After a lackluster performance in Friday night’s Game 1 loss, the star players for the Los Angeles Lakers shined brighter than before and they also got plenty of help from their reserves to make contributions overwhelm a Houston Rockets team that was relentless and nearly stole the game on Sunday night. The Lakers are now tied 1-1 with the Rockets in their best-of-seven series after a 117-109 win in Game 2.
Anthony Davis had a game-high 34 points and 10 rebounds, while LeBron James was excellent with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists. After going scoreless in the 4th quarter of Game 1, James had eight points in the 4th quarter of their Game 2 win. But the Lakers would likely have been down 0-2 were it not for contributions from bench veterans Markieff Morris and Rajon Rondo.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 7, 2020
Morris had 16 points and five assists off the bench, while Rondo had 10 points, nine assists, five steals, and three rebounds to go with a game-high plus-minutes of +28. Kyle Kuzma also had an efficient game, going six of seven from the field to score 13 points.
The Lakers did this while losing JaVale McGee for most of the game and not playing Dwight Howard. If McGee is out, going with more of Davis center, while also adding more guards like Rondo on the court, will likely be a move going forward. But the Rockets showed that even when the Lakers play great, they’ll be right there alongside them. Buckle up, this series is just getting started.