NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking Points from Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers came from 19 points down to get a much-needed win against the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets led by 10 points at the end of the first quarter and by as many as 19 during the third quarter. But LeBron and the Lakers refused to go down quietly. They made a late run at the end of the third quarter to cut the lead down to 7 and then played with contagious energy in the entire fourth quarter to get the win.

With the win, the Lakers have closed the gap to the 8th seeded Clippers and are 2.5 games off the pace. They are 10th in the Western Conference playoff standings with a 29-29 record and are 1 game behind the 9th seeded Sacramento Kings.

The Rockets, on the other hand, have a 33-25 record and are 5th in the standings. James Harden continued his offensive onslaught, producing his 32nd consecutive 30-point game.

Let's have a look at the key talking points from this match:

#3 Rebounding difference between the two teams

The Lakers had great advantage on the boards — The Lakers had

One of the glaring weaknesses in this Rockets team is the lack of effort in defensive rebounding. That weakness was fully exploited by the Lakers in this match as they swarmed bodies in the paint and tried to go for offensive rebounds.

The Lakers had a 49-38 rebounding advantage and 12-4 on the offensive end. That led to a lot of 2nd chance points and kept the Lakers' hopes alive.

The Rockets shot a better percentage in the game but these extra possessions really made them suffer. The Lakers will be looking for similar effort on the boards in every game as they look to make a push for the playoffs.

#2 Great defense on James Harden

Bullock played solid defense on James Harden

James Harden again dropped 30 points. But this was a very quiet 30 points by his standards and he was left frustrated with some great defense played on him by Bullock and Brandon Ingram.

Harden scored 30 points on 11-24 shooting from the field and only 2-10 from the 3PT line. He was only allowed to go to the charity stripe on 7 occasions which is way below his season average. Harden also had 8 turnovers to his name and had two costly offensive fouls in the final minutes which led to him getting fouled out.

This match was totally different when compared to the last two matches between the two teams. Harden torched the Lakers in both those matches and got his team the victory. But the Lakers were much more active and engaged on defense, bothering Harden throughout this match.

#1 Great effort down the stretch by the Lakers

The Lakers displayed great effort and intensity in the final quarter of this game. Almost all the players contributed massively to mount a great comeback against the Rockets. The Lakers had a 28-16 advantage in the final quarter alone.

LeBron James led the Lakers with 29 points, 11 boards and 6 assists. Brandon Ingram continued his good displays, finishing with 27 points and 13 rebounds on 50% shooting from the floor. The new addition, Reggie Bullock had a great game too. He hit a clutch three in the final minutes to build the lead and finished the match with 14 points on 4-8 shooting from the 3PT line.

The Lakers will be encouraged by the energy displayed by the young core in this match. By no means was this a perfect game for the team, but the players were locked in and wanted the win very badly.