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LeBron-led Lakers survive scare from Rockets

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LOS ANGELES — Sometimes one stop is all you need.

There were not many stops on Tuesday night for a Lakers defense performing well below its standard. But the final play – an errant, last-ditch 3-point attempt from USC product Kevin Porter Jr. – was off by an inch, just enough for the Lakers to hold on for a 119-117 victory over the Houston Rockets.

They breathed a sigh of relief after battling to get back on top in a shootout with the young Rockets. LeBron James, who scored 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, wrapped himself in a towel. Russell Westbrook, who scored 27, removed his jersey entirely. Anthony Davis, who scored 27, spun the ball on his finger after grabbing the last rebound.

Close games are getting to be a way of life for these Lakers (5-3), who survived this latest thriller for their third straight win and fifth in their past six games.

It was the inverse of a game against these same Rockets two nights earlier: After a 95-85 defensive struggle on Sunday, neither team seemed in the mood to stop the other in the rematch.

Jalen Green made the hosts sweat: The rookie made a 3-pointer with eight seconds left to pull Houston within one point, and hope was still alive for the Rockets after the Lakers’ Malik Monk converted just one of two free throws moments later. But the Lakers successfully defended on two inbounds plays to hold on for the win.

There were roughly 2,500 more fans packing a sellout crowd than there were on Sunday, and the full-throated force of that increase was clear as James went on his fourth-quarter tear – a one-man 10-point run.

A dunk off a Westbrook lob. A pair of go-ahead layups. A turnaround jumper from 13 feet. A layup from a few feet out outside of the backboard. In less than two minutes, James had flipped a three-point deficit into a four-point lead with about 7:30 remaining.

“It was just about the moment – just about the moment and trying to make the best plays to help our team win,” James said. “And at that point in time, it calls for me to score. And I was able to bring us a few buckets at the time.”

The Lakers had an even closer finish due to an unusual officiating mistake: Referees miscounted Houston’s four fouls as five and awarded the Lakers a pair of free throws for Kent Bazemore with 2:31 remaining. An official review later took those two points off the board, putting the Lakers ahead by just three points with 1:35 left.

The Lakers were incensed: The net effect was that they lost a possession for getting fouled. Had the referees correctly counted the fouls, the Lakers would have at least retained the ball for an inbounds play.

“Once that goes away, you just take the points away and don’t give us the possession back – you can’t correct that at that point,” Coach Frank Vogel said. “So very frustrated by that. The league has to look at that.”

James pulled up from 18 feet to put two more points back on the board, and the Lakers’ defense forced a key shot clock violation with 1:03 left. The Lakers later added that it was fortunate the stolen possession didn’t cost them the game.

James’ feisty fourth quarter was the capper to an excellent offensive night for the Big Three. For the first time in their eight games together, James, Westbrook and Davis each scored at least 20 points, finding an elusive scoring balance.

It was all the more needed with the Lakers’ role players coming up short: Aside from 15 points from Carmelo Anthony, the rest of the non-Big Three contributed just 20 points.

“That’s the beauty of our team, and to be able to have A.D. and Bron on the floor, you don’t have to do everything,” Westbrook said. “If those guys are going, then you’re feeding whoever has it going, whoever has a better rhythm, we just kind of play off whoever that may be.”

Perhaps the most damning aspect of the game was that the Lakers needed the heroics at all. After holding the Rockets to just 85 points on Sunday, they allowed 70 points in the first half through all manner of defensive sins: hands not in the air, getting caught out of position, failing to stick to shooters, getting screened out of plays.

Green, the No. 2 overall draft pick this summer, seized upon the lackadaisical energy to go 7 for 9 from the field before halftime. The Rockets scored 40 points in the paint in the first half alone, pushing the Lakers’ defense well into the rim for close finishes.

Without veteran center Dwight Howard (neck stiffness) for a second straight game, the Lakers’ protection at the rim was hobbled to begin with. Davis seemed hindered by stiffness at various points throughout the game. DeAndre Jordan checked in for him to start the second half, but Davis reappeared 90 seconds later to resume his normal rotation.

The most intensity the Lakers showed in the first half was during their confrontations with officials. They drew three technical fouls for arguing calls, including one by Vogel, who screamed after a missed call on a second-quarter basket by Jordan.

Some of that frustration manifested in the offense, especially when the Lakers drove in the paint. Westbrook was a terror off the dribble for most of the night, and James screamed at the crowd after a fast-break dunk shortly before halftime. But it rarely manifested on the other end, where a lack of attention to detail left the Lakers trailing for much of the night, including the two middle quarters.

“We just weren’t there on time tonight,” Vogel said. “We were a step late with it. But we again challenged them at halftime and they did a far better job in the second half.”

The Lakers next play Oklahoma City on Thursday night at Staples Center.