James Harden goes for 39 and 12 to lead Rockets past Lakers

Thursday’s win by the Rockets (43-25) over the top-seeded Lakers (51-17) moves Houston back to the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.

With James Harden and Anthony Davis as the lone All-Star headliners, the Houston Rockets got a much-needed win on Thursday night at the NBA “bubble” over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 113-97 victory (box score) moves Houston back to the No. 4 spot in the very close race for Western Conference playoff seeding. It’s the third win for the Rockets (43-25) in four games at Disney World.

If Houston finishes at No. 4 or No. 5 in the West, they would be in line to potentially play the top-seeded Lakers (51-17) in the second round of the playoffs. With Thursday’s win, the Rockets secured the regular-season series against Los Angeles by taking two of three games.

Russell Westbrook (right quad contusion) and LeBron James (sore right groin) each sat out with minor injuries, as expected. Neither injury is believed to be a long-term concern.

In Westbrook’s absence, Harden picked up the slack and then some for the Rockets with 39 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. The All-Star guard hit 11 of his 19 shots (57.9%), including 5-of-10 on 3-pointers (50%). Davis led the Lakers with 17 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes.

Ben McLemore started in Westbrook’s place and had 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting (53.8%), while Jeff Green registered yet another quality night off the bench with 15 points in 27 minutes.

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Meanwhile, Houston’s defense limited the Lakers to just 41 points in the second half. It’s the first time in four games in Florida that the Rockets have held their opponent below 100 points for the game.

“Our goal is to defend at a high level, and I think we did that tonight,” said Harden, who explained in his postgame interview that he views defense as the key to a potential championship run for the Rockets.

As of Thursday, the Rockets had played every other day since resuming their 2019-20 regular season last Friday. However, they will now have an extra day off before returning to action on Sunday versus Sacramento (29-39) — which could give Westbrook the extra rest he needs. Head coach Mike D’Antoni said postgame Thursday that he believes Westbrook has a “real good shot” at being ready for that game.

Tip-off between the Rockets and Kings is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central on Sunday, with the game televised on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

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