Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers drives with the ball in the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, January 10, 2021. /CFP
The Los Angeles Lakers achieved a big win of 120-102 over the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center in Houston on Sunday.
This was the first meeting between the two teams in 120 days. Before it happened, the Rockets' aces James Harden and John Wall said they were eager to test themselves against the purple and gold.
"It's always exciting to play against one of the best teams in this league. Just gotta come out and be ready to play," said Harden, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
"It's just another day in the office, but we are definitely looking at this as a test to see where our team stands," said Wall, according to Coty M. Davis of SportsMap.
Markieff Morris #88 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts towards DeMarcus Cousins #15 of the Houston Rockets in the game at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, January 10, 2021. /CFP
Sunday's game was dramatic from the beginning. Markieff Morris was ejected in the first quarter after clashing with DeMarcus Cousins. Unfortunately, Cousins only stayed on the floor for several more minutes before he committed a flagrant foul on LeBron James in the second quarter.
The two ejections disrupted both sides' rotation but the Lakers apparently were in the better position to handle it thanks to their greater depth. Anthony Davis turned on full power to go 8-8 in the first half, scoring 21 points and three blocks. James was 4-4 under the hoop as well. The Rockets could hardly hold their own in front of the Lakers' aggressive offense, not to mention that they committed 10 turnovers in the first two quarters, half of which came from Harden.
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers faces James Harden of the Houston Rockets in the game at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, January 10, 2021. /CFP
The purple and gold were well-prepared defensively as well. Every time Harden drove into the paint, a smartly-designed trap awaited him there: One was responsible for slowing Harden down; one remained in front of him to challenge his shooting; one stayed ready to intercept his pass.
As for Wall, going 2-4 from downtown was not threatening enough to convince the Lakers to pay him more attention outside. Though Wall worked hard enough to challenge Davis and Marc Gasol in the paint, going 2-9 under the rim proved it's not the best offensive decision.
Each of the above factors explained why the game was long gone in early Q4.
Christian Wood #35 of the Houston Rockets shoots the ball in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, January 10, 2021. /CFP
Sunday's home loss should help the Rockets accomplish a better understanding of Wood's ability too. Though he put down a team-high of 23 points, Wood cannot pick a head-on competition against Davis, Gasol or James with his 2.08-meter height and 101-kilogram weight. Nonetheless, Wood's speed, mobility and shooting range is still his best weapon which enabled him to go 7-11 to get 17 points in the second half.
Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):
Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz drives toward the rim in the game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, January 10, 2021. /CFP
Utah Jazz 96-86 Detroit Pistons
Both the Jazz and the Pistons just put an end to their losing streak before they met at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday. The Jazz obviously were the better team as they once led by as much as 20 points on the court. Though the Pistons came close achieving a comeback in the fourth quarter, Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley made sure that did not happen by scoring 50 points together.
Since both Derrick Rose and Killian Hayes sat on Sunday's game, suffering a 10-point loss was not very surprising to the Pistons. However, watching their highest-paid player Blake Griffin go 4-12 to get only 10 points could make the team grudge the $36.6 million he receives this season.
Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers shoots the ball in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, January 10, 2021. /CFP
Chicago Bulls 127-130 Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi Leonard took off that uncomfortable mask at home on Sunday and led the Clippers to a valuable comeback win at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Having gone 7-9 behind the triple line to get 35 points, he matched the best 3-pointer shooting performance of his and surpassed 10,000 points in his career.
Such excellent performance enabled Leonard to outshine Zach Lavine who sank 10 triples to put down season-high 45 points. The two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion finished a 2+1 play and buried a 3-pointer in the last minute to keep the game alive for the Bulls but Paul George ruined his efforts by making all four free throws.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoots the ball in the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, January 10, 2021. /CFP
Oklahoma City Thunder 129-116 Brooklyn Nets
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander claimed 31 points, six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block to help the Thunder upset the Nets while pocketing their third win in a row, all on the road. Having averaged 25.7 points, seven rebounds, 7.7 assists and 2.4 steals in those three games, the 22-year-old guard was seen by Daily Thunder's Brandon Rahbar as a legit candidate for NBA Western Conference Player of the Week.
Kevin Durant returned for the Nets and scored court-high 36 points plus 11 rebounds and four assists. He played over 37 minutes in every of the recent three games. Does Steve Nash remember that Durant suffered an Achilles tendon injury less than two years ago?
Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets drives toward the rim in the game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York, January 10, 2021. /CFP
Denver Nuggets 114-89 New York Knicks
Nikola Jokic (22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and Julius Randal (29 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) had similar numbers in Sunday's game at Madison Square Garden in New York. The biggest difference was that when Jokic was on the floor, the Nuggets won by eight points; when Randal was in the game, the Knicks lost by 21 points.
Sure it's not the fairest comparison because the Nuggets have a better roster than the Knicks, but Randal has a long way to go before he can start matching Jokic's influence on the court.
D'Angelo Russell #0 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives with the ball in the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 10, 2021. /CFP
San Antonio Spurs 88-96 Minnesota Timberwolves
The two teams met again in less than 24 hours. The Spurs did not have DeMar DeRozan who had to go back to Los Angeles to take care of his ill father. Without their best offensive option this season, the Spurs got only 86 points at 38.3-field goal rate.
Though Karl-Anthony Towns missed Sunday's game too, D'Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley together shot down 51 points at Target Center in Minneapolis, helping the Timberwolves end their awkward seven-loss-streak.
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, January 10, 2021. /CFP
Toronto Raptors 105-106 Golden State Warriors
It was a bizarre game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday. Stephen Curry was 2-16 in field goals and 1-10 in triples – in fact, he missed every of his first nine attempts from downtown in – to get only 11 points and nine assists. Nonetheless, the Warriors once established a lead of 17 points in the third quarter.
Though the Raptors were not the champion team they were in 2019 anymore, they still know how to defend Curry. Coach Nick Nurse's "Box-1" defense almost forced Curry to play the worst game in his career. Meanwhile, Kyle Lowry made the perfect example of how valuable a firm, veteran player like himself is. Having got only one point in the first three quarters, the 34-year-old led his team to launch crazy counter strike in Q4 with 16 points in the quarter.
They almost reversed the situation if Curry had not made that triple at 2:37, or Damion Lee had missed any of his last two free throws.
The game between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics was postponed because the Heat could not find at least eight players required to proceed with the game.