.
The Lakers are 28-16 in Western Conference play. Los Angeles scores 116.5 points and has outscored opponents by 1.2 points per game.
The Rockets are shooting 47.4% from the field this season, 1.0 percentage point lower than the 48.4% the Lakers allow to opponents. The Lakers average 12.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.3 fewer makes per game than the Rockets allow.
The teams square off for the second time this season. The Rockets won 119-96 in the last meeting on Dec. 26. Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 26 points, and Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 25 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Thompson is scoring 17.8 points per game and averaging 7.7 rebounds for the Rockets. Kevin Durant is averaging 26.1 points and 6.1 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LeBron James is averaging 21.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers. Doncic is averaging 34.0 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rockets: 6-4, averaging 112.1 points, 46.9 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 7.7 steals and 5.8 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 113.0 points per game.
Lakers: 8-2, averaging 121.7 points, 42.2 rebounds, 28.0 assists, 8.9 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.4 points.
INJURIES: Rockets: Jae’Sean Tate: out (knee), Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl), Alperen Sengun: day to day (back), Steven Adams: out for season (ankle).
Lakers: Maxi Kleber: out (back).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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