With LeBron James you lose track of time. He has been on the court so much that sometimes he forgets how old he is. He continues to do atrocities like the second victory in the tie against the Rockets: 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists playing 39 minutes, flying to make dunks, with an enormous physical display… All of this reaches another dimension when remembering that he is 41 years old.
The myth commanded the victory of the Lakers (101-94) that makes it 2-0 before the series travels to Houston. He is holding down his depleted team while waiting for reinforcements to arrive in time. According to journalist Shams Charania, Austin Reaves’ recovery is more advanced than that of Luka Doncic. The guard has begun to do 1v1 work and could return at the end of this first series. The point guard is not expected until the second, if the Angelenos arrive.
His chances have increased considerably after the two games played in Los Angeles. In the second, the local bench only scored six points, but Marcus Smart stood out especially, who in the second win scored 25 points (5/7 triples) while putting criteria into the direction of the game and the usual intensity. And also Luke Kennard, who has taken a step forward. In the series premiere, 27 points with five three-pointers without a miss. This time, 23 with 3/6 from the arc. Between the two of them they scored 24 points in the first quarter.
The return of Kevin Durant, who missed the first game due to a bruise on his right knee, was not enough for the Rockets. He scored 23 points, but only three of them came in a second half in which he was greatly challenged by the Lakers’ defense. He lost nine balls. In the megastar duel with LeBron, repeating their dates in the finals of 2012, 2017 and 2018, he came out badly.
The Rockets’ image was not good, transmitting the doubts of the entire season. They scored 40.4% of their field goals and were limited to only seven three-pointers, an outside shooting threat that has been almost non-existent throughout Houston’s course. Alperen Sengun scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but it was enough.
